The letter came three months later.

Holly fingered it, trying to find clues about the sender, even though she already knew it was from Roger. Her name and address were typed, not handwritten. She noticed that it had been mailed in New York City. She decided to put it down until she was ready.

When she finally did open the letter, a week had passed. This is what she read:

"Holly"

She put the letter down to get a glass of wine.

"I am not asking you to forgive me. I am only asking you to read this letter till the end. I had to resist the urge to write you so many times. I wanted to find the rights words, and it took a long time for them to come to me. You are probably still convinced that I slept with Alexandra Spaulding, and I don't blame you. I gave you every reason to believe that, I see that now. I made her needs come in front of yours and in front of mines from that matter. I catered to her every need, kept you waiting. I treated you badly, even though, and I swear this, I was faithful to you.

It took me a while to admit all this to myself, to see that I was the one to blame and not Alexandra. How could I put you last when I claimed to love you so much? I guess I lied to myself. For many years, I believed that power was the key to my happiness. Then I believed that being with you was all that I needed. The truth is that I needed both. You tried to tell me that, you already knew. But I wouldn't listen. I thought that it belittled our love. I destroyed everything because I wouldn't be honest with myself.

I also realized that I have to put Spaulding behind me for good. I need to start fresh and create something that's really mine. I need to build my legacy to my children from my own hands.

Tell Chrissie that I miss her and that I will call her soon. I am working day and night these days, and you are both in my thoughts every minute of every hour.

Roger."

Holly put down the letter with a frown. Why did he not mention where he was? It almost seemed as if he had decided to move on with his life, she thought, completely puzzled. Whether she felt relieved or sad about it, it was too soon to tell, but she definitely was surprised.

In the last few weeks, she had thought very long and very hard about the true nature of their relationship. She had tried to separate the facts from the emotions and desires. She had tried to be as honest about their respective natures as she could. That they loved one another was undeniable, but could they, as they were, really make each other happy? She reflected that most of the time, she had been miserable with Roger, and unsatisfied at best. She needed more from him than he could seem to give her. She still smarted from the recent events in any case, even if the pain had somewhat receded.

Was he asking himself the same questions? Had he come to the realization that he was better off without her? As he had written himself, she did not seem to be enough for him either. She winced as she re-read that passage in the letter. Was there a woman, somewhere, that could? She pushed the thought in the back of her mind with a shudder. Roger had been with a lot of women over the years, and each time it had made her skin crawl.

She briskly got up and headed of to work, reflecting that there was nothing that she could do about it anyway.

"How would you feel about a little trip to Chicago?" asked Fletcher as soon as she walked into the news room.

"You got a lead on a story?" Holly answered as she took her coat off.

"Actually, there is this convention that I think we should go to, about the new media. I think we should take Internet and all that stuff seriously, you know, stay ahead of the curve".

Holly smiled to herself. One thing that she liked about Fletcher was his passion and dedication to journalism. Another thing that she liked was that he had been a true friend during these past few months. He had sensed that she needed to immerse herself into work to get trough her ordeal, and he had been there every step of the way. She could barely count all the long evenings and all-nighters that they had pulled recently. She laughed out loud when she remembered the time that she had found him leaning and dozing on the fax machine, his tie dipping in his cup of coffee.

A new respect and closeness had sprung from this time spent together. Sometimes, from the way he looked at her, she believed that there could even be something more on his part. But then he would joke about her clumsiness or crazy red hair and she would decide that she was imagining things.

"What are you laughing about?" he said, smiling himself.

"You, of course." She smirked. "So, when are we leaving?"

Chicago had always been one of her favorite cities, Holly reflected as she was getting ready for dinner with Fletcher. She liked everything about it: the energy, the architecture, the good restaurants. I might just move here one of these days, she thought, putting the final touches to her makeup before leaving her hotel room.

Fletcher was waiting for her in the lobby and shot her an admiring look as she entered the room.

"You don't look half bad, Red!"

She nudged him in the ribs without stopping. "You don't look as shabby as usual either," thinking that he was surprisingly handsome in a tuxedo.

They continued to tease each other while waiting to be seated at the restaurant, but Holly had the growing feeling that Fletcher was thinking about something else. After he failed to answer one of questions about the conference, she waved her hand in front of his face, smiling:

"Fletch, you want to feel me in on your deep thoughts?"

At that moment, the Maitre D' arrived and led them to their table near the window.

Fletcher ordered the wine after consulting with her and cleared his throat.

"I came across a piece of information a couple of days ago, and I was still debating whether I should share it with you or not."

Holly felt a chill go down her spine. "You look so serious…Wait, let me guess, it's about Roger, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Nothing has happened to him as far as I know," he said quickly when he saw a hint of panic in her eyes, "It's just that I wasn't sure if bringing him up was a good idea. You seem to be doing better lately, so…"

Holly interrupted him: "Well, you started, so out with it. What is it?"

Fletcher looked a little ruffled. "Ok. I ran into Gilly Grant last week, and she looked like she was about to start dancing in the streets. So, I asked her what was going on, and she told me that she had just acquired half of WSPR, at long last."

"What? Nick sold her his shares?"

"Nope. Roger did."

Holly felt completely taken aback. "Why would he do that? That's the only thing that he had left!"

"I know. And she was asked to keep it under wraps until the deal was finalized, which was a couple of hours before I saw her."

He looked into her face, trying to see how the news affected her. She looked down at the table, not knowing what to make of this new piece of information.

"She didn't talk to him personally. It was all done through their lawyers."

"So, she doesn't know where he is?" Holly asked, thinking about the letter and the stamp from New York. She had not shown it to anyone except Blake.

"No." He hesitated and then added: "Is it ok that I told you?"

She shook her head and tried to smile. "It's fine. I guess it means that he really wants to leave Springfield behind after all."

"I guess so." He knew that he had dealt her a blow and felt slightly guilty, because a part of him had enjoyed destroying any lingering hope she might have about Roger coming back. He shook away the feeling, thinking that it was for the best that she should know. She deserved better than a man like Roger Thorpe. He was truly convinced of that.

Meanwhile, at the far end of the restaurant, a business meeting was just starting in a private room. A man, with gray hair and sparkling black eyes, was welcoming his guests and assigning them places with a confident air. At his side was a woman, startlingly beautiful. As soon as everyone was seated, the man addressed the party.

"Gentlemen, since time is money, allow me to jump right into the subject. As you know, it is essential for all parties concerned that the merger between GreenLight and Gordon Inc. should be concluded as quickly as possible. You need someone with experience, someone who will guide you in order to avoid the usual pitfalls."

He stopped for effect. "This is where I come in."

There was a knock at the door. The woman got up, smiling at the businessmen as she went outside. The Maitre D' was waiting for her on the other side.

"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Leigh, but I just wanted to make sure that everything was to your satisfaction tonight."

"Everything is perfect as usual, Harry. Thank you."

She looked inside the room at the man leading the meeting. "I am sure that Mr. Thorpe is very pleased."