?Chapter 0504


    I don''t know, but for some reason, hearing him apologize released something inside me. something I couldn''t exin and didn''t even know I had been holding on to.


    "It''s not your fault, and there is nothing to forgive. I should have also realized earlier that we weren''t meant to be. That our love was young, but it wasn''t the forever kind. Hell, I don''t really think we would have been together had our parents not pushed us into a rtionship."


    Rowan chuckles before his lips turn into a grin. "So, you realized too that our parents were the reason we got together too? Their talk about how we would make a beautiful couple and all that shit. That got into our head and hearing it so often we started believing it."


    "True, I don''t think we would have gotten together had it not been for them. Everywhere we turned, there was always someone who thought we would be perfect together. Well, except Ava." I smile, remembering that she''s the only one who didn''t like that Rowan and I were together.


    "I think she saw something that none of us saw." Rowan runs a hand down his face and says, "Maybe on a spiritual level, she just knew that you and I weren''t meant to be together."


    What he says rings true. Ava was probably the only one who could see that Rowan and I weren''tpatible. She''s the only one who saw right through the illusion we were forced to believe.Content belong to N?velDráma. Org.


    "You know," I begin. "I''m d things worked out the way they did. Turning you down when you asked me to marry you should have been a sign, but I was still blind. I am d it led you to Ava that night. I see it now, we would have both ended up miserable had we gotten married. So, yes, I am d things happened the way they did."


    Even without saying anything, the shine in his eyes tells me that he agrees with my words.


    "I don''t want things to be awkward between us, given that your brother is one of my closest friends, Gunner is Noah''s best friend, and Ava has decided to take you into her fold. So, friends?" He gives me his hand.


    I take a minute to think about it and finally shake his hand. "Friends."


    Just then, Ava walks in with two sses of lemonade.


    "Where is Iris?" she asks before handing me a ss, even though I''d told her I was good.


    There is nothing in her gaze as she hands me the ss. No doubt. No jealousy. No suspicion. There is only kindness, trust and warmth. That is the look of her woman, who was secure in her marriage. A woman who trusted her husband even though he was with his ex. That is the gaze of a woman who knew she didn''t have to doubt because she was secure in his love for her.


    Rowan stands up. He wraps his hand around her waist before pulling her to him. He then leans down and gives her a soft, quick kiss. "Once the tea party was over, she went in search of Noah. Apparently, they were going to y dragons together."


    Ava chuckles, her chuckle filled with amusement, love and warmth. "That girl is a walking contradiction. She loves ying with dolls and having tea parties, but she also loves ying with cars and going to imaginary worlds where she is a knight and she gets to y dragons, gargoyles and sea monsters."


    "You still love her either way, and besides, our girl doesn''t need to be a damsel in distress. She already knows that, just like her mom, she''s capable and can do anything she wants."


    "True"


    I watch them. The love shinning in their eyes. Their love surrounds them. Igniting between them. I don''t feel anything. No jealousy, envy or bitterness. I feel nothing but fondness for both of them. It''s then, watching them, that I realize that I found my closure. I''ve truly and utterly let go and I feel nothing but peace.