The limousine hummed as it carried Ariana through the city she once knew.
Tall buildings gleamed like crystals, luxury shops lined the streets, and reporters crowded every corner.
She felt like a stranger in her own life.
Ethan's hand brushed hers one last time as they approached the mansion gate.
"You don't have to do this alone," he whispered.
She shook her head. "I have to. I need to know who I really am… even if it breaks me."
Inside, her father stood waiting tall, imposing, yet his eyes softened the moment they met hers.
"Ariana," he said, voice calm but filled with unspoken emotion. "You're safe. You're home."
Home. The word felt heavy. Everything she'd lived, laughed, and loved in Seabrook pressed against the world she had returned to.
Her father guided her through the house a mansion of marble and gold and everywhere she looked, she saw reminders of a life she couldn't remember.
"You must be hungry," he said. "We've arranged everything. Your room, your wardrobe, everything you need."
Ariana nodded, but her thoughts were with Ethan. The man who had saved her. The man who had loved her without knowing her past.
Later, alone in her room, she touched the locket at her neck a small anchor to the world she had chosen before.
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
She could hear her father's voice calling her, asking questions about how she felt, what she remembered, but her mind kept drifting back to Ethan.
Finally, she whispered to herself:
"I can't go back there… not fully. I belong to him. To us."
Determined, she slipped on a simple coat and walked through the garden to the gate.
The car was waiting, but so was Ethan standing under the trees, eyes wide, hope and fear battling inside them both.
"Ariana…" he breathed.
She ran into his arms without hesitation.
"You didn't leave me, did you?" she whispered.
"Never," he replied. "I couldn't."
Her heart raced. The world around them the mansion, her father, the reporters seemed to blur. All that mattered was the man holding her.
"I choose… us," she said, pressing her forehead to his.
Ethan smiled through his own tears. "Then let's go home… together."
For the first time, Ariana felt a peace that wasn't tied to wealth, status, or expectation. She had made her choice.
She had chosen love. Freedom. Happiness.