24. Chapter Twenty-Four #2
“She killed you off, Derek,” Soo-mi repeated Paige’s words in a sing-song. It gave Paige the push she needed to continue with her truth.
Standing up tall, she said, “When I first created Hans, yes, he was mildly based on you. But as our relationship fell apart, I regretted that. Because I wrote that character how I wished you had treated me. Hans’s actions toward the heroine were thoughtful and protective, kind and loving.
Everything I wished I had.” Derek looked like Paige had hit him with a stun gun.
“After we broke up, I still had to face that truth on the page. So, I made the conscious decision to kill off that character because I was ready for it all to end. To leave that pain behind. Even at the expense of my career. Because that decision didn’t land well with my readers.
They had no idea what was going on behind the scenes.
” She took a quick breath and continued before she thought twice.
“But recently I wrote a bonus chapter and I’m going to re-release my last book, with an explanation of why Hans faced such an abrupt ending.
Hopefully, my readers will understand and forgive me.
Because I couldn’t forgive myself if I’d gone on writing a character and a love that I didn’t believe in anymore. ”
Behind her, Soo-mi gave a low whistle, and a quiet, “Oh, snap.”
Paige nodded, agreeing with Soo-mi, and feeling lighter for getting all that off her chest.
But she had more.
“I wish you no ill will, Derek. We weren’t right for each other.
And that’s fine. And if you want to stay friends with my dad and keep coming to my family’s events, that’s okay.
Just know that I will not entertain stroking your ego as everyone else does.
” Derek’s smug grin fell from his face, and Paige was done addressing anything that had to do with him.
She’d said her piece and now at least her parents knew where she stood.
Soo-mi came up beside her, tapped her on the shoulder, and handed her a glass of champagne.
“Thanks, Cos,” Paige said. Then she turned back to the crowd, took a slug of bubbles, and continued, “And while I’m at it, I’ve got a few more things to say to set the record straight.”
Soo-mi took a sip of her champagne, staying by her side.
“The whole thing with Ethan started out fake,” Paige admitted, ready to spill the full truth. “Our publisher set it up. We pretended to date to promote the book we’re writing.”
There was a collective murmur. Her mother looked horrified. Her father frowned. Derek’s eyes widened, and he looked slightly amused. Paige didn’t care. She was pressing on. She was telling her story.
“That kiss on the escalator was fake?” The woman Paige didn’t know asked incredulously, and Paige was astonished at her audacity, but she wasn’t skirting the truth any longer.
“No, that was real,” Paige replied.
“Huh?” the woman said.
“Our relationship started off fake,” Paige continued, ignoring every piercing set of eyes boring into her.
She was stating this for herself. For herself, only.
“Somewhere between the writing and the treasure hunt, the research trips, and the arguments over adverbs, I started liking Ethan. And then, I fell for him.” She shrugged. “For real.”
Silence cloaked the room.
“I didn’t plan on it, and I tried to fight it. Only because I was scared. It took me a while to figure out exactly what I was feeling and why I was resisting it . . . but now I know.” She lifted her chin. “And tonight, I’m going to tell him how I really feel. All of it.”
A gasp rippled through the room. At first, Paige thought the crowd was reacting to her declaration—until she realized they were looking past her. Pointing.
A familiar voice rang out behind her.
“I fell for you too, Paige.”
She spun around, heart crashing into her ribs.
Ethan stood in the doorway, a bright bouquet of flowers in one hand and a birthday-themed gift bag in the other. His hair was windswept, his cheeks rosy, like he’d run all the way from downtown to the suburbs.
“Ethan?” Paige asked, wanting to make sure he was real.
Grandma Moon stood beside him, looking smug. “I let him in,” she announced. “Saw him wandering around outside with flowers. Figured any man with a bouquet like that had somewhere important to be.”
Paige blinked, disorientated, wondering if she’d dreamt him up. “Did you—” she started. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to hear what I needed to know.” Ethan smiled, and it warmed Paige like a mug of hot tea.
Grandma Moon gave Ethan a pat on the back and winked at Paige. “Soo-mi, Grandma needs a glass of champagne.”
“On it!” Soo-mi called with a delighted chuckle as she moved toward the bar.
