The next morning, Seabrook wasn't the same.
The air carried a strange tension, whispers moving faster than the tide. Ariana could feel it in her bones like the calm before a storm.
When Ethan burst through the door of the cottage, his eyes were wild.
"Pack your things," he said, breathless.
Her pulse jumped. "What's going on?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he handed her a folded newspaper. His hands trembled.
Ariana's eyes fell on the headline and the world stopped.
"ARlANA COLE FOUND ALlVE BILLIONAIRE HEIR'S DAUGHTER RETURNS AFTER PLANE CRASH."
Her photo stared back at her polished, perfect, unreal.
It didn't feel like her, yet the name echoed deep inside her chest, shaking loose everything she thought she knew.
She looked up, her voice breaking. "That's… me?"
Ethan swallowed hard. "They've been searching for you for months."
Her breath hitched. "And you knew?"
He hesitated, guilt flashing across his face. "Not at first. But then… yes. I figured it out."
Ariana took a step back, her stomach twisting. "You lied to me?"
"No," he said softly. "I was protecting you. You said you didn't want to go back."
She stared at him, confused and trembling. "Why would I ever say that?"
Ethan's eyes softened, full of pain. "Because you told me that life made you feel like a prisoner. You said if you ever remembered it, you wanted to forget it again."
Her throat closed up. "And you believed me?"
"I loved you," he whispered. "And I thought keeping you safe here was what you wanted."
The words struck her like lightning love, truth, betrayal all tangled in one.
Tears blurred her vision as she sank onto the edge of the bed. "I don't even know who I am anymore, Ethan."
He knelt before her, his hand trembling as he brushed a tear from her cheek. "You're whoever you want to be, Ariana. Mira. Both. It doesn't matter to me."
She met his gaze, heart pounding. "It matters to me. Because if I'm her… I can't stay."
Ethan's expression broke a silent storm in his eyes.
Outside, she heard voices, car engines, and the sound of cameras clicking in the distance. The world was coming for her.
And with a trembling whisper, she said, "They found me."
Ethan took her hands, his voice low but steady. "Then promise me something."
She nodded weakly. "What?"
"Don't forget the part of you that smiled here. The part that laughed. The part that was free."
She wanted to tell him she wouldn't. She wanted to tell him she loved him. But before she could speak, the door burst open and men in black suits stepped inside.
"Miss Cole," one said firmly. "Your father's waiting."
Ariana's heart shattered as she looked at Ethan the man who'd saved her, loved her, and now had to let her go.
He whispered, "Go."
And as she stepped through the doorway, she felt the same chill she had before the crash like she was falling all over again.