la

replayed Alex's proposal mor

ry

wo

to reopen eight years of memories

walked toward my apartment, heels

outside my door with

have been

felt stra

e fear wasn'

with it

losing m

clearing my

ould say when they he

re was some

der Bl

e door and st

et, exactly as I had

he kitchen counter an

ched the floor bef

d at the

a

nsw

u didn't actually

sed m

to yo

not an

despite

aid

was s

e said,

kno

to marry the man whose family

kno

looked at you the last ti

kno

g this like you a

toward th

compli

urse i

and stared inside withou

d he off

ces

ss to

ld rec

went

ost hear he

ng to prove your f

es

hink Alex

ws more than he

s diff

kno

si

have feelin

pped

ay

iend. You don't g

against t

een him in e

sn't my

toward th

ginning to disappear bene

know what

as the

east pa

seen Alex again, someth

s dif

rd

contr

had know

the sharp jaw, and those steel

tened me more

to go,

hesit

e me so

ha

make you forget

allo

won

ed the

the kitchen

moved towar

the b

thing I had not

docu

m and opened the bottom

out a wor

in my father

eeks before retu

understood why he

saw t

before th

the pape

trans

account belonging to one

ation account

lackwood In

Laurent

ed to a t

r family had e

the transa

nt was e

a company if it disapp

writing was visi

e w

st the Bl

at those wo

thought they

out the transact

ey from the Blackwoods, why wou

the people he had

hadn't bet

ad discover

the edge

made my ch

yone had believed my

t if he

been trying to

t the docu

d three days before

n't be a c

one b

oked

rom an unkn

have stayed

art s

d at th

nd

York knew abou

I had foun

ed qu

is t

dots a

disap

messag

are better

st

lse r

indow and carefully m

below loo

a

op

xi

ng un

t the mess

alled th

ri

w

all e

ied

t to vo

red th

ng wasn

ack to t

sages w

of

the empty

ightened aro

had wa

o knew abo

w I was digging

way from t

I sto

ght st

ng wasn't about

the person who had

ad found, then they knew

and placed the document

ked it in

t going

t

getting

hing more comfortabl

was alre

ation account number

th

ed th

th

rchived fina

l no

unt had

gone to great lengths

aned

ing caught

beside the tran

omed

a handwrit

ll le

began t

ckw

o

s too o

left such an obvious clue if

swer was exactly what

ed the

to New York, I wondered if agreei

his expression w

n something b

g I coul

e marriage f

ertain

d my own

r of us was

actly why this ma

walked towar

ion looked

ty-n

had been ei

nger

d losing almo

ebuilt

e girl Alex

ing to let him

buzzed

fr

er me

oked

here were on

y Alexande

d at th

toward the l

warn

terious

r's hand

mess

as beginning

uldn't see the

middle of it all wa

was abou

I had on

person who could hel

e out whether he wa

reatest