He was gone. He said he chose her but he was gone. Trying to keep her composure, Regina turned away from the town line. Mary Margaret didn't know what she was talking about, until she found that damn author Regina's happy ending was nonexistent.

She tore apart page 23. Ha, to think she had even dared to hope. That stupid page was supposed to prove that she could find a happy ending, but now she knew she couldn't.

She turned around one more time to see him walk away, never to return. Walking away with his wife. Who was supposed to be dead. Who Emma saved. Why was her life so damn complicated?!

Regina could've kept quiet. She could've said there was no way to save Marian now, the ice magic was too close to her heart. Instead she decided to tell Robin the truth. Lying wouldn't have worked, he'd have known or she'd have broken down in the middle of the lie and told him the truth anyway. She wasn't a villain. Regina liked to think she was pushed down the wrong path by both her mother and Rumpelstilitskin and she'd be able to turn into a hero. Well, reality told her the book designed her fate. This author wanted her to be a villain so that's what she'd always feel like. What she had told Snow was true, free will be damned. Watching Marian walk away with HER happy ending just proved it.

"I need to leave," Regina muttered so only she could hear. She couldn't bare showing weakness in front of the munchkins and that thief Will Scarlet.

Forcing on a brave face, Regina stomped into her car and drove away. Once she was alone, she'd be able to cry in peace.

It had been two days and it wasn't getting easier. Everywhere she turned, Regina saw Robin. At one point she swore she saw Roland crossing the street alone and she almost ran to help him. Sitting in a booth alone at Granny's, she reflected on her past.

When Regina lost Daniel, it hadn't been like this. Was it because she knew he was dead? Probably not. The only reason she learned magic was to try and bring him back. It was more likely that Daniel wasn't her true love, not really. Going back in her head to seeing a man with a lion tattoo surrounded in pixie dust, she laughed bitterly. "I should've listened to that stupid fairy."

She felt someone slide in the booth next to her, but didn't look up. She didn't need another one of Emma's "compliments" or Mary Margaret's hope speeches. After what she'd gone through, Regina refused to believe in hope.

"Hey, you were in a rough place and so was I. Not listening to Tinkerbell was probably a good idea at the time." A familiar voice warmed her heart and shook her soul. Looking up, she smiled as Robin wrapped an arm around her.

"How?" Was all Regina could say. How? She had watched him cross the town line and walk away with Marian and Roland. How the hell was he here, in Storybrooke, with her?

"I was walking away but I told Will that if I turned and started walking back he'd have to be ready to pull me into town. I couldn't leave you forever, and Marian understood. She said I belonged with my true love." Regina felt a tear slip down her cheek. True love? She knew in that moment that while she may have loved Daniel, he was nothing close to her true love.

"I love you." She whispered. While this wasn't nearly a portion of what she was thinking, it explained it all.

Robin smiled and looked down at her. "I love you too."

She rested her head on his shoulder and took in the familiar smell of forest. He chose her. He loved her.