She loved him first. He chose her best friend.

Sierra: I'm sure that being in love with my dead friend’s husband is a sin. It doesn't matter that I knew him first or that I fell in love with him first, way before she came along. I've always loved Noah Woods, but he hates me, so how the hell did I end up in bed with him on the death anniversary of his dead wife? I thought it was the start of something, but I was wrong. Very wrong. I should have seen it coming, but hindsight is a bitch like that.

Noah: I’ve always hated her. Everyone knows that I can't stand Sierra Meyers, so how the fuck did I end up in bed with her on the death anniversary of my beloved wife? I thought I could forget about the night I made my biggest mistake, but Sierra flips my life when she gives me unexpected news. Now I am torn between keeping my promise to the woman I swore and believed I’d love forever and the woman I swore to hate.

Sierra.

I walk down the aisle. My heart is racing. My steps slow and heavy. A bouquet of tightly clutched pink and white roses trembles in my hands as my dress swishes behind me. Everything is so beautiful and perfect, just like we had planned.

My eyes are locked ahead. My gaze fixed on his smiling face. He is so handsome, so breathtaking. His smile is so dazzling that for a moment everything fades; I forget to walk and miss a step.

The happiness on his face and the joy radiating from him almost bring me to tears. I continue my walk, each step bringing me closer and closer to him. He looks different from what I am used to. This is the first time Noah Woods isn’t looking at me with hate and disgust.

I should be happy. I should be ecstatic that I am walking toward the man I love, but I am not. My heart is breaking, and I can hear the sound of those shattered pieces as my heart disintegrates into small bits.

I feel suffocated, yet I have to smile. I have to pretend that this isn’t tearing me apart inside. I have to pretend that this isn’t killing me. I have to pretend that I am fine when I’m slowly dying on the inside because the man I love is marrying someone else.

My once bright world is filled with nothing but darkness. The world I once dreamed of is crumbling around me. All my hopes, every carefully guarded wish, now lie in shards at my feet—sharp, piercing my already wounded soul. A painful reminder of everything I’ll never have

I smile even though all I want is to cry and mourn. Mourn because I know his radiant smile isn’t aimed at me. It’s aimed at the woman he loves. She walks behind me now, glowing in white lace. Chloe. One of my best friends. And the bride.

When I reach the altar, I move to the right, just as we rehearsed a hundred times before. Lilly—Noah’s cousin and my best friend—stands beside me, along with Brooks, Chloe’s younger sister. I grip my bouquet tighter as my heart thunders in my chest.

I’ve dreaded this day since the moment Noah dropped to one knee at our high school graduation and proposed to Chloe in front of the entire school. I wanted to scream then, just like I want to scream and shout now. I want to curse the heavens. I want the floor to open up and swallow me whole. Anything that can alleviate the pain I feel right now would be welcome.

A gentle pat on my arm pulls me from my spiral. I turn slightly to find Lilly offering me a small, encouraging smile. It conveys everything—love, sympathy, and understanding. Our eyes meet for just a second before we both look ahead to the stunning, blushing bride before us.

There is no denying that Chloe is beautiful. That’s not the only thing that makes her radiant, though. She’s the entire package. Beautiful, intelligent and kind. She’s warm, caring and loving. I sometimes want to hate her, but I can’t. She’s perfect. It’s no wonder Noah fell for her so easily.

I’ve witnessed their love for each other grow. I’ve been there to see it blossom. I was there from the beginning. I saw every stolen glance and every moment of tenderness. And while their love flowered and flourished into something beautiful, my heart withered on the onslaught of unrequited love… And today, it feels like it has finally stopped beating

“Noah,” Uncle Rowan’s deep yet firm voice pulls me from the fog that threatened to swallow me.

Chloe and Brook's mom died when we were fourteen and their dad left them when Chloe was four; that’s why Uncle Rowan was giving her away instead of her parents.

Uncle Rowan kisses Chloe’s cheek before placing her hand in Noah’s. Noah helps her up the steps, guiding her gently to stand beside him.

The way he stares at her kills me. The love shining through his eyes for her undoes me.

