Soundtrack:

MSK by Yellowcard – when Chance and Candi talk

When I Was Younger by Liz Lawrence – when Ava and Candi talk

The Mess I Made by Parachute - the end of the chapter

"What?" he whispered breathlessly. The wind was chilly and the grounds were silent. It was just him and I in that moment. It was funny how one sentence could pack such a deadly punch.

"This isn't how I wanted to tell you," I whispered, shaking my head. My throat felt like it had a wad of cotton stuck in it, and my eyes stung with the need to cry.

He looked down at my stomach, an unreadable look in his eyes. Instinctively, I felt my hand come to rest on the blue satin of my dress. I'd gained a little weight, but it wasn't noticeable yet. The morning sickness had kicked in, but no one had noticed my aversion to alcohol and bloated stomach yet.

"How?" he whispered, shaking his head. "It's not possible."

"I didn't think so, either," I whispered. "But it's true. I took the pregnancy test twice. I'm pregnant."

"How far?" he asked, and I could hear his voice breaking. It looked like his whole world was crashing down around him.

"Six weeks," I replied. "I only found out two weeks ago. Chance, I'm sorry."

He ran a hand through his hair and dragged his eyes over the surroundings. He opened his mouth and closed it, obviously unsure what to say to this admission.

"That's why we can't be together, Chance," I told him. "I'm having Will's baby, and I love him so much. This is my life now. And that can't change. Everything is finally falling into place for me after so long of having no idea what I was going to do. I'm going to be a mother and a great wife."

"Is that what you want?" he replied. "Will and his baby and England?"

I sighed, and finally nodded. "Yeah. I think so."

"Does Will know?"

I shook my head. "No. I was going to tell him at the wedding."

"What about Ava?"

"Not yet."

He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, hitting the ground squarely. I sat down beside him, and he dropped his head into his hands. "No."

"I've been thinking about it a lot, and I get it now," I told him. "You and Zoëy and the baby. Why you couldn't tell me that she existed. I was so blinded by anger when I found out that you hid the truth from me that I never stopped to see your point of view. If I lost the baby now, I would never want to tell anyone. It'd break me."

"It did break me," Chance replied. "And it's the reason I lost you."

I looked up at the velvet expanse of sky and the smattering of stars that lightly dusted it like icing sugar.

"Chance?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, and I felt one tear slip out of my eye.

He chuckled. "Sorry for what? For getting pregnant? It's not your fault. Well... at least it isn't all your fault."

"No, not about that," I whispered, shaking my head. "I look back at myself back in America, and I realize now how proud I was of myself. I had too much pride. And there was something I never told you. I never said I was worry. I never said I was sorry that you lost the baby or Zoëy. I never apologized for acting the wrong way. I never should've broken up with you because of it. You were hurting, and I never helped you. I'm so sorry."

"I should've told you," Chance replied, shaking his head. "I loved you, and I never told you the most important chapter of my story. Maybe if I'd told you, it'd be my baby you're carrying."

"Maybe some things are meant to be."

"I always thought we were," he told me.

"No, we're not, Chance," I replied, turning to him. "You're right. It was an important chapter of a completely different story. But we had our own story. And it ended the day I got on that plane and went to England. We can't get that back now. I have a new life here. A baby that's going to need a mother and a father. Will needs me. And I need him."

"Then I guess this changes everything," he replied, standing up.

"Chance..." I whispered, scrambling to my feet.

"I gotta go, Candice," he told me.

"I..."

"Please, don't say anything else," Chance whispered. "Please. I can't handle it right now. Goodbye, Candice."

It wasn't a goodnight, or a see you later. It was a goodbye. It was final. It was over.

"Oh, my God," I whispered, leaning against the wall. Now that the words were out in the world, I couldn't take them back. I was pregnant. It was real and tangible now.

And because of that I had inadvertently lost someone I had never meant to hurt.

Dessert was over by the time I reentered the room, and Ava came rushing over to me. She wore a satin emerald gown and black heels, and had a murderous look on her face. "We held off dessert for you, but when you didn't come back and they started to melt we had to serve them. You missed the desserts, Candi! Do you know how ironic that is?"

I turned to look at her, and immediately her face crumpled as she saw the tears in my eyes. "Oh, my God, Candi, what's wrong?"

