“I just don’t think that this is what you want, and I don’t say this lightly. I’ve known you for a long time and I know when you’re happy. You don’t have a lot of time left. We need to figure this out. Carter is going to need to know before it’s too late,” said Nova. 

Two weeks earlier

 It was 14 days until Kendall and Grear’s wedding. Kendall was more than ready to spend the rest of his life with Grear. Grear was very excited as she just finished everything for the wedding. They planned on flying out to the venue in Bora Bora three days before everyone else. The hotel they were staying in was not normal. It was a private pod with a personal hot tub. It had a huge balcony overlooking the ocean that no one could see you from. You could move the whole wall of doors on the balcony to keep your whole room opened to be constantly breathing in the ocean air. They had to reserve this room four entire months in advance. In only ten more days, they were going to fly out. 

Every day they went to a special breakfast in celebration of their upcoming wedding. Grear’s order was always the same. Eggs benedict, 2 extra pieces of bacon, and a mimosa. Kendall was a child at heart. His order is the pancake of the day with gobs of syrup, fruit yogurt, and chicken and waffles. He could eat the whole restaurant if someone didn’t stop him. His bodybuilding is very important to him. In fact, it’s pretty much his job. Each day, Kendall goes off to the gym at 4 am. He does his two-hour workout routine, then hits the shower. He's back before 7 to lay in bed with Grear until they go to breakfast. After breakfast, Kendall goes back to the gym and meets his first client of the day. Being a professional personal trainer, he usually sees 2-5 clients a day. He makes more than you would think for a trainer. Roughly $150,000 a year. But that was nothing compared to Grear’s 4 million. That’s right. She is the CEO of her own makeup company, Royal Oasis Beauty. She goes into her office every morning at 9 and is greeted by her valued employees. Up until a few months ago, she had coffee every morning with her assistant, Nova. Nova has always had a fantasy of getting a love letter in the mail. She is very passionate and creative. They usually talked for 30 minutes over pastries. Over Nova’s time with the company, she and Grear became best friends. It was heartbreaking when she announced she was leaving after 4 years to pursue the next chapter of her career. But Grear was proud of her for taking what she wanted. Nova went off to California to join a prestigious hotel spa remodeling committee. They tried to stay in touch with each other, but work became a full-time task and they started to only talk every few weeks. However, Nova was going to be the maid of honor at the wedding and she would arrive at their apartment in 11 days. 

The days went by fast. Way faster than they should’ve. It seems like when you’re anticipating something, every minute is two hours. Usually, it’s when you dread something that time flies. But Grear really did want to see Nova. Her flight would be in Seattle at 11:30 am and Grear would be waiting there at 11:25 to pick her up. It was nearly 11:39 when Grear spotted Nova lugging three suitcases, a giant duffle bag, and her purse. Nova dropped all of her stuff and ran to hug Grear. To them, it had felt like years since they last saw each other. Grear took off all week so she could spend two days alone with Nova before they flew out to Bora Bora. Their first stop was the apartment to drop off Nova’s luggage. The next stop was lunch. They went to the space needle. By the time they got there, it was such an odd hour of the day that they basically had the whole entire place to themselves. They caught up for hours and then did some last-minute shopping. There were just a few odds and ends that Grear still needed to get for the wedding. They went to CVS pharmacy. 

Grear walked down the well-lit beauty isles. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She thought it was Nova so she started to turn around while saying, “Do you think this color would match wi-,” she suddenly cut herself off as she looked up to see none other than her college sweetheart, Carter. Caught extremely off guard she said, “Oh my God what are you doing here? It’s so good to see you! I’m sorry I thought you were Nova.” He gave her his signature shining grin and let out a small laugh, “No worries, I was just stopping in to get a few things. I live in Seattle now. But come on, don’t act as you hate me, give me a hug.” Grear took a small step closer and gave him a friendly hug. He pulled her closer so the whole front of her bodies touched. At that moment time seemed to stop for Grear. She was suddenly sucked into a pool of memories. Her senses were overwhelmed as she smelled the musk of his cologne, which is something she had not smelled in years. The warmth of his chest and beat of his heart reminded her of all the nights they spent together. She snapped out of it and pictured Kendall. She had no idea how much time had passed but it felt like minutes. Immediately stepping back Grear had a weird feeling in her gut. She felt some sort of guilt which she didn’t understand. Carter was the first to talk, “So what brings you to CVS?’ he questioned. “Well, I’m getting married in 7 days, Flying out to Bora Bora in 3. I needed a few last-minute items,” she responded. Carter went momentarily silent before mustering something up, “Ahhh,” he said, “Who’s the lucky man?” “I think you already know who. Things haven’t really changed much. I’m still with Kendall.” Grear remarked almost in a defensive tone. She immediately felt bad, “But… it would be nice to catch up with you before I leave. Only if you’re up for it. Nova just flew in but we don’t have any plans tomorrow and she wants to visit her parents. I’m free if you’re free,” she said in a much warmer tone. “Alright,” he said, “Shoot me a text when and where and I’ll be there.” They exchanged their new phone numbers and went their separate ways. Little did Grear know that Nova was watching the whole time. 

