He meant everything to her. Three years later and she'd still do anything to keep him safe, sacrifice everything to protect him- even if that meant keeping him at an arm's length.
She was the one person who truly knew him. The one person he'd choos...
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A piece of her heart would always, always remain with Rhett. One month, two years, eleven years— it didn't matter. No amount of time could pass that would change the fact that he was her first love. The first person she'd opened her heart to and given her everything to. And that one little piece, it would always belong to him.
That's why it was hard for her to move on. For her to not feel guilty about the way her heart was feeling. Starting over meant reopening the wounds she'd so gingerly healed the past two years. It meant moving on because she had to, not because she wanted to.
Lily let out a breath, opening her eyes. They flickered down to the picture resting on her nightstand as her fingers curled around the frame. "I really wish you were here." She almost laughed at what she'd said. "What am I saying? If you were here, I wouldn't be doing this."
It was silent.
Her head tilted, dark eyes remaining on the picture of Rhett. "I miss you, baby." She murmured, voice barely audible in the reticence of her room. "It should be you. It should be you."
Silence.
She set the frame back onto the wood, forcing a breath out. "I will always love you, but I have to let you go. I don't want to, but I have to." Lily could hardly breathe as she slipped Aurelia's ring off of her finger and placed it next to Rhett's picture. "Goodbye."
The only word that could even come close to describing how she felt as she got up and left was guilt. Guilt for moving on. Guilt for betraying her family in a sense. They weren't even truly hers. Who was she to move on from their son, their brother? It didn't feel right. Despite the rising feelings in her chest, it all felt wrong.
Sawyer's words from yesterday flashed through her mind, but only momentarily. She pushed his blessing down, burying it under her guilt. He was wrong. She should feel remorse. She should feel like it was unfair to forget about the father of her son. He was more than the short time he'd been given, so why did it feel like barely any time had passed at all?
Lily swallowed down her contrition, forcing liquid over the rough patch in her throat. She could do this. She could do this. Without waiting another second—she'd probably back out if she did—Lily opened the door to the inn.
As she stepped inside, various conversations and happy chatter hit her eardrums. There were people all around her, sitting at different tables as they ate and talked. There were friends and families and couples, all being taken in by her as she stood in the entrance. She didn't understand it, but something about how normal things felt made her feel a little less ashamed of where she was.
Her gaze eventually found Hunter, dark eyes softening at the sight of him. His head lifted as he noticed her, blue eyes lighting up. He immediately stood, taking the remaining steps to her from where he'd been sitting. Either side of his mouth curled up as he reached her.
