Page 20 of Forever

We let go.

You know why?

Because at the end of the day, we do believe all of this will make us grow stronger. That the distance between us will make us cherish every second we have together and the love we share is fierce enough to withstand it all.

The distance.

The heartbreak.

The pain.

Because our love is forever.

*

ANABEL

Saying goodbye is not the only thing that’s hard. It’s also hard to return home. Or what I called home before I met William Price and he turned my life upside down.

The differences between our two worlds are as evident and as clear as day. It scares me, and it excites me. But more importantly, just as I’ve known since the moment I’ve met him, Will changed the world as I’ve known it and no matter what, nothing will ever be the same again.

“You’re yawing.” Valentina looks at me accusingly. “Again.”

But being the good friend she is, she signals the waiter to get us another round of coffee.

“Jet lag is killing me.”

“I think you spent more time traveling than you did at his place.”

“But it was worth it, Val.” I sigh contently when the smell of fresh coffee reaches my nostrils. There is nothing like coffee. My medicine for everything. “They won the freaking Super Bowl. How cool is that? What if it was the only chance he had and I missed it? No way.”

Val looks at me like I’ve grown another head and shakes her head in amusement. “Just the fact that you know what the Super Bowl is, is amazing in itself.”

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” I protest. “You should have seen me when I first came to the US.”

“I can imagine.” Val laughs, her blond curls bouncing with the movement. “I still can’t believe that the most clueless girl when it comes to sports landed herself a football player for a boyfriend.”

“The only thing you care about is his job and status,” I tease her. Valentina is a lot of things, but superficial isn’t one of them. I just enjoy getting the best of her.

“The fact that he’s good looking, smart, funny and kind doesn’t hurt, either.”

“I know,” I sigh again. This time, my content state and most likely dreamy gaze have nothing to do with coffee. If there’s one thing that I love more in this life than coffee, it’s William. “He’s perfect.”

“Please tell me there is another Will Price out there in the world. I would hate to have to steal your boyfriend just because he’s freaking amazing.”

“Hey!” I slap her hand on the table. “You keep your grubby paws off my guy, you hear me, missy? And anyway, don’t you have your own boyfriend?”

A dark shadow passes over her face only for a second. But I know her good enough to notice. I narrow my eyes at her.

“Is everything okay between you and Dominik?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” The wide smile that she forces on her face would look real to anyone but me. I know her better than that. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t kick him in the butt if a doppelgänger of your boyfriend existed somewhere in the world.”

I open my mouth to tell her there might be a close second when her phone chimes on the table, signaling she has a text message and averting our attention off the conversation.

“I have to go. They need me at the office.” She gets up in a hurry and gathers her stuff. “Rain check?”

“Yeah. See you later.”

My lips press together in a tight line as I watch her sashay away.

Val got away this time, but I’ll get to the bottom of it. Something’s going on with her and Dominik. I’m sure of it.

---