Page 116 of The Quiet After The Fall

He walks off toward the last of the stragglers, leaving the three of us left standing in what’s left of the reception—overturned chairs, abandoned plates, musicians packing up gear by the dance floor.

Sawyer’s the one who finally breaks the silence. “So he ratted on Moretti to save himself. That’s why he was hiding out.”

“Looks like it.”

“That’s so...typical of him.” She shakes her head. “If he’s going down, he’ll drag everyone else with him.” Then she seems to remember Ella and goes to her side, squeezing her shoulder. “I’m sorry about your dad. I…know what it’s like.”

To watch a man you love and look up to be taken away in cuffs is what she didn’t say.

“It’s alright,” she says in a hollow voice. “It’s not the first time.”

I realize there’s so much I don’t know about this woman I’ve been with for almost a year. Maybe I should have gone to her about her father sooner, avoided this whole thing. I shake my head. There’s no point in thinking about what ifs now.

I take both their hands again. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. We can figure the rest of the shit out later.”

“Wait,” Ella says, pulling her hand free. She slides my grandmother’s engagement ring and the fake wedding band off her finger, passing them over to me. “Don’t need these now.”

I let out a short laugh at the same time Sawyer squeezes my hand. “Guess not.” I pocket them and take Ella’s hand again. “Thanks.”

We walk out past the wreckage of our fake wedding, past the empty chairs and the trampled flowers, and for the first time all day, nobody’s watching us. No cameras. No guests. No fathers and their agendas.

Just the three of us, walking away from all of it together. And for a second, I swear I can feel Owen beside me, patting me on the back, watching me take care of both his girls, and I know he’d be proud of what we’ve done.

Chapter 32

Sawyer

Two months later

Autumn’s turned Ashford into an idyllic haven for New York City tourists. Maples line Main Street in every shade of orange and red, pumpkins and mums sit outside each doorstep, and the air finally carries that crisp bite I’ve craved for months.

I love summer, always have. Mostly because of the traditions it used to bring—time at Lake Mercer, Wonder World, weeks with Knox and Owen.

But autumn has my entire heart.

It’s been two months since the wedding charade. Two months since the arrests. Somehow, I kept it together through the hectic first week following it all.

Turns out you can survive almost anything if you’ve already survived the worst thing.

Richard’s out on bail, but on house arrest at the lake house while he awaits the trial. They said he was a flight risk…they were probably right. His lawyers have been filing motion after motion that my own legal team assures me won’t matter in the end. The evidence is clear, and more surfaced once Victoria started cooperating. Ratting on Moretti may have bought him less time and a better cell someday, but not freedom. He’ll pay for his sins.

Moretti’s case is messier, tangled up with federal prosecutors who apparently have their own agenda. We’re not as privy to any of that information, but Knox seems to think he’s going away for a long time. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see Moretti’s face when Ella told him the wedding was a ruse to pull Richard out of hiding and get him off Knox’s back. According to her, she let him have some choice words and said if he ever wanted to see her again, he’d forget about everyone in Ashford. She assured us that we were safe.

My father has a hearing next month and I’m hoping an early release is on the table. I want to make up for lost time…learn to forgive. It won’t be easy, but nothing is.

Forgiveness is a strange thing. It feels like such a hurdle until you realize bit by bit, one day at a time, that you’re letting go of anger and hurt you never thought you would.

I still think about Ella sometimes and hope she’s doing okay. She moved out of Ashford, down to the city, I think. If she hadn’t agreed to the wedding ruse, I don’t know if any of this would have played out the way it did. To trust Gia, a complete stranger, and be a part of a plan she had no part in making took a lot of faith. And I know some part of her did want to marry Knox for real in the beginning. For her to let Gia fudge the paperwork, and her to go along with the whole thing to trap Richard…it was a huge ask. She gave up more than anyone realized to help a man who didn’t love her.

I don’t know if I’ve ever properly forgiven her for Owen, but I’m not sure I need to anymore. Owen forgave people faster than anyone I’ve ever known. Maybe some of that rubbed off on me. Plus, I forgave Knox…who probably deserved it the least.

Ella will be okay. Someone like her will come out of all this stronger. I have to believe that.

“You coming or did you want to go take the test again?” Gia bumps my shoulder as we push through the double doors into the parking lot, both of us squinting against the sun.

“Sorry. Spaced out.”

“I feel you.” She adjusts her bag on her shoulder. “Contract terminology is evil.”