PROLOGUE

She sat on the edge of her bed with that little frame with the dog in her hands—once again those warm, beautiful memories of Madrid washing over her. Perhaps there was nothing more true in her life than the fateful line that said "all good things must come to an end." It seemed as though happiness for her was only always fleeting. Well, their romance had been and it killed and hurt her inside.

It wasn't just Madrid that she thought about, it was all of the time she and Caleb had spent together in DC. The late-night phone calls, the movies they would watch together on a rare lazy day—their many outings and the small trinkets he would bring her. Origami swans, truffles along with a large coffee after a stressful day, "you are a shining star" stickers just like the ones dentists would hand out to children—the smiles, the laughs, how she wanted to touch, caress and be so much closer to him physically, that her hands would sweat and her heart would pound mercilessly in her chest. And God she had tried so damn hard to shake away her growing feelings for him. For the sake of their friendship, for the sake of Hanna, because of her fear of once again having her heart so terribly broken. And here she was and all of her fears had come to fruition.

But Spencer could never say she regretted it—falling so deeply in love with Caleb Rivers and also, giving to him so much—all—of herself. She had cherished each and every look and touch and kiss. Each and every word of comfort, care and love. And their month together in Rosewood had been so wonderful... They had both made mistakes, yes, but how could she regret it? How could Spencer regret feeling once again? How could she regret this little life that grew inside of her? She didn't and really that was all that mattered.

The feminist side of her wanted to just smack her, but this tiny, growing, life-altering little thing inside of her now suddenly gave her a purpose and the electrifying realization that this was where she had always meant to be—ready to close the Rosewood chapter of her life and ready to embark onto other adventures and maybe, just maybe, find that happiness again—it was too scary and too thrilling to pass up. So Spencer carefully put the frame with the painting of the little dog carefully between her clothes in the suitcase that lay on top of her bed and zipped the thing closed. With pen and paper in hand, she wrote a long letter to her mother, telling her that soon she would be one too—that she loved her and wished her all the best in Washington, that as soon as she was settled in she would call her.

In the dead of the night she sat inside an airplane, waiting for it to take flight. She sent a simple message to her best friends I'm taking off. Love you guys. and a little airplane emoji, before she turned her phone off and lent back in her seat, hours and hours of flight ahead of her. A new life ahead of her. Happiness was meant for her... in Madrid.