I’ve loved Noah for as long as I can remember. I believed that if I held on long enough, loved him hard enough, he’d see me. That he’d one day realize that I am the one for him. That he’d choose me. That he’d eventually fall in love with me. But I was so very painfully wrong and today is the proof of just how wrong I was.

Can he see the heartbreak in my eyes? Can he tell that my heart is bleeding? Who am I kidding? He probably doesn’t care. To him, I’ve always been the annoying girl who chased and clung to him since I was eight. And now, as he stands beside his bride, I’m nothing. I could drop and die and he wouldn’t blink.

I stand there, my soul in ruins, as he begins his vows. Lilly told me he wrote them himself. They’re beautiful. Heartfelt. I just wish they were meant for me and not someone else.

‘Stop being selfish,’ that annoying voice in my head snaps. ‘Just accept that he doesn’t love you and he never will.’

I want to block out the words, but I know they are true. I’ve lost and if I am being honest, I lost way before I was even in the running. I don’t think I was ever in the running to begin with.

“Do you, Chloe Thompson, take Noah Woods to be your lawfully wedded husband,” the priest says, “to love and to cherish, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, forsaking all others, till death do you part?”

“I do,” Chloe says, her voice soft and sure. She slides the ring onto his finger.

The priest turns to Noah. “And do you, Noah Woods, take Chloe Thompson to be your lawfully wedded wife…”

As the words echo, my heart squeezes painfully.

“I do,” Noah replies, steady and certain, placing the ring on her hand.

I fight for my next breath. Fight to keep myself upright and not to crumble. I fight back the heart-wrenching sob that threatens to escape my throat. I will my tears not to fall. Willing myself to hold on and stay indifferent. Not to break in front of him and everyone else.

“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

A small sob escapes my lips, but the deafening noise of music and shouts drowns it.

Noah leans his tall frame towards his new bride. His eyes collide with mine for a second. He then pulls his gaze from mine. It softens as he stares at Chloe right before he crashes his lips on hers.

I saw it in his eyes. It was fleeting but so raw. His hate and disgust for me were clear, and with that and the joyous shouts ringing around us, the last remaining piece of my heart breaks and falls off.

Sierra.

The ringing of my phone interrupts my sleep. I groan and try to ignore it, burrowing deeper into the warmth of my blankets. I am tired and the last thing I want is someone calling me at odd hours, interrupting my precious sleep.

Whoever it is, they can wait.

The ringing stops and I sigh in relief. I bring my cat closer and curl tighter around her, pressing my face into her soft fur. I was just about to fall back to sleep when the damn ringing started again.

I grope blindly for it on the nightstand, knocking over a water bottle in the process. I should’ve switched the damn thing off like I usually do.

I’m a biologist, so you can imagine the crazy hours I put into research. When I do get time to rest, I’ve learned to guard it like it's gold.

Eyes still shut and assuming it's a colleague, I swipe to answer and grumble into the phone, “This better be important.”

“Si? Are you awake?” her sweet familiar voice breaks through the haze.

My body goes rigid. That voice... I know it like a lullaby. The fogginess immediately clears and I snap awake.

“Hi, Aunt Ava,” I reply sheepishly, sitting up in my bed, guilt warming my cheek for being rude to her.

My cat, Blackie, meows, communicating her annoyance at the disturbance. To calm her down, I pull her onto my lap and pet her back, watching as she curls up and goes back to sleep.

“Did I wake you?” she asks, her tone laced with genuine concern

I’ve known this woman since I was eight. She’s like my second mom. I love her so much; I would do anything for her, including telling a little white lie.

“No, you didn’t.” I lie, clearing my throat to sound more alert than I feel.

“You do realize I can tell when you are lying, right, Si?” she asks with a chuckle.

My heart warms at her nickname for me. She says it with so much love and affection. I’ve never understood why she would treat me like her own daughter when her son hated me so much.

I close my eyes for a brief second, smiling into the empty room.

“Sorry,” I murmur sheepishly.

