Chapter Nine

Odette spent the weekend wrapped in a cocoon of indecision. Anton’s words replayed in her mind on a loop: “I’ve never stopped loving you.” It was as though he’d carved them into her thoughts, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase them.

Amerie noticed her friend’s distracted state but didn’t push. Instead, she hovered in the background, offering quiet support in the form of tea refills, takeout, and reruns of Odette’s favorite interior design shows.

By Sunday evening, Odette couldn’t take the internal back-and-forth any longer. She grabbed her sketchpad and headed to the small park near their apartment. The crisp January air stung her cheeks as she settled onto a bench, her fingers trembling as she began to sketch.

Drawing had always been her escape, her way of channeling emotions she couldn’t articulate. She lost herself in the flow of lines and curves, the soft scratch of pencil on paper grounding her. It wasn’t until she felt a shadow fall over her that she realized someone was standing nearby.

“Still sketching, I see,” Anton’s voice said softly.

Her pencil froze mid-stroke, and she glanced up to find him watching her with a faint smile. He was dressed casually in a dark coat and jeans, but he still carried the same air of elegance and control that made it impossible to ignore him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone more exhausted than confrontational.

“I was walking,” he said, motioning toward the nearby path. “And then I saw you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What, you just happened to stumble across me in a city this big?”

He smirked. “I may have asked Amerie where you like to go when you need space.”

Odette made a mental note to have a stern word with her roommate.

“Well, congratulations. You found me. Now what?” she said, setting her sketchpad aside and crossing her arms.

Anton hesitated, as if weighing his next words carefully. “I wanted to check on you. To see how you’re doing after… Friday.”

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, though the tension in her voice betrayed her.

He sighed, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. “You don’t have to keep pretending, Odette. Not with me.”

Her chest tightened, anger bubbling to the surface. “You don’t get to act like you know me anymore, Anton. You don’t know what I’ve been through, how I’ve felt. You gave up that right when you left me behind.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “And I hate myself for it. But I’m here now. I want to make things right.”

“Do you even understand how much damage you caused?” she asked, her voice rising. “I spent years wondering what I did wrong, why you just disappeared without a word. You didn’t just hurt me, Anton. You broke me.”

He stepped closer, his expression pained. “Odette, I didn’t leave because of you. I left because of who I was—because of the life I was born into. I thought I was protecting you.”

“You keep saying that,” she snapped. “But did it ever occur to you that I didn’t need protecting? That I just needed you?”

Anton’s shoulders sagged, and for a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of vulnerability in his usually guarded eyes. “I didn’t know how to stay,” he admitted. “I thought walking away was the only way to keep you safe from the mess my life had become.”

Her anger faltered, replaced by a deep, aching sadness. “You should have trusted me,” she said softly.

“I know,” he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you let me.”

“I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you let me,” Anton said again, his voice raw with emotion.

Odette shook her head, standing up from the bench and taking a few steps away. “You say that like it’s that easy, like words can erase ten years of hurt. Do you even understand what it felt like to be abandoned by the one person I trusted more than anyone?”

Her voice cracked at the end, and she hated how vulnerable she sounded. Anton took a step closer, his expression filled with regret.

“I do understand,” he said, his tone steady but pained. “Because I’ve lived with that regret every single day. I left to keep you safe, but I didn’t realize I was destroying the one good thing in my life in the process.”

Odette turned to face him, her arms wrapping around herself defensively. “Why now, Anton? Why come back after all this time? What do you want from me?”

“I want a second chance,” he said simply. “I want to be the man you deserve, Odette. I’ve changed—I’m not the same reckless boy who made that mistake.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “You want me to believe you’ve changed? You show up here, throw me into chaos, and expect me to just forgive you?”

“No,” he said, stepping closer. “I don’t expect your forgiveness. But I’m willing to earn it. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

Odette’s heart was racing. She wanted to believe him—part of her did believe him. But the walls she’d built around herself over the years weren’t so easily dismantled.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Anton,” she admitted, her voice trembling. “I don’t know if I can trust you again.”

“I’ll give you time,” he said, his silver-grey eyes locking onto hers. “But don’t shut me out completely. Please, Odette. Let me prove that I’m not going to walk away again.”

She stared at him for a long moment, her mind a storm of conflicting emotions. Finally, she let out a shaky breath. “Time,” she said softly. “That’s all I can promise right now.”

Relief flickered across his face, and he gave her a small nod. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the chilly night.

Back at the apartment, Amerie was waiting, perched on the edge of the couch with a tub of popcorn in her lap. She raised an eyebrow as Odette walked in.

“Well?” Amerie asked, her voice brimming with curiosity.

“Well, what?” Odette replied, setting her sketchpad on the coffee table.

“Don’t play coy. You’ve been out there brooding for hours, and I know you ran into him. Spill.”

Odette groaned, sinking into the couch beside her friend. “He wants a second chance.”

“And how do you feel about that?” Amerie asked, leaning closer.

“I don’t know,” Odette admitted. “Part of me wants to believe he’s changed. But another part is terrified he’ll hurt me again.”

Amerie nodded thoughtfully. “That’s valid. But, Dotty, you’re not the same girl you were back then. You’ve grown. You’ve survived without him. If you give him a chance, it’s because you choose to, not because you need him.”

Odette sighed, resting her head against the back of the couch. “I just wish it wasn’t so complicated.”

“Love always is,” Amerie said with a shrug. “But that’s what makes it worth it—if it’s with the right person.”

Odette didn’t respond, her mind drifting back to Anton’s words and the look in his eyes.

For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to wonder if he might actually be telling the truth.