Mrs. Olsen hit Liam with her cane. “How dare you bully Piper? My son is a lawyer. I’m not scared of you! Hitting you is worth every dollar.”
People cheered, “Hit him again!”
“Bullying someone because of how they look?”
“He’s ugly himself. He should be ashamed!”
“He doesn’t respect women. He deserves it!”
<
I watched Liam run off. I was laughing and
crying.
I was crying. I was laughing. That night at the
party, I was too stubborn to shed a tear. It was
then that I cried for myself.
On my first day back at work, I saw Chandler
again.
Shaw and I were holding hands, laughing, when
we saw him standing at the gate.
He had a bouquet of roses, looking at me. He
was so skinny.
Shaw stood in front of me. I stroked his ear.
“It’s okay. Let me say goodbye.”
He wagged his tail and nuzzled me. “I’ll pick you
up after work.”
I smiled.
<
“Piper…” Chandler looked at Shaw and me,
heartbroken, and said my name. He saw my face was fixed. The scar was gone. I was my
old self.
“Your face… it’s healed?”
I nodded. “Shaw found the best doctor.”
His eyes were sad. “You look great…I’m ashamed that I did nothing for you during those five years…” He begged, “Can we go back to where it was? I want to make it up to you!”
I shook my head. “We’re over. And I have Shaw now.”
He was silent, then looked up, desperate. “I
don’t care what we are! I don’t care about the title!”
I was stunned. Chandler had never acted like
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nis peiore.
83
He grabbed my shoulders. “I thought I liked Maisie, but I didn’t appreciate you. After you left, I realized how much you did for me. I can’t live without you.”
“I didn’t love Maisie. I was just too stubborn to
let go. Give me another chance, please.”
It was too late.
My love for him had been used up by his coldness. Those years were horrible.
“Chandler, I would have been happy to hear you say that once, a long time ago. But not now. I don’t love you.”
“And I don’t need you to make me happy.”
“I’ve found what real love is with Shaw.”
“Love is support. It’s two people becomina
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DEGE
((
“Love is support. It’s two people becoming better. It’s not pain.”
83
I wiped the tears from his face. “If you missed
the sun, don’t miss the moon. Good luck in the
future.”
“I hope you can move on.”
I turned and walked into the office.
Chandler stood outside my office for three days and nights.
The director was worried he’d get heat stroke,
so I called his friend to pick him up.
“Piper, stay with me, please!” He tugged at my sleeve.
I sighed. “I did everything I could for you. Let’s end this peacefully.”
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83
His friend looked at me. “Are you sure you don’t want him back? You used to love him so much.”
I smiled. “Go back to that miserable life?
Never.”
He looked at me, then at Shaw waiting for me, and nodded sadly.
That night, Shaw and I walked on the beach. I skipped through the waves.
“Piper…” Shaw knelt, holding out a ring. “We messed up once. I don’t want to lose you again. Marry me. Let me spend my life loving you.”
I kissed him. “Yes!” I yelled.
He picked me up, spinning, happy as a kid.
After the wedding, I introduced Shaw to my mom. She wore a business suit, scanning me.
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<
83
1830
After the wedding, I introduced Shaw to my
mom. She wore a business suit, scanning me. “You look happy. It’s good you’re doing well.”
“Don’t think I was too cold. I just wanted you to have more.”
“Seeing you with Chandler was like seeing me with your dad. Putting up with a bad man for too long.”
“I realized this and divorced him. A woman should never lose herself for love.”
I nodded. Now I understood. Love isn’t just
giving up. It’s about growing together.
Ending a relationship isn’t because you’re bad,
it’s because you met the wrong person.