There are only a handful of people who truly know me—my mom, my grandma, Aunt Ava, Aunt Harper, and Lilly, my best friend.

“It’s late at night. I know I woke you up.” Aunt Ava says, but there is something off in her voice. She’s nervous and It’s so strange because nervousness isn’t an emotion I would associate with her.

Aunt Ava is strength personified. She is a powerhouse. Always composed. Always assured. Never nervous.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” I assure her before continuing, “Is everything alright?”

There is a beat of silence. I can feel her nervousness through the phone and that makes my heart thump a little faster.

I give her time even though I am starting to get anxious. I wait for her to collect her thoughts and let me know why she called. I know her well enough to trust that if she called me this late, it’s not something trivial.

“Aunt Ava?”

Now I know that something is seriously wrong if she’s yet to tell me why she called.

My mind jumps to different scenarios. It couldn’t be that someone is hurt, right? If that was the case, then Lilly would have been the first to inform me. Maybe it’s Lilly? But then if it were her, Aunt Harper would have informed me instead of Aunt Ava.

“You are killing me with the suspense, Aunt Ava,” I chuckle nervously as my heart begins pound in my chest and Panic sets in.

I am an overthinker, so this suspense is wreaking havoc inside me. I literally feel like my heart and lungs are being squeezed right now.

She exhales slowly, like she’s trying to steady herself.

“I need a huge favor,” she finally says, the words hesitant. “And I just... don’t know whether I should be asking you.”

My stomach knots.

“Come on, Aunt Ava, you know I’d do anything for you,” I reply without hesitation. And I mean it.

Another shaky breath, as if she’s preparing herself for a battle.

“IneedyoutofindNoahforme” she says it all in one breath, her voice conveying uncertainty.

“Slow down,” I plead, “I barely understood a thing you said.”

She takes another deep breath before repeating the words that freeze me to my core. “I need you to find Noah for me.”

My world stills and my mind goes blank.

“I think I heard you wrong,” I mumbled, unintelligently.

My voice comes out faint and brittle, like my voice has forgotten how to form words. There must be some mistake—I must have misheard.

She sighs tiredly. “You didn’t.”

The silence that stretches between us is deafening. My heart is racing, my hands trembling. All the warmth that surrounded me moments ago has vanished, replaced by a cold that creeps into my bones.

“Noah?” I repeat numbly. “You want me to find Noah?”

She sighs, exhausted. “Yes.”

I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

“Aunt Ava, I’m the last person on this planet you should be asking,” I murmur, still confused about why she would be asking me to look for Noah.

I take a deep breath to try and calm myself down. What she just asked me is beyond what I can do. I know I said I would do anything for her, except this. Noah is one person I didn’t want to get involved with.

“Please, Sierra. You uncle and I can’t find him,” she pleads, her voice on the verge of breaking down. It’s been years, but to her, Noah is still her little boy. The boy that went toe-to-toe with her family for wronging her.

“Aunt…” I pause, not really finding the words to continue. “And what do you mean, you can’t find him?”

I shouldn’t have asked, but curiosity just got the better of me.

“You know what day today is, right?” she asked.

I’m confused, thinking today is Tuesday. Nothing special about it. That is until I remember the exact date.

I blink, then glance at the calendar. March 15.

Oh.

My chest tightens.

I had completely forgotten… Or maybe I just didn’t want to remember.

“Yes,” I reply softly.

“He left the twins with us and said he’d be back. That was hours ago,” she continues, her voice cracking. “We've called him. Over and over. He won’t answer. And today’s... today’s hard for him, especially with the twins having turned Five. I’m worried, Si.”

My heart aches at the pain in her voice, but I just can’t. Noah is where I draw the line. I swore to myself to never cross paths with him since he got married.

What was the need to be around him when he clearly hated me? I needed to do what’s best for me and protect my heart.

“Aunt Ava, have you tried Gunner?” I ask her, my voice trembling. “He is his best friend; he’s bound to know something.”

“He doesn’t. All the locations he sent us turned out to be dead ends.” She answers. “He is also overseas, so there is not much he could do.”