“What was that?” Nova asked in a teasing way. “Oh that was nothing,” I reply, “He came up to me out of nowhere and now we have plans tomorrow.” 

“Uhhhh does Kendall know about this?”

 “No, why should i have to tell him?”

 “Maybe because you are getting married in less than a week and you can’t just go hang out with whatever guys you want”

 “Okay okay I see your point, but I just don’t think it matters that much. I’ll only tell Kendall if he asks what my plans are tomorrow.” 

“If he asks I was not involved in this ploy.”

Grear rolls her eyes at Nova and goes to the check out. They’re both in for a long night.

Grear wakes up slightly stiff with Kendall’s arms around her. He usually falls asleep after coming home from the gym. She pushes her way out of bed and goes to get ready. She’s got a busy schedule today. Grear heads time the kitchen after getting ready to have a quick power meal. Nova is sitting on a bar stool completely ready. “You look nice,” Nova says to Grear, “Did you dress up for Carter?” 

“God, already Nova?”

“Yes. Already. This is a big thing. You guys have history. How could you both just forget about it?” 

“Nova everything is fine. I’m with Kendall. Carter and I are just catching up” 

“That’s what they all say.”

Grear gives her a death stare as she pours herself a cup of coffee. “What time are you meeting your parents?” Grear asks.

“I’m leaving in 10 minutes.”

“Alright then I guess I'm leaving in 20.” 

10 minutes go by like seconds and Nova walks out the door. Grear goes to wake up Kendall to say goodbye. He doesn’t question where she’s going. Carter and Grear decided to meet at a small coffee shop and go to other places from there. Carter got there first. He was at a cute table in the corner waiting for Grear. It would’ve been a lovely date, only it wasn’t a date at all. Great walks over and sits down across from him. “Hello,” she says.

“Good morning”

“So I was thinking that after this we could walk down by the lake and then go to this spot I know.”

“Sounds good to me. I love a mystery.” 

“Not really a mystery, more like a secret.” 

“Well I'm honored to be let in on your secret.” 

Great giggled at that, unsure if it was a formality or if it was her subconscious telling her something. She planned to stay at the cafe for a brief time so that they could move on with their days. Well maybe the word brief means different things to different people, but when the server told them 2 hours later that they either needed to order something else and quiet down or leave, the brief suddenly lost its meaning altogether. They stumbled out of the cafe together laughing uncontrollably. Grear couldn’t remember the last time she laughed so hard. Her stomach was sure to be sore the next day. They casually linked arms as they walked down the boulevard. That was something Grear did with all of her friends. That was a real formality. “So tell me,” Carter said, “No hard feelings but what do you see in Kendall?” “Jerk!” says Grear as she slapped his arm. Although she didn’t mean it and they both knew that. it was in a flirtatious way. A way that could mistaken for flirting when really it is just a filler. A filler to avoid the question. “I’m just wondering,” said Carter, “You seem really happy with him. It seems like you finally found your right person right time.” Grear froze as she was pulled into a flashback by her subconscious. Right person wrong time. Those words echoed in Carters Voice. But that is not what he had said. That was years ago back and college. “Right person wrong time. If the world wants us together it will bring us back to each other. I will always have love for you. Please be brave.” Those are the words she has thought she would never forget. She did forget though. “Hey, earth to Grear!” said Carter with a laugh. 

“Oh hey, sorry. I was thinking about… something.” 

“So are you gonna answer my question?” 

“Yes. When I first met Kendall I had just started Royal Oasis Beauty. It was my first launch party and I was very nervous. I didn’t have enough money to rent out the hotel so there were still guests in the building. Kendall was traveling and happened to be staying at that hotel. I was getting really overwhelmed so I stepped into the hallway to take a breather alone. He was on his way out from the hotel gym and bumped into me. He apologized but then noticed the stress I was under. We talked for a few minutes and I invited him to come back down to the launch party after cleaning up. Later that night when I was in a better mood I saw him waiting at the bar for me. We just clicked instantly. Ever since then he’s been my everything. We just go with each other.” 

“That’s such a sweet story. You guys sound really perfect for each other.”

“Yeah.” 

“Do you want to go sit on that bench?”

“Sure.”

