PART 5: The choice that changed everything
Downstairs, the engagement dinner was waiting.
Upstairs, Isabella stood in front of the mirror in the lounge, staring at her reflection in the white dress.
Ethan stood behind her, quiet.
“You don’t have to do anything for me,” he said softly. “I didn’t come here to ruin your life. I just needed to know you remembered.”
Isabella turned around and looked at him — really looked at the man he had become.
The boy she loved was still there, buried under years of pain and struggle.
She stepped closer and gently touched the silver bracelet on his wrist.
“I’m not marrying him,” she said.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“Isabella—”
“I don’t love him. I never did. I was just trying to survive without you.” Her voice broke. “But you’re here now. And I’m not letting you go again.”
She picked up her phone and called her father.
When he answered, she didn’t hesitate.
“Cancel everything. The engagement is off. And if you ever try to separate me from Ethan again… I will walk away from this family forever.”
She hung up before he could reply.
May you like
Then she turned back to Ethan and smiled through her tears — the same smile she had given him when they were kids.
“Come with me,” she said. “Let’s go home.”
