Chapter 9: Like
Jake’s eyes followed me everywhere when he
heard I was leaving.
“Come back to the city. Don’t you love that
lake house?”
“I already had someone…”
I cut him off. “Jake, do you really think I’d go
back with you?”
Even if Lily was Asher’s pawn, Jake’s infidelity
and the way he pushed me away were real.
Besides, Lily was already invested in their
relationship.
She took my hand, smiling. “Sarah, when Jake
and I get married, I’ll definitely send you an
invitation.”
Jake’s breath hitched. He stood in the
shadows, his eyes devoid of any joy.
There was a heavy sense of loss in them.
“We’ll see. Marriage seems kind of pointless
now.”
<
“We’re still young. Plenty of time to play
around.”
Lily’s face paled.
She probably realized what it meant to be
with someone like Jake. Living on the edge,
day in and day out.
She might become the next me. Discarded
when the passion faded.
I’d figured it out too.
Even without Lily, there would be another.
Sooner or later. Jake wasn’t the settling-
down type.
He wouldn’t be caged by marriage.
He was never the one for me.
While Lily and Jake argued, I packed my
bags.
I wasn’t telling anyone where I was going.
I was horseback riding in the grasslands when
the guys I left behind in the city texted me
く
about Jake.
Apparently, after I left, he called off the
wedding.
Lily kept making a fuss, and he dumped her,
tired of the drama.
During my road trip across the country, he
kept flying up north.
I heard he even got into a fight with Asher.
And surprisingly, he lost.
Asher took out all his frustration on him.
Jake blamed Asher for not taking care of me,
for making me want to leave.
Asher blamed Jake for making me lose faith
in love.
I looked at the vast prairie sky, watching the
cattle graze peacefully. I felt free.
Life was about following your heart.
If
you
felt like sunshine, chase the sun. If you
felt like rain, embrace the storm.
Just like at eighteen, after seeing those
<
paintings in the attic, I ran away.
Was I rejecting my predetermined fate, or
was I rejecting Asher?
It took me months to figure it out.
And the answer was already in my bags.
I still remember that morning.
In the thick fog, I pushed open the rusty gate.
Asher was sitting in front of his easel,
surrounded by my portraits.
He’d captured every moment of my ten years
in the city.
I’d never seen him there. He must have hidden.
himself well.
Watching me with Jake, waiting for the right
moment.
To bring me back.
When he saw me, he thought he was
dreaming.
He took off his glasses, his hair soft around
his face.
L
He took off his glasses, his hair soft around
his face.
“Miss,” he said, bewildered, “am I dreaming?”
My clothes were dusty, but I couldn’t hide my
mischievous grin.
“Asher, hold me.”
He stepped forward cautiously, his arms
outstretched.
But he didn’t dare touch me, just stood there.
His eyes were red–rimmed, his Adam’s apple
bobbing.
“If I hold you, you won’t hate me anymore?”
I laughed.
“Asher, I hate that you lied to me.”
But my heart still fluttered. I still missed him.
I still traveled miles to see him.
Didn’t that count as… liking him?
