It was going all right. We were engaged; we were planning our wedding; we were ready to elope, but nothing good happens easily for Aria. The moment Ezra found out that Nicole, his ex-girlfriend, the woman who took care of him when Aria had left, might be alive, was the most dreadful thing Aria heard.
Trying to summon the courage to do the right thing, Aria had to buy a ticket for Ezra; she had to, otherwise he would hate himself and her for giving up on Nicole. So she handed him the ticket knowing that she might have just ended their relationship with her own hands.
When he kissed her on the airport, it felt surreal. Through that kiss, he was trying to show her how much he appreciated what she had done and was trying to comfort her that, at the end, he will always come to her. Yet, she was scared; she was scared of Nicole coming back.
Her worst fears came alive when she saw him kiss his ex-girlfriend on live television. It felt suffocating; she did not know what to do.
Was their relationship over?
Was their wedding off?
Was he going to leave her for Nicole?
Questions swarmed Aria's mind but not a single word came from Ezra. While her world was exploding, it felt as if his world had just settled. She feared his return.
What if he bought her back with him?
What if they lived together?
The questions in her mind were choking her, trapping her, and their house was a reminder of his betrayal- of the fact that he had loved Nicole even he proposed to her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't sit around in "their" apartment waiting for answers.
I have to get out
So she left. She left their house and went to live Emily for sometime. It has been a week since she heard of the news that Nicole was alive, the news where he kissed her. She hadn't heard from him and it destroyed her thinking that they may be together now and she'll never see him again.
A week later
She was walking down the street with a coffee mug in one hand and her tablet in the other trying to find a spot to sit down and write her book when she bumped into the person she had been dreading to meet.
Ezra.
She could not bear to see him or talk to him. It would be too painful to hear him reject her for Nicole, the woman he kissed without even thinking about her once. She apologized and tried to escape before he could say a word, but luck was never on her side.
"Aria," he whispered as he watched her turn away from him. "Aria!" he screamed when she did not stop for him. He grabbed her by her elbow to make her stop and when she turned around to face him, she saw the dark circles on his face.
She must have kept him awake for long nights,she thought bitterly.
"Where have you been?" he asked her.
"It doesn't matter," she replied trying to take a step away from him but he would not accept any distance between them.
"Of course it does!" he exclaimed, surprised by her nonchalance. "I have been trying to find you for two days."
She looked at him right in the eyes and waited for him to explain his statement.
"I cam two days ago but when I came you were gone. No notes or messages. I tried calling you but it was switched off. I asked all your friends but none of them wanted to give me answers. Please tell me what is going on," he desperately said.
She couldn't bear to look him in the eyes, so she looked at the ground and whispered, "You kissed her." There was no movement for 5 seconds and when she looked up, he looked stunned at her statement as if he had nothing to say.
"I was excited. That's all. It meant nothing, Aria. You have to believe me," he begged.
This time she looked him in the eye, "You kissed her on live television and did not contact me for one week, and you want me to forgive you?" her voice was rising with every word. "You proposed to me! You freaking proposed to me and then I see you kissing someone else on live television and not hear you for one entire week," she couldn't help the tears that ran down her cheeks but her voice did not falter.
"I am sorry," he begged. "I was excited and forgot to call you back. You are the one for me Aria. Please, come back to me."
She laughed without humor. Her laugh pained his ears. "What?" she said. "Come back to you? Did she reject you, Mr. Fitz?" she laughed while asking him that.
"The minute I kissed her and hugged her, I realized what I had done. I would never do that to you, Aria. You have to believe me," he exclaimed.
She took a step closer to him, her eyes lit with her anger. "Why do I have to believe you? Because you were so depressed on not finding your ex-girlfriend? Because you kissed her in front of every person in the world, practically declaring your love for her?" she screamed, "Or because you forgot about your fiancée who was waiting for your at OUR house?"
He looked down guiltily but had nothing to say. She turned around and marched away from him before he could her more.
Two Days Later
Ezra was miserable. He could not eat or sleep. All he could think about was his betrayal. He betrayed the woman he loved the most for a person whom he didn't even love. Every tear that ran down her cheek was a stab to his heart and made him feel even more horrible.
There was a knock on the door and he shouted, "Come in," in the hopes that Aria would be the one to enter the apartment.
Instead, Nicole walked in with two large suitcases.
"Nicole," he said hesitantly, "why do you have suitcases with you?"
"What do you mean?" she laughed, "I had to bring them back since we are living together again."
"What?" he asked shocked. He heard a gasp from the door and turned to see Aria standing by the door with a bag of his favorite pie. The tears were pooling in her eyes as she removed her engagement ring from her finger. He ran towards her and stopped her from completely removing the ring but she threw the engagement ring on the ground and turned around. However, Ezra picked up the engagement ring and pulled Aria into their apartment.