"Chance," I whispered. "He's gone."

"Gone where?" she replied. "Was the whole rehearsal dinner too much for him? I'll talk to him tonight."

"No, Ave, I mean he's gone. As in he's probably already at the apartment packing to go back to America."

"You mean leave?" she replied, frowning. "No way. He wouldn't do that."

"He said so himself. Told me it hurt too much. Said goodbye."

"But..." she whispered. "He can't leave. Why...?"

"I never should have told him," I whispered. "Why'd I tell him?"

I hadn't told anyone yet for fear of changing things, and now it had. Maybe I could have talked with Chance and sorted things out, but I realized now I'd really broken his heart and lost him the second I mentioned the baby. Why the hell had I told him like that?

"Told him what?" Ava whispered. "What's going on?"

I breathed out and rubbed my forehead.
"I'm tired. This has been beautiful, Ave, and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I really need to get home."

"Can someone just tell me what the hell is going on?" she replied. "We're swerving from Chance leaving to telling him things to being tired. Give me a straight answer, woman. God, your brain is more fried than a pregnant woman's!"

"I really need to go home," I replied. "We need to get to Chance."

Ava turned back to the crowd and began asking everyone politely to leave, claiming that the 'bride was unwell and needed to get home.'

Will rushed over to me and put his hands on my arms, staring into my eyes in an adorably concerned way. "Are you okay?"

"I just really want to go home," I replied. "I'm not feeling well."

This was not a lie at all. I was beginning to get a headache from crying, and every time I thought about Chance a fresh wave of nausea washed over me.

"Okay," he replied, nodding. "As soon as everyone clears out I'll drive you, Ava and Jamie back home. I'll go bring the car around."

He hurried off, leaving me alone once again. But I wasn't alone for very long, as soon Jamie joined me. I was grateful for that. I didn't want to be alone anymore.

"I heard about Chance," Jamie murmured, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "I can't get him on his cell. Was he okay?"

I shook my head, and with every word I verged dangerously on the edge of blubbering. "No. I'm scared, Jamie. He was so upset. I mean, how is he going to get to the airport? With what money is he going to get back home? I can't believe he's going!"

Jamie wrapped an arm around me. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

Everyone began to leave in a steady stream, bidding me congratulations and telling me they'd see me at the wedding. Eventually the place emptied out, and once we'd paid the people holding the service, we all made our way home in silence.

I stared out the window and watched the passing city lights, wondering where Chance was right now. How he was doing and how he was feeling. More than anything I wanted to talk to him and straighten everything out.

Once he'd pulled into the lot, Will stepped out of the car and helped me out, his eyes holding a note of concern with every step. We entered the building and rode the elevator up in practically silence. By now I wondered if someone had filled Will in on what was happening with Chance's disappearance, or if he was clueless. When things finally slowed down for a second, I would tell him everything. But for now I had to focus on getting Chance back and talking to him about everything. I couldn't leave things the way they were. I just couldn't.

Will walked us up to the apartment and when I'd unlocked the door and made to go inside, he stopped me. "Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Will asked.

I shook my head and smiled. "No, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow, though?"

He nodded. "Okay. Goodnight, love."

He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips and then bid us goodbye. When we made it into our apartment, one rush through it proved that Chance had already packed and left, leaving no note or message behind. It was as if he'd never really been there in the first place.

"I can't believe it," Jamie whispered, running a hand through his curls. "I can't believe he left! I'm gonna see if I can find him at the airport."

"Jamie, it's late," Ava replied, turning around to him with a look of shock. "You can't just leave!"

"What do you suggest doing?" Jamie replied. "Our best friend is about to catch a flight back to America without thinking it through. Where's he going to go?"

Ava put up little argument after that, considering he raised a fair point. The airport wasn't really far from here, and he took off in search of his friend. Ava and I offered to come, but he wanted to do it alone, thinking Chance might listen to his best friend. He wanted Ava to stay here and look after me, considering I was 'sick'.

Once he left, the apartment was quiet, and Ava coaxed me into having a shower. I nodded and showered quickly and efficiently. When I came out, Ava had dimmed the lights, lit some candles and produced two glasses of champagne.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" I asked, walking towards where she sat on the couch. She had changed out of her formal attire and into a comfortable pair of sweats, and had combed her hair out.