“What about Lilly? She’s knows him just as well,” I offer weakly.

I was grasping at straws. Anything that would save me from having to do this favor for her. I do love her truly, but Noah is a no-go zone.

“Her phone is turned off. No one can reach her.”

Damn it! We talked before I went to sleep. She told me she was going on a date. If she switched off her phone, then it means the date was going pretty well.

“Please, Si. I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid in his state.” she cries, and my heart melts. “You are the only one I know who knows him best.”

I want to tell her no. I need to. I promised myself that I would never let myself be tangled up in Noah Woods’ world again. Not after he shattered mine.

I tried to come up with excuses I could give her, but my mind was blank. Noah and I are a volatile mix, and I doubt he would want to see me, especially today.

“I know it’s a pretty big ask, but I am really worried about him.” the worry, sadness and heartbreak in her voice are my undoing. It breaks all of my defenses.

“I don’t know what I’ll say if I do find him. It's been years,” I murmur. “I don’t even know if he’ll talk to me.”

“Just try. Please.”

I close my eyes. My chest aches with a thousand things left unsaid. But I can’t say no to her. I never could.

“Okay,” I whisper, defeated. “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Sierra. Thank you so much.”

It’s hard not to miss the relief in her voice and that makes it worth it even though I have this nagging feeling that this isn’t going to end well for me.

I sit in the stillness of my room after finishing the call with Aunt Ava. A tired sigh escapes my lips as I lean back against the headboard as the weight of her request settles heavily on my chest. What on earth did I just get myself into?

I meant it when I said I’d do anything for Aunt Ava and I know I agreed to her request, but this feels different. This feels like I am about to open a can of worms.

Noah and I have a history. Not the kind people smile about when they’re older and wiser. No, ours is made of jagged edges and silent wounds. For reasons only known to him, he’s always hated me. From the very first moment we met, it was like something inside him decided I was the enemy.

I tried everything to make him like me; God, how I tried. I’d chase after his approval, desperate for a sliver of kindness, only to be met with cruelty that left me shattered and in tears. No matter what I did, how hard I tried to be liked or noticed, nothing ever worked.

He would always say something hurtful and demeaning and I would always end up crying and feeling sorry for myself. I never got it, honestly. Sure, I came on a little bit too strongly, but I doubt that is reason enough to hate someone.

I was only eight. He was nine. But even at that age, the hostility in his eyes was unmistakable. He always treated me like the damn antichrist. It always puzzled me how such a small boy could carry so much hate at that age. It would have been different if he hated others too, but it wasn’t. He had no trouble showing the best parts of himself to others... But never to me.

Being around each other never ended well, especially for me, so eventually, I learned to stay clear of him. It hurt less that way.

I haven’t seen or talked to him in years, so why did I agree to be the one to search for him? The last time I saw him was at his wedding. I watched him getting married and told myself that was it. That was the last time I’d allow myself to feel anything for Noah. I made a promise that day: I would not break my heart again for someone who never saw it in the first place.

It was a decision I made for my own peace of mind and I have never looked back. Not until now.

So here I am. Heart racing. Gut twisted in knots. About to go looking for the one person I’ve spent years trying to forget.

Feeling a familiar heaviness in my heart, I push those painful memories away. I’ve come a long way from the girl I was. The girl who had her heart trampled over and over again by the boy she loved. There was no way I was going to allow old griefs to resurface.

Instead of focusing on the past, I pick my phone back up and call Lilly. The phone rings twice before going straight to voicemail. I try again; nothing. A frustrated grunt leaves my mouth as I try once again, only to be disappointed.

“Fuck!” I hurl the phone onto the pillow beside me, startling Blackie, who gives me the filthiest look a cat can manage.

“Sorry, my sweet girl,” I say, guilt creeping in. “I wasn’t cursing you.”

She hisses softly before leaping off the bed.

With a sigh, I push myself up and head to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I stare at my reflection in the mirror and tired eyes stare back at me. My heart feels heavier than it should.

I grip the edges of the sink, bracing myself against the rising tide of dread. This isn’t just a favor. This is a return to a past that nearly broke me.

