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
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