Chapter 4 - THE MAN WHO SAW HER LEAVE
Kira didn't cry when she walked out of the ballroom.
That surprised her.
She had expected to collapse.
Expected to feel the kind of heartbreak that made breathing impossible.
Instead, she felt strangely calm.
She entered the elevator.
Pressed the lobby button.
And watched her reflection in the mirrored doors.
A bride.
White satin.
Diamond ring.
No husband.
When the elevator opened, she walked through the hotel lobby.
A man near the reception desk looked up.
He wore a charcoal suit and held a folder beneath one arm.
He was tall.
Dark-haired.
And clearly surprised to see a bride walking alone toward the revolving doors.
“Excuse me,” he said.
Kira stopped.
“Are you all right?”
She looked at him.
For a moment, she considered lying.
Then she smiled faintly.
“No.”
His expression softened.
“Do you need help?”
She shook her head.
“I need a taxi.”
He glanced outside.
Rain was beginning to fall.
“The hotel can arrange one.”
“I don't want to wait.”
The man studied her.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
He stepped outside and signaled a cab.
When it stopped, he opened the door.
Kira looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He smiled.
“Of course.”
She hesitated.
Then asked, “What's your name?”
“Ethan Caldwell.”
“Kira.”
He nodded.
“Take care of yourself, Kira.”
She climbed into the taxi.
As it pulled away, she looked back.
Ethan stood beneath the hotel awning, watching the cab disappear into the rain.
He didn't know who she was.
Didn't know she'd just left her wedding.
Didn't know that three months later, their paths would cross again.
But Kira remembered him.
Not because he was handsome.
May you like
Not because he was wealthy.
Because he was the first man that day who had asked whether she was all right.
