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The marketplace hummed with the noise of the town. It seemed to be a little more crowded than usual, and I had bumped into two or three people already. I cursed at myself for not having picked up the ingredients that I needed for my husband's favorite dinner earlier that day, but now I had no choice. Leave now and don't get the things I need, or suck it up and get the two or three items more before returning to my home and preparing the meal. With an easy decision made, I squared my shoulders and tilted my head up as I walked confidently and proudly throughout the market until I--once again--bumped into a stranger. "I'm so sor--" My apology was cut short and the words became stuck in my throat as I looked up at the man I had just bumped into. It wasn't really a man at all; it couldn't be. He was supposed to be in Ireland, with the rest of my past that I had laid to rest years ago. This....this man must have been a figment of my imagination.

"...sorry," I finally forced out, taking a step back from him and watching him closely. God, he even smelled the same. It was when his surprised expression turned into a smile that I realized that this indeed was no dream, but some horrible punishment of God's. He reached out and gently pulled me back into an embrace, as though we were friends and nothing had ever happened between us. That he hadn't ignored every single one of my letters that I had written to him in desperation that maybe we could keep some sort of friendship between us. But he had refused, obviously, ignoring me for all those years and all of a sudden showing up in Cuba, where I had finally decided to move on with my life. Marry a man I was not in love with...all to try to get over my broken heart that this man...this man had given me.

"Elena," he finally breathed in my ear, holding me close still. "I thought you had been killed...in that attack. No one knew where you or the others had gone. I was sick with worry--" I cut him off with words of my own. Harsh words that dripped with the hurt and the hatred I wished to feel for him.

"You have no right to worry about me, Henry Toole," I said curtly, pulling away from his warm arms and stepping away. "You ignored me all that time...You have no right to even think of me, let alone worry or speak to me as if nothing has...happened. You broke my heart."

"And I believe you're the one that left me," he replied quickly, looking down at me with disbelief in his eyes. "Elena, I told you before you left that I wasn't going to--...that I couldn't--..." His voice trailed off, and we both stood in silence for a long time. Minutes...hours, maybe. I had lost track of everything. I was mad. Mad that he could just...forget and go one with his life, and how he haunted my dreams every night as I lay beside another man. Finally, Henry spoke again, his green eyes digging deep into my soul. "H-How have you been, Elena?"

"I'm married," I said, a final ditch effort to hurt his feelings somehow. As if to prove that I didn't need him. "And you? Surely you've found someone by now..." I didn't really want to hear the answer, because deep down I already knew. Elizabeth Wisland. His best friend that had driven me away so that she herself could be with Henry. So when he nodded, I only nodded back, averting my eyes down to my feet as he continued.

"Yes, I'm married to Elizabeth. We have a beautiful daughter...Katherine," The name came slowly, and I looked up at him to confirm exactly what my thoughts were. Katherine...My aunt's and uncle's daughter. My god-daughter. Henry now had her and got the privilege to parade her around as his own. "and a son. John, named after my father who died some years back." I nodded, numbed by the overflow of information and memories that was flooding my brain. Katherine...Henry...Ireland. My home. My sanctuary. My place of happiness as well as despair. My legs began to shake and I grabbed Henry's arm to keep myself standing, which only made him look at me with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm just feeling a little...a little faint. I'm fine. Thank you...for everything, Henry...but I can't do this." I turned, walking away as quickly as I could on wobbly legs when he caught my wrist softly, pulling me back to face him again. I didn't have the strength or the will to fight him as he led me away from the marketplace to a small private section of town, hidden away in the shadows.

"I've really missed you, Elena." His voice was soft, just above a whisper as he stepped closer to me, making me look up at him with my wide doe-like brown eyes.

"I am not that naive little girl anymore, Henry. I-I can't...I can't love you anymore. I shouldn't--" I shook my head weakly just before he took my chin in his fingertips, making me look up at him once more. So I did. I stared up into his green orbs for a long time before looking at his curly blonde hair that I used to spend hours running my fingers through when we spent those weeks by the river. His flawless tanned skin that seemed to glow no matter what lighting we were in. His lips that always had a curve of a slight smile every time he looked into my eyes and caught me staring at him. His toned body with slightly muscular arms that once held me so safe when I was afraid of my own shadow. The way I had pretended he had been my Prince Charming and had saved me from a life of unhappiness. But it wasn't meant to be. We had both moved on, at least he had. He had figured out that he too, loved Elizabeth and had made a life with her. I couldn't be upset over that. I wanted him to be happy for me...and to accept what little happiness and normality that I had going in my life.

"Henry," I finally whimpered, pulling his fingers from my chin and holding it down and away from my face. "Henry, don't do this to me..."

"I can't help it, Elena," he muttered. "I love you, and I've never stopped loving you...I want you to be mine again. Forever. Just like we had planned all those years ago..." It was when his words died that all of the fight in me left, because it was that moment that his lips once again locked on mine, and once more made me his prisoner of love.