"You look stunning, dear." Mia Forester engulfed me in a quick hug. They swore to come to the Farewell Party since they missed the welcome home party because they were on a vacation at the time. I reassured them it was completely fine.

"You look gorgeous. You never aged at all," I beamed. Nathan's mother is the most elegant woman I have ever met. She looked like she could have been a movie star had she chosen to be. Her eyes were her most distinguished feature. And I've been mesmerized by the same pair my whole life.

Nathan has his mother's eyes. It pains me a lot more seeing hers because that's the closest I could get to looking into his eyes.

"Thank you, Chassie." Mia Forester smiled, hinting a perfect blend of Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. The woman is beautiful, age doesn't hinder that.

Sebastian Forester pulled me into his version of a hug. The faintest hug and a pat on the back of my head. "It's nice to see you. It's been a while."

I smiled self-consciously. "I've been busy."

Nathan's parents stood like a couple in a painting. They were a live picture of match-made in heaven. I've heard they been together as long as my parents have. Also, they're both extremely good-looking. Add it to their scale of perfection and they'll go way off the chart. They have made beautiful children – no questions as to how those babies managed to be physically perfect.

I happened to let one of those perfect children slip through my fingers.

"You should come and visit if you ever were in vacation again," Mia says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"We might be your ex in-laws, but you don't see us as some people of the past, do you?" Sebastian asks.

"She's just been busy with her career, you guys." Starlet comes up from behind me and swathed an arm around me, kissing my cheeks. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too."

"You miss your favorite brother in-law, right?" Jett chimes in, Ethan in his arms.

I struggled to smile, uncomfortable that he almost looks exactly like Nathan. "Of course, I did."

Ethan had kept his grandparents occupied enough to not have them noticed Starlet had taken me away from the huddle. My parents joined the Foresters. Kathie wandered in a moment later. It was as if Nathan and I were never even separated. They all stayed close.

"My parents doubt Nate would ever re-marry," Starlet quips, grabbing us both some champagne.

"Thanks," I murmured before gulping it down.

She stared at my empty Champagne flute. "Thirsty?"

"Yep." I sighed, grabbing another one when one of the waiters whirled past. "I think my parents doubt I'll ever re-marry too."

"You don't mean it in a messed-up kind of way, do you?"

I smiled behind the rim of my glass. "No. It's something positive, trust me."

I let my gaze combed through the throng of chattering guests. I knew he wouldn't be there. I just want to hope he will be. Maybe, his retreating back wouldn't be the last thing I'll see of him.

My breath hitches in when I saw someone in the corner, then hitches out when I realized it was just one of his cousins. Reese, Spencer, Colin and Walsh had been Forester's distant relatives, but they came when I invited them.

Something I'm suddenly having regrets about because from a distance, they were almost Nathan. And having them in my party is starting to feel like a haunting I couldn't shake.

"Okay." Starlet giggled.

I glanced to her briefly, my thoughts disappearing.

She peruses me, noticing my wondering eyes. "He said he's not coming."

"Oh." My heart dropped to my stomach.

"Listen, Chassie, I've been meaning to tell you something."

"You're getting married?" I quipped.

She chuckles. "Nope."

"What is it then?"

Her face suddenly turned somber. And the flighty luster in her blue eyes dissolved. "Do you remember when you couldn't reach me months ago and then I told you my schedule has just been crazy?"

I nod.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, okay? My agent has been trying to keep this from the public's eye." She twirled a strand of her hair in her fingers. "A few months ago, I had a meltdown. Everything has been so stressful, and I thought I could handle it but then, I couldn't. Nathan had to save my ass. My agent made it look like I was just on vacation, because for some ridiculous reason Starlet Forester is not allowed to be unstable in the public eye. But I think it's for the best, paparazzis had no idea where I was because they thought I'm in a tropical beach somewhere. I've been better."

"Starlet, I'm so sorry." I held her hand.

She smiles. "It's okay. I wanted to tell you myself. I told Nathan not to tell you. Or else I'll phone you and blabber about how he's still not over you." She laughs. "The good old-fashioned threats. You know how he's completely crazy about you. He'd move heaven and earth for you."

I forced a bright smile. "I'm so glad you're so much better now."

I managed a few more conversations with her before I hid myself away in my bedroom. I was pacing. My head is juggling too much. But they were all thoughts of the same person. I couldn't get him out of my mind. I can't let this go just like that. Not without a fight.

Nathan had adjusted his whole life for me all these years.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and punched on a call. I started pacing again, my heels clicking restlessly against the floor.

"Gee, it's almost midnight. What's the big idea?" Julie groaned on the other line.

"Did you mean it when you said I'd have a killer portfolio?"

Sheets rustled on the background. "Of course."

"And I'd be great everywhere else?"

"Yeah." She yawned. "What's this all about?" She asks, her voice raspy.

"And do you happen to have prepared a portfolio of your own?"

"Okay, hold up." Her voice suddenly turned full high alert. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to let you know that there's no way in hell I'm leaving you behind." I heaved out a sigh.

She gasped audibly. "Chassie George? Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yep. If I leap, would you leap?"

"Off a building or a cliff? Yes, please."

A smile grew on my lips.

Audrey Danler swore to forget that one drunken wedding hookup she had with Vren Parkinson. It was definitely doable. Except that one mistake resulted to a positive pregnancy test. And now she's stuck with a man she would've never bat an eye at when she's sober. It was supposed to be just a mistake. Not a commitment.