Am I really ready for this? Am I really ready to face Noah again?

It’s been six whole years. Six years of peace. Six years of tranquility. Six years of healing. Am I really ready to throw it all away? Because that’s what will happen if I go ahead with this. The man has hated me since I was eight. I doubt he would have had a change of heart in the six years I avoided him like the damn plague.

My hand tightens around the bathroom sink as my dilemma eats at me from the inside out. I already promised Aunt Ava. She has never asked anything of me that she wouldn’t do herself if she could, so how could I back out now?

With a shaky breath, I straighten my back and shoulders. I stomp back into my room and head straight for my closet. I throw on the first clothes I see—a baggy T-shirt and soft sweatpants.

The quicker I got this over with, the better.

Blackie meows at me from across the room.

“I won’t be long,” I promise, scooping her up and hugging her close, hoping I could absorb some of her strength and courage.

She purrs softly, grounding me in her quiet way. I set her down gently, making sure she has food and water before grabbing my keys and heading out.

Once I am outside, I quickly get in my car before immediately locking the doors. I live in a safe neighborhood, but you can never be too careful.

It’s only after I start the ignition that I realize I haven’t thought this through. I just sit there. The engine hums beneath my hands, but I don’t move. I have no plan. No leads.

Noah could be anywhere. This was foolish. What was I thinking?

Aunt Ava thought I was her best shot, but maybe I am not. Sure, I was obsessed with him when we were younger, something I’m still embarrassed of, by the way. I knew him better back then, but like I said, it’s been six years. I probably don’t know him as well as I used to.

I try to think of the one place he would go to but I end up coming up blank. I eliminate the obvious. Not the cemetery— That would have been the first place they checked.

Not a bar or a club—Noah isn’t the kind to unravel in public. He wouldn’t want anyone to see his grief. He’s too proud for that.

And besides, Knowing Aunt Ava, she probably called every club and bar owned by Uncle Rowan and his twin, Uncle Gabe.

So, where the hell would he go?

I rake a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling under my skin. Would it be terrible if I lied? I could just tell Aunt Ava that I couldn’t find him, but then she would know I lied. The thought of disappointing her, of hearing that hurt in her voice, stops me cold.

I was about to give up when something clicked. A memory.

Noah misses her, so he’d probably go someplace that was special to them. Some place that would make him feel close to him.

A smile breaks free from my lips.

She once told me about a hidden spot. A place that held meaning for both of them. No one was supposed to know about it except the two of them, but for some odd reason she told me.

Without hesitation, I pull out of the driveway and begin the drive north. The further I go, the darker the road becomes. My knuckles are white around the steering wheel, panic clawing at the edges of my composure.

My mind is screaming at me to turn back, giving me every reason why I should go back home; I ignored it. I am doing this for Aunt Ava.

Yet even with my reasoning, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I was making a big mistake.

When I finally arrive, I park a little way off and begin walking.

And then I see it. A car.

The moment I saw the car, relief and dread crashed into me. Going head-to-head in a battle for dominance. The wind here was chilly, maybe because it was on top of a hill. It should have cooled me, but it had nothing on the raging emotions that were fighting inside me and wreaking havoc

A thousand memories come flooding back, each one tugging at old scars. I take a shaky breath and move.

‘Are you sure about this?’ the voice inside my head asks.

My feet freeze and everything inside me stills at the question.

My brows furrow, and I clench my teeth against the need to turn back and ran as far away from Noah as possible. But I don’t. Instead, I pull my shoulders back and take one step forward, then another, until I’m steadily walking towards the cliff.

It isn’t that long until I spot a lone figure sitting almost at the edge.

Emotions swirl inside me

‘It’s not too late to turn back,’ it whispers again, but this time with more urgency.

I nod my head, determination settling inside and I resume walking. I am not a quitter. Neither do I break promises…but maybe I should have. I should have broken this one promise and ran like my life depended on it.

Maybe if I had known what was to come, I would have made a different choice, but I didn’t. I should have known. I should have seen it coming, but hindsight is a bitch like that.