Chapter 4Time Knows I Loved You, and Always Have

Perhaps she heard the raw fury in my voice, because she finally put down her device and looked at me, really looked at me.

“I’m sorry, Leo. The old building was torn down for redevelopment. You can stay here tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll help you pick out a new place you like, okay?”

Chelsea chimed in from the front seat. “It’s true, Mr. Leo. The whole Northwood district was demolished. It’s a shopping mall now. You’ve had a long day. Why don’t you just rest here for tonight?”

A mall. Of course, it was a mall.

I shoved the car door open and slammed it shut behind me. I was about to storm off, to go anywhere but with them, but Chelsea didn’t get out to show me the way.

As I stood there, confused, Ava emerged from the car. I thought she was going to try and explain, but she just walked past me, heading straight for the hotel’s grand entrance.

“What’s she doing?” I asked Chelsea, bewildered.

“The President has a meeting at a nearby branch office early tomorrow morning, so she’ll be staying at the hotel tonight as well.” Chelsea added, “In the room next to yours, Mr. Leo.”

Like she needed to explain. As if I cared about sleeping in the same room as her.

I followed her begrudgingly. The lobby was breathtakingly opulent, a cavern of marble and crystal that made me feel like I’d stumbled into a royal palace. Money felt good, I guess. Good enough to live like a king.

I remembered the cheap, rundown motel Ava and I stayed in once when we were young. The creaky wooden bed, the peeling wallpaper. In that shabby room, we gave ourselves to each other completely. We were poor, but we only had eyes for each other.

Now, even though the floor beneath my feet was polished to a mirror shine, the person standing beside me was a stranger.

“This is your room, Mr. Leo,” Chelsea said, opening a door. “If you need anything, just call me. The phone is on the nightstand.”

The suite was enormous, several times larger than our old apartment. It was filled with things I’d never seen before. A block of stone that produced water when you waved your hand under it. A machine that prepared a hot drink at the sound of your voice. A bed so soft you sank into it.

Everything was so luxurious, so perfect. And yet, my heart ached with a pain so intense I could barely breathe.

The emotions I’d suppressed all day finally broke free. Tears streamed down my face, hot and unstoppable.

“Mom, Dad,” I sobbed into the empty room. “She betrayed me. Ava betrayed me!”

In a single day, I’d lost my wife and my parents. Why? Why did I have to see them together that day? If I had never gotten on that train, would my parents still be alive?

I don’t know how long I cried before a soft knock came from the door.

“Who is it?” I rasped.

“It’s me.”

Ava.

I scrambled to my feet, trying to pull myself together. I went to the stone sink to splash water on my face, but it wouldn’t work. Then, suddenly, a shower of water rained down from the ceiling.

“Ah!”

I yelped, slipping on the wet floor and crashing down hard. Before I could process what had happened, I was soaked to the bone.

Click.

The lock on the door disengaged, and Ava was standing in the doorway.

“What happened?”

I looked up at her, my eyes red and swollen, and the dam broke all over again.

“I was just trying to wash my face,” I cried, the words tumbling out between sobs. “I don’t know how to use any of this stuff! I don’t know you anymore! Why? Why did I just go to sleep and wake up to find everything… everything is gone!”

Whenever I was upset, Ava used to magically produce a candy from her pocket to soothe me. This time was no different.

Staring at the familiar orange candy in her outstretched hand, I felt a flicker of surprise. I always wondered if she was some kind of magician. She always had candy, but I’d never once seen her eat a piece herself.

“Your skin is sensitive. I brought you some cotton clothes. They’re on the bed,” she said softly. “Eat the candy, get changed before you catch a cold. I’ll clean this up.”

She still remembered.

I took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it in my mouth. The familiar, sweet citrus flavor flooded my senses. My favorite.

By the time I came out in the fresh clothes, she had a glass of warm water and a toothbrush with toothpaste already on it waiting for me, just like she used to every morning after we were married. Except back then, I was the one who prepared it for her.

“Wash up and get some rest,” she said, her voice gentle. “I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight. If you need anything, just call out.”

“Are you and…”

Are you and Ethan together?

The words caught in my throat. I couldn’t ask. It didn’t matter. I’d find out soon enough.

That night, I slept like the dead, a deep, dreamless sleep that lasted until morning. When I woke up, a brand-new suit was laid out on the nightstand. It was the one I’d admired in a shop window fifteen years ago but could never afford.

The sofa was empty.

The company name. The orange candy. The suit I’d wanted for years.

Did she… did she still love me?

Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe what I saw at the mall wasn’t what it looked like. Maybe it was just a chance encounter.

A jolt of excitement shot through me. I had to find her, had to ask her, had to clear the air. If I could just understand, maybe we could fix this. Maybe she could be my Ava again.

I washed up quickly and opened the door to find Chelsea waiting for me.

“Good morning, Mr. Leo. Ms. Ava instructed me to take you to the restaurant to meet her once you were awake.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I spotted Ava as soon as we entered the dining area. But she wasn’t alone. Sitting across from her, bathed in the morning light, was Ethan.

Even after fifteen years, he was still just as handsome, with the same sunny, charming smile.