You Should Know the Truth, Anthony…
You Should Know the Truth, Anthony…
The sky was painted with soft hues of lavender and rose as the sun dipped behind the horizon. Amber sat on the balcony of the small villa she’d been renting near the Spanish coast. The warm breeze swept through her hair, and her eyes remained locked on the ocean, deep in thought.
Behind her, footsteps approached. She didn’t need to turn to know it was Anthony.
“You always did like the view,” he said gently, his voice cautious but familiar.
Amber didn’t smile. She didn’t speak. She just nodded, signaling him to sit beside her. He pulled out the wooden chair, hesitated, and sat.
There was a long silence before she finally broke it.
“You came all the way to Spain. Why now?”
Anthony looked at her, eyes filled with both regret and confusion.
“Because I needed to know if it was too late,” he admitted. “If I lost you for good… to him.”
Amber turned her gaze to the horizon again.
“You mean Victor.”
Anthony gave a single, bitter chuckle. “Yeah. Victor. The man who took you on his European tour like a trophy.”
Her jaw tensed.
“He didn’t take me anywhere, Anthony. I chose to go.”
Flashbacks of Spain
Amber took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair.
“It was right after everything with you exploded. Shayla. Kai. The lies. The silence. I was drained. Victor offered something simple—escape. At first, I didn’t think it would mean anything. But Spain… Spain changed that.”
Anthony stayed quiet, listening.
“He showed me parts of the world I’d never seen before,” she continued. “Seville. Madrid. Valencia. We danced in plazas under moonlight, drank wine at street cafés, and shared stories in hotel rooms that overlooked cities glowing in gold.”
She paused, her voice trembling slightly.
“But even in those moments… I still thought about you.”
Anthony’s head dropped slightly.
“Amber…”
“No, let me finish,” she said firmly. “Victor was kind. Gentle. Thoughtful. But he wasn’t you. I kept comparing. His laugh wasn’t yours. His stories didn’t make my stomach flip. Even when he held my hand, I felt the ghost of yours still there.”
Anthony’s heart clenched. He had imagined Amber falling for Victor, imagined her forgetting him completely. But now… it wasn’t that simple.
Victor’s Confession
“Victor wanted more,” Amber said softly. “He told me he could give me a fresh start, that he didn’t care about my past. He planned to propose in Barcelona.”
Anthony’s eyes widened. “Did he?”
Amber shook her head slowly.
“He never got the chance. Because the night before… I told him I couldn’t marry him. I told him I wasn’t ready to stop loving you.”
Tears welled in Anthony’s eyes, but he quickly looked away, trying to blink them back.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he asked.
Amber turned to him then, her face calm but serious.
“Because you never gave me the space to tell my side. Every time things got hard, you shut down. You chose silence. Shayla. Secrets. You left me to feel like I was the fool. Like I was the mistake.”
Anthony clenched his fists, guilt weighing heavy on him.
“I thought I was protecting you,” he whispered.
“You were protecting yourself,” Amber corrected. “But that’s not what love is.”
Where They Stand Now
There was silence between them once again. But this time, it wasn’t bitter. It was reflective.
“Victor’s back in London now,” Amber said. “He gave me space. He said he’d wait… but I think even he knows my heart isn’t fully mine to give yet.”
Anthony looked over at her, voice hoarse.
“Is there still a chance for us?”
Amber hesitated, then reached into her pocket and pulled out something small: a photo. It was worn at the edges—faded, but precious. It was of them. A selfie from years ago, standing in front of their first apartment, both laughing with messy hair and coffee in hand.
“I keep this,” she said softly. “Not because I can’t let go. But because I want to remember what it felt like when we were real.”
Anthony’s voice cracked. “Amber… I want to find that again. With you. No secrets. No lies. Just… us.”
She stared at him, eyes full of emotion.
“Then you better be ready to fight for it, Anthony. Because I’m not settling for half the truth anymore.”
He nodded, a single tear sliding down his cheek.
“Then I’ll give you all of it. Starting now.”
To Be Continued...
The Spanish wind whispered through the night as the two sat there—two broken hearts trying to piece back together what once was. And maybe, just maybe… the real journey was only beginning.
Let me know if you want the next chapter—like Victor returning, Shayla finding out, or Amber and Anthony facing a big decision together. I got you! 💔🔥✈️
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