LOVE AND TREASURE | ❝I still love you, Ben after all this time apart.❞
━ IN WHICH Clara Bass is pulled back into the world of treasure hunting through her ex-boyfriend and this a new love grows between them.
| Clara Bass' Standalone Book
| Clara Bas...
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▌Prologue ─ The Breakup ▌
━━━━━ CLARA PACED AROUND the apartment that belonged to her her partner Ben Gates. This was going to be a hard break up. She knew that much. She knew it because she loved Ben more than anything, but she couldn't go on anymore on just finding clue after clue. It was tiring her out and she was ready for the next part of her life. But she wasn't so sure that Ben was ready for that next step in their relationship, which is why she had to talk to him.
Clara had called her brother James to talk to him about what she wanted to do. He and his wife Sarah brought their kids over and while the kids were playing she had talked to them about what she had been feeling. She was lucky though Ben was still out searching for another clue that would lead to the next part of the treasure so when they had the talk he had yet to come home.
Both James and Sarah told her that she needed to do what was best for her and if Ben couldn't understand that than it was time to let the relationship go. That was what she dreaded, the blonde dreaded letting the relationship go. Ben was the absolute love of her life, when she looked at her future she saw him in it. She saw kids in her future too and she wasn't sure that Ben wanted that future.
He was more focused on discovering the treasure that his family had been looking for, for decades. After much of a struggle to go over the pros and cons and fight with herself about what was best she had come to a conclusion. She knew she had to end the relationship. Yes, in the beginning of their relationship it was fun, searching for clues to find the treasure was fun. But at the end of the day Clara had to be a responsible adult.
She had accepted a job as a teacher again, making a little more than what she had been before she took a leave of absence. And she had been brought on to work with antique documents, she had gained another friend, one she had also confined in and asked for her opinion about her relationship with Ben. Abigail had been nothing but honest with her and told her that if she feels that way than she needs to end it.
Abigail had never met Ben but she didn't really like the way that he treated her best friend, just from what Clara had told her. It wasn't anything bad, but there was some neglect in the relationship. Abigail could see that Clara felt that she wasn't loved enough by the man she deemed the love of her life. When keys jingled in the door she knew that Ben was finally here and that it was time for the confrontation that she didn't want to do.
Clara continued to pace around in the apartment, she had bags packed up and ready to go. She was going to stay with Abigail until she had found her own place. She didn't want to stay in the apartment that had so many good memories of her and Ben in them.
"Honey, you won't believe-" Ben came to a stop in the living room, his eyes falling onto Clara's bags that were stacked on top of each other. "What's going on? Why are your things out here?" Clara could see the confusion that was running onto Ben's face as he looked at the bags, then at her. Clara placed a sad look on her face, as she continued to stare back at Ben.
"I can't do this anymore, Ben." The words came out of her mouth and she instantly regretted them. She had never meant to break his heart but she knew that this breakup was going to break his heart. It was breaking her heart too.
"What do you mean? What are you talking about, Clara?" More questions were coming out of his mouth that what Clara had prepared herself for.
"This!" She said motioning towards herself and then him. "I can't do this relationship anymore. I can't stand by you and watch you continue to find clue that are just leading you nowhere." She paused and released as sigh, the blonde walked over to him and placed her soft hand onto his cheek caressing it softly. She was fighting back the tears but she knew that they were going to break just by the way Ben had been staring at her.
"Please." It came out of his mouth weakly, and broke her even more.
"I'm sorry, Ben. I can't, I want a family, I know you're not ready for that. And I know you're not going to give up on finding the treasure. I wish you the best I really do, and I do love you more than anything. But I can't stay in this relationship when I feel neglected half the time because you're out searching for the next part of the puzzle. It's breaking my heart, Ben. I can't handle it anymore, I'm sorry."
"Please, please don't go. We can still talk about this, Clara."
"No matter what you say, nothing is going to change my mind. I need to move on with my life and if you aren't ready for that part of our life then I can't be in this relationship anymore. I'm always going to love you Ben, you're my forever. But I can't be a part of this life that you've built for yourself."
Clara heisted for a moment, she leaned up on her toes and gave Ben a final kiss on the lips. It was a soft but sweet kiss that Ben would remember for the next few years. When she pulled away she walked over to her bags and grabbed them. She left her key to the apartment on the table and exited out of it heading down the steps to her car. After putting her bags in the car she waved goodbye to Ben who was at the window looking down at her. He watched from a distance as she got in the car and drove away.
