དེ་དད་ ད་ད་ ཚན་པ་ད་ ང་ག་ད་འ་ན་ད་ད་ན་ན་ང་་་་་་ལ
Chapter 23
By the time they got back from the grocery store, the rain had finally stopped.
Carrying bags full of food, Isla and Riven walked leisurely down the sidewalk–until she spotted a figure near her apartment building.
A figure so familiar her smile vanished on the spot.
Rhett.
Of all the people she never expected to actually show up, it was him.
Her body tensed. Riven noticed right away and instinctively stepped in front of her, his eyes locking on the tall man standing ahead.
Rhett’s heart had been racing on the flight over, full of hope. But the second he saw her–with another man by her side–his expression darkened.
And when he finally got close enough to recognize Riven’s face, that hope twisted into something colder, more dangerous.
He stormed toward them, but Riven shifted, blocking his path.
“Who the hell are you?” Rhett snapped.
“That’s funny,” Riven replied coolly. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.‘
“”
Rhett’s jaw tightened. But with Isla standing right there, he forced himself to swallow his temper.
Riven, unbothered by the tension, turned to Isla. “Do you know this guy?”
She gave a small nod.
“Need me to stay close?” he asked gently, concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she murmured. “Let’s just go. He’s not worth it.”
She took a step forward.
“Isla, wait–can we talk?” Rhett uttered.
Her feet paused, just barely.
Riven glanced at her, then at Rhett. He seemed to piece things together.
“If it’ll help clear the air, go ahead,” he said. “I’ll be right over there.”
He took the grocery bags from her hands and walked down the block without another glance at Rhett. The two of them hadn’t spared him a second look, like he was nothing more than background noise.
Isla finally turned toward Rhett. “There’s nothing left to talk about,” she said calmly. “You made your choice. You picked Arabella. So why are you here?”
Her voice was cold–distant.
And it hit him like a slap.
He couldn’t even remember the last time she’d spoken to him, let alone like this.
Isla had always been soft–spoken with him, gentle.
But now? Her eyes didn’t waver, and there was no trace of the girl who used to wait outside his door with coffee or quietly bandage his
wounds.
“Isla…” His voice cracked. “I know I messed up. I didn’t recognize you when I should have. I failed you, and I get it if you can’t forgive
the ”
Chapter 23
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“I know Arabella hurt you. But I’ve already made her pay for everything she did. Tenfold. I made sure of it.”
“She’s out of the picture. It’s just me now. I want us back, Isla. I miss you more than I can say.”
He looked at her like she was his last lifeline, desperation clear in his voice.
Isla didn’t answer immediately. She simply stared at him–quiet, unreadable.
That silence made Rhett uneasy in a way nothing else could.
He dropped his gaze first.
Finally, she spoke. “You know, I’ve loved you since high school,” she said softly. “Our time together… those were some of the best days of my life. Almost too good to be true.”
“I kept hoping you’d see through it all. That somehow, even without proof, you’d recognize me. Or at least give me a minute to explain.”
“But you didn’t.”
She inhaled, steadying herself. “And that’s okay now. What’s done is done.d
“Isla–please-
“}
He couldn’t finish the sentence.
Isla looked straight into his eyes. “I meant it when I said I was done. I loved you, Rhett. But I don’t anymore. And I’m not looking back. “Please don’t come to me again.”
And just like that, she turned and walked away–toward Riven, who was waiting do understanding smile.
Rhett stood frozen, watching her go.
Before he’d come to Koorana, he had imagined this moment a hundred different ways.
All he’d wanted was to bring her home, to make things right.
But now, the truth was plain.
She didn’t love him anymore.
And nothing had ever felt colder than that.