"Nicole, I would like you to meet my fiancée, Aria," Ezra said confidently. Aria turned to him in surprise while Nicole looked on with confusion.
"I am sorry Nicole that I did not tell you while we were in Columbia but I am engaged to this beautiful girl and I plan on staying with her. I was overjoyed to see that you were alive and while I thought that I might still love you, I realized that I was wrong. Looking at Aria, I realize that she is the only person that I can ever truly love," he said. "I guess, I felt guilty for letting you leave without a goodbye and that is why I wanted to take any opportunity to save you. However, I have moved on and have realized that it was a mistake to spend five days with you in Columbia," he turned to look at Aria, "even though nothing happened between us."
Aria was crying but she could not say if it was happiness or not. On the other hand, Nicole looked heartbroken and Ezra felt terrible. Even though he wanted to say comforting words, he knew that taking one step closer to Nicole would mean taking ten steps away from Aria and he could never do that.
"I understand," Nicole whispered. "You had always been in love with her and I am glad that you guys got back together," she cried and left the apartment with her suitcases.
Ezra turned to face Aria as Nicole stamped out of the apartment and said, "I am so sorry Aria. Please forgive me."
"I have had to deal with so many of your girlfriends, do you know how painful it was to watch you kiss her and not give me an explanation?"
"I am sorry. Seeing Nicole excited me but you never left my heart. I know I kissed her and I hate myself for it because I completely regret it now," he took my hands and said, "You are the only woman for me and even if it takes years to make you forgive me, I will wait. Because you are the one for me, sweetheart."
"Come home with me, Aria," he begged as his eyes became clouded with tears.
Aria hesitated to say something and Ezra took her hesitation as a denial to his plea. Tears started falling down his cheeks and he dropped to his knees holding her hands. He looked so sad and heartbroken, it hurt her to see him in such a state but she could not help but feel slight hesitation knowing that the person he loved, Nicole, is back.
As if hearing her thoughts, he looked up at her and said, "I love you and only you, Aria. Yes, Nicole and I did have a special relationship but you and I have history together – a history that I would like to make my future. I know that Nicole coming back may be difficult but I don't care because she is not the one I love."
She whispered while looking at the ceiling, "You were with her for five days. What happened?"
He got up, his face looking hopeful that maybe Aria might agree to come with him if he answered her questions. "Nothing at all. We just spoke and roamed around the jungle trying to find people to help. I kissed her once but that's it. I realized what a big mistake I had made," he took her hands again, "Please believe me."
"You didn't even bother to contact me ONCE," she said as she took a step away from him as all the feelings of pain and hurt came hurtling towards her.
"I know and I am so sorry. I was just very excited to see Nicole and I completely forgot to contact you even though you were on my mind all the time. I guess I was scared of what you would say if I called you."
She looked at him with hurt and anger, "What did you think I was going to say? Why did you kiss your ex-girlfriend while you have fiancée waiting for you at home? Or that you should come back now that you have found her?" she screamed at him. "You are right, Ezra. I would have said those things because I would have fought for you, but now," she stopped at her voice croaked. He looked at her hoping that she wouldn't say what he was thinking. "But now, there is nothing left to fight for."
He took a step towards her, his eyes begging her to not say that. "No! With you and me, there is always something to fight for. You are the love of my life and I will never give up on you – I CANNOT give up on you because that would mean giving up on my life."
She looked at him unable to say anything. She wanted to scream out loud I love you, idiot. Let's go home but there was something stopping her. It was the feeling that she may have broken his relationship with Nicole.
"What about Nicole?" Aria asked.
"What about her? She can go back to living her life and I can go back to being with my life," he smiled while she blushed a bit, "I don't love her and trust me, I did not know that she was going to come here with all her suitcases."
She nodded and said, "What if you realize you want to go back to her?"
He gripped her waist and pulled her closer to him, "I will never think that. You know why?" he asked and she shook her head, "because I just spent five days with her and the only thing in my mind was you. How would you react to everything that happened? Would you break off the wedding? Would you leave me for good? I was too scared to face the truth that I didn't dare call you. Nicole was right beside me but you were always with me, all the time," he looked into her eyes lovingly and held her gaze to prove his sincerity.
"Okay," she whispered. "I will come back."
"Really?" he asked as he hugged her in excitement and she responded with giggles and a large smile on her face.
He slid the ring back onto her finger and whispered, "I love you so much, Aria. Do you forgive me?"
She hugged him again and kissed him while whispering, "I forgive you and I love you."
Ezra was the happiest man and he promised to take care of his life, his Aria.