"Why, is it working?" she replied, and held out a glass for me. Unsure of what else to do, I took it off her and sat down on the lounge.

"Now, tell me what's wrong," she said, curling her legs beneath her and patting mine. "Auntie Ava is open for advice."

I wanted to open up and tell her more than anything, but I was afraid mentioning the pregnancy was going to change things between us, and I didn't want to push her away like I did with Chance.

I shook my head. "I can't."

"Candice," Ava said sternly. "It's me you're talking to. Your best friend. Your sister. Come on. Tell me."

"Ava..."

"Just say it," she said tiredly. "I've never lied to you before. Don't hold out on me now."

"I'm pregnant," I admitted finally, and watched carefully for her reaction.

She groaned and threw her head back. "Ugh, finally! I was wondering when you were going to fess up!"

"What?" I squeaked. "You knew?"

"Candice, come on. The guys may not notice the weight you've gained or your increased appetite or your four o'clock visits to the bathroom to puke, but I'm not dense. It also helps I found the pregnancy test in the trash, but that's irrelevant."

"Why didn't you tell me you knew?" I replied.

"Because I didn't want to force you into telling me. I wanted you to tell me because you were ready and you felt comfortable telling me," she replied. "Not because you felt obliged to."

"I told Chance tonight," I admitted, and watched Ava take a thoughtful sip of her champagne. I was infinitely jealous. No more alcohol for me for nine months—more if I chose to breastfeed. "It went about as well as you could expect."

She laughed. "You really know how to break hearts, don't you, Candice Sinclair? No wonder he's fleeing the country."

"I wasn't thinking," I whispered, shaking my head. "I owed him an explanation for everything. It just slipped out."

"Candice, I don't know if you can understand this, but Chance loves you. Not in a puppy love kind of way, but true and passionate love. You are the only thing that exists in his universe. He loves you more than anything else in this world."

"I know that, Ave," I replied. "Especially after tonight. I've never seen someone look so heartbroken."

"Imagine finding out Will was having a baby with someone else and you were never going to get the chance to be with him again. How would you feel?"

The mere thought made me want to throw up. I couldn't imagine the devastation of finding out he was with another woman and he was going to be having a kid with her. My whole world would come crashing down.

"Oh, my God," I whispered, keeling over and putting the champagne glass on the coffee table.

"Yeah," Ava replied. "That's how it feels."

"What else was I supposed to do?" I replied, turning to her. "I want to make it better, but nothing can change. I love Will, I'm carrying his child, and I want to marry him. There's nothing left."

"I know," she told me, nodding. "And the fact is that there's nothing you can do. But that doesn't make it hurt any less. Maybe you should just let him go and move on by himself."

"I know," I said. "But what if I can't let him go? I don't want this to end us."

"You can't keep doing this to him," Ava told me steadfastly. "You can't break his heart and then flock to his side and try to make everything better. It doesn't work like that. He needs to heal. He needs time to get over you. And he can't do that if every time he tries to move on, you're blocking his way."

I nodded. "You're right. I'm not some high school kid caught up in a love triangle. This is real life. As much as it hurts, he deserves to be happy. Even if it's without me."

She paused, and her green eyes narrowed. "Candi..."

"What?" I asked, scanning her face for a sign of what was on her mind and why she was looking at me so peculiarly.

"Do you... Do you still love Chance?"

I looked away and fixed my gaze on a wall, wishing to see answers on what to say written there. "I..."

"Candice, the question is simple. Do you love him?"

I nodded. "I do. I still love him."

"What?"

The unexpected voice made me jump, and as if working at a snail's pace, I realized that the voice was definitely not Ava's. I looked up, and felt my stomach drop like a stone as I saw Will standing there, holding my wrap from earlier in the night. His face was absolutely broken, his blue eyes wide and horrified and his jaw slack.

"No," I whispered, scrambling to my feet. In my haste I almost tripped over, but managed to recover. "Will!"

He shook his head, and with trembling fingers my wrap fell to the floor. He turned around and stormed out, slamming the door behind him with a colossal bang so loud it shook the very foundations of the apartment building.

"Oh, my God," I whispered, and ran after him, desperate to speak to him and make it right. "Will!"