Chapter 17 - Bianca Gave Up the Seat
Bianca met me one final time.
She requested it.
I almost refused.
Then curiosity won.
We met in a quiet café.
She wore black.
No theatrical red.
No Arden jewelry.
She looked ordinary.
“I’m leaving Toronto.”
She said.
I nodded.
“Adrian?”
“Over.”
“I assumed.”
She stared into her coffee.
“I thought I won that night.”
“At the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“At the table.”
I said nothing.
She laughed bitterly.
“Genevieve told me you would sit down somewhere else.”
“She said you were too controlled to make a scene.”
“She was right.”
Bianca looked at me.
“You did not make a scene.”
“No.”
“You just left.”
“Yes.”
“And everything collapsed.”
I smiled.
“Silence can mean different things.”
She nodded slowly.
“I understand that now.”
Then she reached into her bag.
She placed a small white card on the table.
My original place card.
ISLA ARDEN.
I stared at it.
“Why do you have that?”
“Genevieve gave it to me after you left.”
Bianca’s face tightened with shame.
“She said it was symbolic.”
Of course she did.
I picked up the card.
For years, I carried the Arden name because I thought marriage meant joining something.
Eventually, I learned joining should not mean disappearing.
I slid the card back to Bianca.
“Keep it.”
May you like
She looked confused.
“I don’t want that seat anymore.”
