Olivia nodded her head. “I do now. I realize the pain that I cause other people when I leave. And I swear to you, I’m done running. I’m begging you, Alexander. You need to believe me. I am ready for this, whatever it is.”

Alexander stood up, needing to distance himself from her. “I believe you, but I’m not sure I’m ready. You hurt me, Olivia. You let me go, and I had no choice but to do the same. I moved on, just as you asked me to. It was hard but, each day, it became easier to get out of bed and think about you a little less. You never left my thoughts and I don’t think you ever will, but I can’t put myself through that again.”

Olivia stood up and walked toward Alexander. She grabbed his hands in hers, that spark of electricity back.

He stared down at her, wanting to not feel that anymore.

“I understand, Alexander. Just answer me one question and, I promise, I will be out of your life.” Looking deep into his eyes, she asked, “Are you happy?”

He broke his gaze from her, looking out the large expansive windows surrounding his office. He thought about the question for a while, Olivia waiting patiently for her answer. His eyes slowly returned to hers. “I am happy. Chelsea’s not perfect but, right now, she is what I need, Olivia.”

She brought her lips together, closed her eyes, and nodded. Releasing Alexander’s hands, she walked toward the door, turning to take one last look at him. She noticed that his shoulders had dropped. “I know this is good-bye then. Before I go, promise me one thing.” She paused. “Promise that you’ll never forget me.”

“Olivia, please,” Alexander said, taking a step toward her, his eyes pleading.

She held her hand up, stopping him from getting any closer. “Let me get this out, Alexander. I need to.”

He nodded, his heart unsure of whether he could listen to her words without breaking all over again.

“Promise me you’ll always remember me. Walking out on you, then coming back here and losing you all over again has been painful enough. But as long as it wasn’t for nothing, as long as it meant something, then maybe I can move on like you have.” She opened the door and turned around once more, taking one last look at the only man who really saw her and accepted her for who she was.

“I don’t think I can go on knowing that I mean nothing to you.” Her chin quivered and she stared deep into his eyes. “I think I could have loved you, Alexander.” She took a deep breath, holding his gaze. “I just thought you should know that.”

He watched Olivia walk out his door and sank down onto the couch, wondering whether he did the right thing.

As she walked down the hallway, she heard Alexander speak one last time. “You’ll always be my Eve, love.” She was about to turn around, wondering what he meant by that, when she ran right into someone coming through the security door.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Olivia said, raising her head, unable to believe her luck. “Oh, my. You must be Chelsea.”

“Yes, that’s me. Are you friends with Alex?” Her voice was high-pitched and annoying.

“Yeah. Olivia Adler.” She held her hand out.

Chelsea just stared at her. “You’re Olivia? Jeez, I thought he had better taste.”

“Listen, I’ve had a rough day. I just got my heart stomped by that man in there. You won, okay? You get to keep him. I hope you appreciate just how wonderful of a human being he is. I mean, really appreciate it. He deserves someone like that. He is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. He deserves to have every happiness so you better make him happy…”

Chelsea simply stared at Olivia as she took a deep breath, her lip trembling. She didn’t know why she had been so catty to her. Chelsea could tell that she was hurt and in pain. But if it meant that Alexander turned her away, Chelsea was okay with it because that could have easily been her pain.

Olivia lowered her voice, her chin quivering with emotion. “I wanted to be the one to do that, ya’ know? Make him happy. But I didn’t realize that soon enough. And now that I have, I guess it’s just too late. But it’s hard to tell your mind to forget about someone when your heart aches for that person.” She walked into the reception area, sobbing uncontrollably, desperately needing to get away from everything that reminded her of Alexander. She pushed the button for the elevator and got in before realizing that she had forgotten her coat. Fuck it, she thought. I don’t need it.

After watching Olivia practically run into the elevator, Chelsea turned to see Alexander standing inside the doorway to his office. He had overheard every word.

He was beginning to think he had made a terrible mistake.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

HELP MYSELF

“CHERYL, PLEASE TELL ME you have some good news,” Donovan said calmly into his phone. “It’s been nearly three months!”

Cheryl laughed. “Well, I have some for you. I just read Carter’s reports from last night. Olivia is back, and here’s the kicker… She just left Burnham’s office. I was in a briefing with him and stayed a few minutes after to discuss some things with a few of the other agents when I overheard her in the hallway. She stormed out of there pretty quickly.”

“Has she left the building?” Donovan asked, standing from his desk, his mind racing.

“Yes, sir. I grabbed some camera feeds and she was seen leaving the building on foot through the front doors, turning right onto State.”

He exhaled loudly, thankful that, after several quiet months, he finally had a location on the girl. He didn’t care that he had promised Simon that he could finish her off. She had disappeared and now that she was back, he needed to act. “I’m on it. Thank you, Cheryl. Keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir.”

He hung up and immediately dialed another number. “Grant. It’s me. It’s go time. She was seen leaving Burnham’s building on foot. Get on it,” he growled.

“Yes, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~

A gentle knock woke Alexander from his daydreaming. Chelsea was going on and on about some shopping spree she just went on and, of course, various wedding plans. All he could do was think about Olivia and whether he had made the right decision sending her away.

“Come in,” he said.

His secretary entered carrying a red belted coat. “Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but Miss Adler left without this. I tried to stop her, but didn’t get to her in time. I apologize.”

He grabbed the coat from her. “Thank you. I’ll make sure it is returned to her.” His secretary turned and left. He looked out the windows and noticed that snow was falling from the sky.