It Ends with Us

more?’ ”
She grabs my hands and holds them while I cry. “Don’t be like me, Lily.
I know that you believe he loves you, and I’m sure he does. But he’s not
loving you the right way. He doesn’t love you the way you deserve to be
loved. If Ryle truly loves you, he wouldn’t allow you to take him back. He
would make the decision to leave you himself so that he knows for a fact
he can never hurt you again. That’s the kind of love a woman deserves,
Lily.”
I wish with all my heart that she didn’t learn these things from
experience. I pull her to me and hug her.
For whatever reason, I thought I would have to defend myself to her
when I came over here. Not once did I think I would come over here and
learn from her. I should know better. I thought my mother was weak in
the past, but she’s actually one of the strongest women I know.
“Mom?” I say, pulling back. “I want to be you when I grow up.”
She laughs and brushes the hair from my face. I can see in the way she
looks at me that she’d trade spots with me in a heartbeat. She’s feeling
more pain for me in this moment than she ever felt for herself. “I want to
tell you something,” she says.
She reaches for my hands again.
“The day you gave your father’s eulogy? I know you didn’t freeze up,
Lily. You stood at that podium and refused to say a single good thing

---

about that man. It was the proudest I have ever been of you. You were the
only one in my life who ever stood up for me. You were strong when I was
scared.” A tear falls from her eye when she says, “Be that girl, Lily. Brave
and bold.”

---

Chapter Thirty-Three
“What am I going to do with three car seats?”
I’m sitting on Allysa’s couch, staring at all the stuff. She threw me a
baby shower today. My mother came. Ryle’s mother even flew in for it, but
she’s in the guest room sleeping off her jet lag now. The girls from the
floral shop came and a few friends from my old job. Even Devin came. It
was actually a lot of fun, despite the fact that I’ve been dreading it for the
past several weeks.
“That’s why I told you to start a registry, so none of the gifts would be
duplicated,” Allysa says.
I sigh. “I guess I can have Mom return hers. She’s bought me enough
stuff as it is.”
I stand up and start gathering all the gifts. Marshall already said he’d
help me carry them down to my apartment, so Allysa helps me throw
everything inside trash bags. I hold them open while she picks everything
up from the floor. I’m almost thirty weeks pregnant now, so she doesn’t
get the easier job of holding open the trash.
We have everything bagged up and Marshall is on his second trip down
to my apartment when I open Allysa’s front door, prepared to drag a trash
bag full of gifts to the elevator. What I’m not prepared for is Ryle, who is
standing on the other side of the door looking back at me. We both look
equally as shocked to see each other, considering we haven’t spoken since
our fight three months ago.
This encounter was bound to happen, though. I can’t be best friends
with my husband’s sister and live in the same building as him without
eventually running into him.
I’m sure he knew I was having the shower today since his mother flew in
for it, but he still looks a little surprised when he sees all the stuff behind
me. It makes me wonder if him showing up just as I’m leaving is a
coincidence or a suitable convenience. He looks down at the trash bag I’m
holding and he takes it from my hands. “Let me get this.”

---

I let him. He takes that bag and another one down to the apartment
while I gather my things. He and Marshall are walking back inside the
apartment as I’m preparing to walk out.
Ryle grabs the last bag of stuff and begins to head toward the front door
again. I’m following behind him when Marshall gives me a silent look,
asking me if I’m okay with Ryle going downstairs with me. I nod. I can’t
keep avoiding Ryle forever, so now is as good a time as any to discuss
where we go from here.
It’s only a few floors between their apartment and mine, but the
elevator ride down with Ryle feels like the longest it’s ever taken. I catch
him staring at my stomach a couple of times and it makes me wonder how
it must feel, going three months without seeing me pregnant.
My apartment door is unlocked, so I push it open and he follows me
inside. He takes the last of the stuff to the nursery and I can hear him
moving things around, opening boxes. I stay in the kitchen and clean
things that don’t even need cleaning. My heart is in my throat, knowing
he’s in my apartment. I don’t feel scared of him in this moment. I just feel
nervous. I wanted to be more prepared for this conversation because I
absolutely hate confrontation. But I know we need to discuss the baby and
our future. I just don’t want to. Not yet, anyway.
He walks down the hallway and into the kitchen. I catch him looking at
my stomach again. He glances away just as quickly. “Do you want me to
assemble the crib while I’m here?”
I should probably say no, but he’s half responsible for the child growing
inside of me. If he’s going to offer physical labor I’m going to take it, no
matter how angry I still am at him. “Yeah. That would be a big help.”
He points toward the laundry room. “Is my toolbox still in there?”
I nod and he heads toward the laundry room. I open the refrigerator
and face it so I don’t have to watch him walk back through the kitchen.
When he’s finally in the nursery again, I close the refrigerator and press
my forehead against it as I grip the handle. I breathe in and out as I try to
process everything that’s happening inside of me right now.
He looks really good. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, I forgot how
beautiful he is. I have an urge to run down the hallway and jump into his
arms. I want to feel his mouth on mine. I want to hear him tell me how
much he loves me. I want him to lie down next to me and put his hand on
my stomach like I’ve imagined him doing so many times.

---

It would be so easy. My life would be so much easier right now if I would
just forgive him and take him back.
I close my eyes and repeat the words my mother said to me. “If Ryle truly