A few minutes of silence go by. They are both taking in the crisp lake breeze. Grear knows she has things to do but she really wanted more time with Carter. “Hey,” Grear said, “I’m getting kinda hungry. Do you wanna grab some lunch?” “Sure. That sounds great,” replied Carter. They went to a restaurant chain and ate an all american lunch. Grear had to tend to some things with ehr company so they said a quick goodbye and went their separate ways. Throughout the rest of the day, Grear struggled to do her company work. She couldn’t stop thinking about her day. She couldn't stop thinking about Carter. Grear and Nova met back up for dinner. “So?” ssaid Nova, “So what?” replied Grear. 

“You know. How was today?”

“Oh, it was fine.”

“Fine? Just Fine?”

“Okay, it was good. It went smooth. I’ve missed him, you know. I wish we would’ve stayed in touch before.”

“Oh I bet you do.”

“Hey what’s that supposed to mean,” Grear said with a giggle. 

“It’s no lie that you and Carter never finished things. There has got to be some lasting feelings there.” 

“Whatever Carter and I had is long gone now. I’m marrying Kendall in less than a week. There is no time to finish things with Carter,”

“There may not be time but is there a desire?” 

“That’s unfair. Of course he’s always going to have a place in my heart. We had a very special past. But that’s it. It was the past.” 

“You know, Most of our feelings come from the past.”

“But our feelings in the present are stronger. Look, I’m not gonna do this here. If you want to talk about Kendall and I we can go somewhere private.”

“What are you waiting for then. Let’s go!”

Back at Grear and Kendall’s apartment, Nova pulls Grear into the guest bedroom. They are unsure of what Kendall is doing and they don’t want him to know what they are talking about. “Grear,” Nova says, “This wouldn’t be a conversation right now if it wasn’t a big deal.” “Okay you know what,” Grear replies, “I’m not gonna deny it anymore. It’s obviously a big deal, but I am at a place right now where it is too late to go back to him.” 

“Who said It was too late? You still love him, don’t you.”

“I will always have love for people who I was once in love with.”

“You wanna know what I think-”

“No.”

“Rhetorical question. I think you never stopped loving him.” 

“Oh really, and why would you think that?”

“I saw the way you held onto that hug at CVS. It lingered for way too long. I know it made you feel some type of way. If I didn’t know you I would’ve assumed you two had been together for a long time. You never got over him. You just continued to push him to the side and that’s what you’re trying to do right now. This time it’s going to be different. This time I’m here. This time you are going to confront your feelings head on.”

“No. No I’m not. What I have with Kendall right now is good. It’s great. We’re getting married.”

“Grear, I didn’t think you were this naive. You ignore the signs Kendall gives you. This isn’t what you want. There are so many red flags that you push to the side just because you are attached to him. You don’t love him. He’s a bad person.”

“What are you talking about? Everyone has their flaws but we improve ourselves together.”

“No. Do you know the reason we are in the guest bedroom right now?”

“So that Kendall doesn’t hear this conversation.”

“Wrong. It’s because he’s with a girl. Go see for yourself.”

“Okay. You think I didn’t know? I’ve known. He said he doesn’t like to be tied down to one person and I figured that was fine at first, but as we were together for longer it just became the way things were.”

“Listen to yourself. You sound totally insane. No happy and committed relationship with a couple who loves each other very much sleeps around days before their wedding. This is not okay. You know what you need to do.”

“So you just want me to pick up where I left off with Carter? I can't do that. I know we never finished things but we left each other for a reason. I can’t put myself through it again. That’s why I kept moving forward with Kendall. But you know, the day we shared was so special.”

“I just don’t think that Kendall is what you need, and I don’t say this lightly. I’ve known you for a long time and I know when you’re happy. I know everything about you. You don’t have a lot of time left. We need to figure this out. Carter is going to need to know before it’s too late.”

“You’re right, I’m not happy. I know I need to leave Kendall. Maybe Carter truly was my right person wrong time.”

Grear got up and walked out of the guest bedroom. She burst into her room and started yelling at Kendall. They were officially over. The wedding was cancelled. She threw him out of the apartment and blocked him on everything. She felt like a whole new person. The weight was completely lifted off of her shoulders. One thing was missing though. She enjoyed being in a relationship. She was at a point in her life where she was ready to settle down. If not with Kendall, then there was only one answer that really made sense to her. She had kept her feelings inside for years, keeping things platonic and distant. But who better to spend the rest of your life with than someone who has been through everything with you. You want your soulmate to be your best friend. Grear wrote: I have loved you ever since the moment I first saw you. You and I have a genuine connection and we care for each other so deeply. I don’t want it to be anyone else but you. Come back to seattle. Spend the rest of your life with me. You are the best thing I never planned. I love you. 

Grear added a spray of perfume and sealed the envelope. She dropped it off at the post office. Driving away with a content smile she said to herself, “Nova should get that in a few days.”