Epilogue: Caleb's Perspective

Heard Irene was single. Took a half-day to celebrate and plot my return strategy.

Then, news she was coming overseas?

Grabbed a juicy contract and went straight to Liam.

Liam: Ultimate Protector of Irene.

Knew about my crush on Irene years ago. Mocked me endlessly.

My razor-sharp tongue? Forged in the fires of his sarcasm.

Took beatings, kept getting up. Call it character development.

Here's what nobody knew: I rehearsed.

The day she arrived, I rehearsed my "casual, friendly, not-at-all-desperately-in-love" face seventeen times in the mirror.

Liam watched from the doorway. "You look constipated."

"I'm going for approachable."

"You're going for restraining order."

She walked through my door with one suitcase and eyes that had been crying for weeks. And every rehearsed word evaporated.

I said: "Guest room's down the hall. Wi-Fi password is on the fridge. Don't touch my coffee machine."

Smooth. Real smooth.

But she laughed. A tiny, exhausted laugh. And I thought: I will spend the rest of my life earning bigger versions of that laugh.

The months she lived with me were the best and worst of my life. Best because she was there. Worst because she was there and I couldn't tell her.

Every morning: "Coffee's ready." (I love you.)

Every dinner: "I tried cooking. Ordered backup." (I love you.)

Every night: "Goodnight, Irene." (I love you, I love you, I love you.)

When Lucas showed up, I wanted to throw him into the sun. But Irene handled it herself. Watched from the window as she sent him away without flinching.

That's when I knew: she didn't need me to protect her. She needed someone who respected that she could protect herself.

So I waited. And when she was ready, she chose me.

Not because I was the safe choice. Not because I was convenient. But because, in her words: "You're the only person who saw me at my worst and treated me exactly the same."

She was wrong, of course.

I treated her better. Because at her worst, she was still the bravest person I'd ever seen at a buffet line in a blue dress.

And she always will be.