But Paige couldn’t look away from Ethan. His steady blue eyes. His soft grin. Strong arms and a tender heart, both hidden beneath his grandpa’s leather jacket.
He walked to her, slow and sure, the noise around them fading to nothing. “I read your comments, and I had to come here,” he said, stopping before her. “I couldn’t wait until tonight to tell you what I really think of you.”
“Oh?” Her breath hitched as he stared straight into her soul. “And what is that?”
Ethan lowered his voice, enough that the entire room leaned in to hear. “That you’re my adventure, Paige.”
His words hit her like a wave, dousing her heart in the swell.
“I’ve been chasing adventure—travel, reality TV, fame—thinking that’s what I needed to feel alive,” he said softly.
“And then I met you, and I found that same excitement and adrenaline in every tiny moment we shared. Fighting over comma placement. Watching you snort when you laugh at your own jokes.” His eyes glimmered and her heart set on fire.
“I feel alive sitting next to you on the train, sharing a cup of coffee and watching the sunrise, walking together on a crowded sidewalk. We may have started off pretending to be in love, but there’s nothing fake about how I feel about you now. ”
“Did you say you’re falling for me too?” Paige asked, straight from the bottom of her gut, sincerely hoping she got the answer she wanted.
“I’m not just falling.” He paused, his voice rough with emotion. “I feel like someone pushed me off a bridge.”
A laugh broke through her. “You do?”
“Paige, I’m in love with you. With your fire and spunk and everything that you are. You’re my adventure. My treasure.”
Soo-mi appeared beside them like magic, gently taking the flowers and gift bag out of Ethan’s hands. “I’ll take those,” she said, and melted back into the crowd.
Ethan took hold of Paige’s hands. “I found the necklace,” he said, his voice thick.
Paige gasped. “What?”
He nodded. “It was hidden in a clock in Mimi’s room.”
“That’s amazing,” she breathed. “I’m so glad.”
His grip tightened around hers. “But when I found it, I still felt this hole in my chest. Because you weren’t there. I wanted to find it with you.”
Everything inside her stilled. She curled her fingers into his, unable to explain what that meant to her . . . everything. It meant everything.
“I want you beside me for all of it,” Ethan added, stepping closer, so their toes nearly touched.
“Not just the treasure hunts and the writing and the big moments. I want the normal stuff too. The coffee refills, grocery store runs, socks on the floor. The real-life stuff.” He paused. “I want a future with you.”
The entire room went silent, breathless. Paige started nodding, wanting to scream out Yes!
“I know you move slow, Paige. That you need time to trust and to process. That you don’t open up easily and you guard your heart.
But I’ll wait for you. As long as it takes.
I’m okay if you don’t say a thing back to me today.
I just need you to know that I’m here and I’ll be waiting for when you’re ready to let me love you. ”
Paige’s eyes suddenly stung—a foreign feeling because crying wasn’t her style.
But she couldn’t help it. This man had broken her open, piece by piece, and in the best way.
And she wanted a life with him too. Vision blurring, a tear slipped over her cheek.
Ethan reached up and wiped it away with his thumb, letting his hand linger, his palm warm against her face.
She shook her head, breaking free the words that were stuck in her throat. Then she stepped forward, ready to let her feelings loose. She launched herself at Ethan, and he caught her with a soft grunt, solid arms wrapping around her waist.
“I want you to love me,” she whispered into his neck. “Because I love you too.”
Ethan squeezed her tight and kissed her cheek. She could feel his smile through his kiss and confirmed his happiness when she pulled back just enough to meet his gaze. His blue eyes were dancing.
“Say it again,” he murmured.
She smiled, a tear-streaked laugh spilling out of her. “I love you.”
Ethan set his forehead against hers, holding her tight as he whispered, “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?”
Her stomach somersaulted. Their code. Their kiss cue.
She smiled, nodding. “Kiss me, Cole.”
And he did—right there in the middle of her parents’ house, in front of her family, her ex, the entire neighborhood, and her grandma—who raised a glass and shouted, “Finally!”
The room erupted around them, but Paige didn’t hear it.
All she felt was Ethan. And the truth in his kiss. And how, for the first time in her life, her heart didn’t ache or doubt or hide. It simply loved.
This was their story. No riddles. No more second-guesses. Just a love they didn’t have to fake.
And they had so many more chapters to write.