She could do it.
She would do it.
She would tell Will Darcy that she was in love with him and that she was sorry she was stubborn and wouldn't listen to him the last time they met… the time he tried to tell her he loved her. She'd explain how she felt the same and how instead of facing her overwhelming attraction for him, she had run in the other direction.
She just hoped he still felt that way.
Her heart was beating erratically as she turned the doorknob to his study and once she caught sight of what was occurring behind the closed door, she knew her dreams would never be realised. He'd told her he didn't feel that way about Caroline Bingley, but the way they were currently kissing said otherwise. At her startled gasp, he withdrew his lips from the statuesque redhead and turned towards Lizzie.
He quickly dislodged himself from Caroline's arms as if he had been burned. It couldn't have been more than two seconds before he spoke in a pained whisper, although to Lizzie it seemed like an eternity. "Elizabeth?"
She had to leave. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach and she needed to be anywhere but here. When she finally spoke, her voice quivered, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have interrupted. I'll just be leaving. Have… Have a great night. I'll see you both at the wedding tomorrow".
As she drove away, down the long tree-lined driveway that led to the main road, she never heard his agonised cries begging her to come back.