I learned the hard way—that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Charlie and I were inseparable.

We were such a perfect pair with such similar interests.

We’d been living together for a while when one day, he came home and announced, “My family is coming to visit.”

I was shocked. “When?”

“Next month. They’re going to adore you, love.”

Nervousness was the only thing I felt for the next week. When I came home from work one night, out of the blue, he started talking about marriage.

Marriage? Was this because of his family coming?

I felt sick. I couldn’t discuss marriage until he knew everything about me. “Charlie,” I interrupted as he was going on about how perfect we were for each other.

“Yes, love,” he said.

“I have something to tell you.”

Right then and there, with no preparation at all, I was forced to tell him I was unable to have children.

Charlie did his best to accept that hard truth but as the weeks passed leading to his family’s arrival, I could tell he wasn’t doing well processing the information. He was from a large family and I had come to learn he, too, wanted a large family.

All talk of marriage had ceased and he began to pull away from me. More time passed and we were no longer inseparable. I had thought about ending things before he eventually did, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t want to be alone, so I held on to hope. Hope that I shouldn’t have had.

Three days before his family was to arrive, I had to go out of town. It was a Wednesday and I had to travel from Paris to Monaco. The back-to-back meetings and seven-hour commute had me returning just in time to meet them on Saturday. But by some stroke of luck, on Friday morning I had finished my work and decided to hop on an earlier train.

Feeling stressed about our relationship, I knew Charlie and I needed to spend some time together and just talk before his family arrived, so I stopped at the store and bought what I needed to make a nice dinner. My arms were loaded with bags when I burst open the door to our flat and found it practically empty. Everything that Charlie had brought into our relationship was gone, and so was he. He’d left a note on the counter that said, I’m sorry. I just can’t.

Approaching my townhouse, it felt like déjà vu as I reached my door and swung it open. “Logan!” I yelled.

There was no answer.

I knew there wouldn’t be. The Rover wasn’t parked out front and the Porsche was gone. Still, who knew? Maybe something had changed.

Hopeful, I hurried up the stairs and into my room. “Logan,” I said hoarsely.

There was no answer.

That’s when I knew there wasn’t ever going to be one. His things that had been scattered around the room for weeks were gone. I’d told him the truth about myself and like Charlie, he couldn’t handle it and had packed up and left.

“Logan,” I whispered, and crumpled to my knees.

No tears fell, though. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew this was how things would end for us. There was no other way. Love really never would conquer all.

My father hadn’t talked much about the future with me, but he had told me I’d end up alone. Taking charge of my own life, I’d set that course all by myself, but then with Logan, things had changed and I thought maybe my father had been wrong. In that regard, he wasn’t.

That horrid memory started to materialize.

Huge and overpowering, he stood at my bedside. “I begged your mother not to go through with this, Gabrielle. I knew you weren’t a strong enough match. We should have waited for your sister to be cleared.”

“No, we couldn’t wait. The doctors all said time was running out.”

“Nonsense, they didn’t know what they were talking about. Your mother was doing fine. She would have held in there. She was tough, like me.”

He was delusional. Had he always been?

I think he refused to see my mother’s physical weaknesses. “You’re wrong,” I dared to say out loud.

His eyes narrowed on me and his jaw twitched. “No, Gabrielle, you were wrong for agreeing to do this. For encouraging your mother. It was selfish of you to want to take your sister’s place. Now, your mother is dead and I’ll be stuck with you forever.”

His words stung, but I kept on. “It wasn’t about me. She was my mother and I loved her. I only wanted her to get better.”

“And she was my wife.”

Anger roiled in my gut. He’d said that as if it trumped anything I’d said. “She was just another one of your soldiers. Someone to command. You never loved her,” I spat.

He grabbed my chin and jerked it toward him, slapping me hard. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You should have listened to me. And because you didn’t, she’s gone and you have no future. Don’t you see? No man will want you now.”

Although frightened, I wouldn’t let him see it. Instead, I jerked away. Even with tears in my eyes I refused to look anywhere but at him. In his face I saw many things, and I think he might have even had a tear in his own eye. We stared at each other until that one tear slid down his cheek. When I finally looked away, I wondered whether he was crying over my mother being gone or being stuck with me.

It was the only tear I ever saw him shed.

The shrill ring of my phone startled me. Tiny flicks of hope bloomed beneath my skin as I practically skidded for the purse that I’d thrown onto my bed. Fumbling to get it out, I couldn’t help but think I had been wrong about Logan. My hands were shaking as I looked at the screen. The name Michael, not Logan, was what flashed before me. And just like that, all of my hope diminished. But then, what had I thought? That it was Logan, and even though he’d cleared out of my life, he’d miraculously changed his mind?

And what, that I was going to be okay with that?

The thought weakened my knees because yes, I would have been.

“Hello,” I answered as I sat on the still tangled sheets where Logan and I had lain a mere twelve hours ago.

“Elle, hey, are you home?”

Five seconds of silence.

“Elle?”

I composed myself as best I could. “Yes, I am.”

“Great. I just picked Clementine up from Erin’s and she’s been asking for you.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Where’s Heidi?”

“I thought I told you. She quit. She was moving her things out today and I thought it would be best if we weren’t around.”

Concern for Clementine made my chest tighten. “Why? What happened?”

“It just wasn’t working out. The live-in thing isn’t for me. I have someone new starting Monday. I know it’s last minute, but it is Saturday. Any chance you haven’t eaten yet and would like to come over for a late dinner? We can talk about it then.”

The rain had kept me from taking Clementine on our Friday afternoon walk so I hadn’t seen her since Wednesday, and I did miss her. Besides, getting out of here wouldn’t be a bad idea. I tried to control the tremble in my voice. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t eaten. Dinner sounds great.” I had absolutely no appetite, but I did have a need to see Clementine. She was the only stable thing in my life.

“I’m about ten minutes away from your place. I can pick you up.”

“That would be great. I’ll be ready.”

“And Elle, if you haven’t arranged to purchase a new vehicle yet, you can take the Mercedes back until you do.”

Although I knew better than to rely on anyone but myself, I also knew right now that I shouldn’t turn it down. “I’d really appreciate that, Michael, but this time I promise it won’t be for long.”