Chapter 32

• Zayne
• “Wow,” Maija gasps as she looks down at Scottish Highlands from our helicopter. A small smile cracks my lips seeing the pure joy on her face. At least she’s happy; this trip will be worth it if it makes her this happy. The pain in my chest surfaces, threatening to ruin the moment. I close my eyes and take a deep breath waiting for it to pass. It has been two days since we visited the Onsen, and I still have not recovered from our conversation. Overhearing that she loved me two years ago crushed me; the girl I've been in love with, the girl I can’t let go of, loved me.  However, after talking to her, I realized she never felt love but pity shattering me completely. Over the past two years, there were countless times I wanted her to show and tell me how much she misses me and how much she loves me. Now that hope no longer lingered in my heart, she had experienced what she felt was love. And she was over it and me.  She is over me, but I can’t get over her. That wasn’t love; it couldn’t be. If it were, she would still be in love with me. If it were love, she would have chosen me. I realized then that her heart would never belong to me.After leaving the hotel room, I wanted to run and nurse my pain with a bottle while exploring the peaks and valleys of other women. But my legs didn’t carry me to a bar; instead, I found myself going home because I remember I promised her I would never leave her again. No matter how hurt I am, no matter how hard it will be not to kiss her, touch her, and love her, I can’t run. So, I went back to the mansion and confirmed the details of the trip I planned for her.
• “Oh my,” she gasps again, and this time I think she is going to cry as she looks down at the castle I rented for the trip—a Victorian castle with 16 bedrooms, surrounded by nothing but empty fields and vast highlands. I glance at her; she isn’t crying; instead, she has a huge smile plastered on her face as she looks out. Yeah, that smile makes all the pain worth it.