Audrey's POV:

I stepped out of the elevator onto my floor, my mind still spinning from Caspar's parting words.

*Try to like me a little bit.*

The memory of his voice followed me like a persistent shadow.

As I rounded the corner to my hallway, I spotted a familiar figure leaning against my door.

Clara stood there scrolling through her phone, looking considerably more cheerful than when I'd last seen her.

"Clara?" I called out, quickening my pace. "What are you doing here?"

She looked up, her face brightening.

"Audrey! Finally! I've been waiting for almost an hour."

Her eyes narrowed slightly with curiosity."Where have you been this early?"

Thinking about the fact that I spent the night with Caspar in the same bed last night, I suddenly felt a wave of guilt.

"Oh, just... handling some business," I saidI vaguely, adjusting my purse strap.

"Nothing important. What brings you by? Is everything okay?"

The deflection worked.

Clara's expression immediately shifted from curious to excited.

"I have amazing news," she gushed, practically bouncing on her toes.

"Finley and I sorted everything out. We're getting married in Chicago next month!"

I raised an eyebrow, unable to resist teasing her.

"Wait a minute-wasn't it just the other day you were crying about being a burden to him and wondering if you should call off the engagement?"

Clara's cheeks flushed pink as she playfully swatted my arm.

"Oh, stop it! Don't remind me of that embarrassing meltdown.We were being completely ridiculous."

"So?" I pressed, genuinely curious as I led her into my living room."What happened?"

Clara sank onto my couch with a contented sigh.

"It was all a massive misunderstanding."

"After our talk, I decided that short pain is better than long pain, so I went straight to Finley's apartent that morning to confront him."

"Just showed upat his door?" I asked, impressed by her boldness.

"Exactly! He had just woken up when I arrived-still in his pajamas, hair all messy."

She laughed at the memory.

"He looked completely confused to see me standing there. I didn't give

him time to think. Ijust blurted out. 'Are you reluctant to marry me?Because if you are, I'll go back right now and tell my family to cancel everything. They can arrange another marriage for me, and you'll be free."

"Wow." I said, sitting across from her. "That's... direct."

"It gets better," Clara continued, tucking her legs beneath her.

"Finley just stared at me with this completely bewildered expression and asked, 'Do you have someone else you want to marry?' Like he genuinely thought I was looking for an excuse to end things!"

"What did you say?" I leaned forward, caught up in her story.

Clara covered her face with her hands, peeking through her fingers with an embarrassed smile.

"Something snapped in me. All those years of hiding my feelings, trying to be cool and sophisticated-gone in an instant. I practically shouted,'The person I've always wanted to marry is you,you idiot! It's always been you!'

"And what did Finley do?" I asked, completely invested in the story now."I can't imagine he just stood there."

"He actually did!" Clara laughed.

"For about ten seconds, he just stared at me like I'd grown a second head.Then he stuttered, 'B-but you rejected me. Years ago, when I told you how I felt..."

"Wait, he confessed before?" I interrupted, confused.

Clara nodded vigorously.

"That's where it gets ridiculous. We sat down and finally had a real

conversation. Turns out, five years ago, he sent me this beautiful handwritten letter confessing his feelings. The letter only had my name on it, no sender information."

"Let me guess," I said, beginning to see where this was going. "You thought it was from someone else?"

"Exactly!" Clara threw up her hands.

"There was this guy in my art history class who kept flirting with me,and I was absolutely not interested. I assumed the letter was from him and sent back a very firm rejection without ever opening it!" She shook her head in disbelief.

I felt a pang of sadness for them.

"Five years... that's so much time lost to a simple misunderstanding."I reached over and squeezed her hand."

"I know," Clara sighed, but her smile quickly returned.

"But we still have so much time ahead of us. When people truly love each other, finding each other is what matters-not how long it took."

Her eyes softened with affection.

"Besides, even though we're engaged, we decided to start with love."

I was genuinely happy for her despite my own emotional turmoil.

"That's wonderful! I'm so glad you two worked things out."

Clara suddenly sat up straighter, her eyes brightening.

"Oh! I almost forgot the whole reason I came here!"

She grabbed both my hands in hers.

"Audrey, will you be my bridesmaid? Please say yes. I can't imagine anyone else standing beside me on my big day."

"I'd be honored," I said, squeezing her hands. "Of course I will."

Chicago. Away from New York.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Clara clapped her hands together."And guess what else I found out?"

She leaned in conspiratorially.

"Finley is actually part of the Cole family. He uses his mother's surname professionally because he wanted to make it in the art world without his family connections."

"The Cole family?" I repeated, remembering the name from somewhere.

"Yes! And here's where it gets interesting."

She lowered her voice, thoug we were alone in my apartment.

"Caspar Thornton is close with the Coles. Apparently, his mother and Finley's mother were good friends."

My heart skipped a beat. "Caspar will be there?"

"Mmm-hmm." Clara nodded, seemingly oblivious to my sudden tension.

"And get this-Caspar has an alias too. Something to do with his mother's side of the family. Samuel or Simon... something like that."

The room seemed to tilt slightly.

"Samuel?" I echoed, trying to keep my voice steady.