This time it was her turn to nod. He missed her, and yet he'd gone eight days without answering a letter. The two couldn't reconcile in her head for her to be able to return the sentiment, though she had missed him. Fallon was convinced that after today she would spend the rest of her life missing him.

Try as she might, Fallon couldn't find the words to begin her explanation or her rejection. She loved him, possibly more than she loved Jesse, but she was too afraid to take the risk and step into the unknown. Life was simple with Jesse, their path a linear line to happiness. Regardless of her career, Fallon had never been brave enough to make such difficult personal decisions. In this one regard, she was as weak as a newborn babe.

A telling silence stretched between them as she struggled to find the words. Her expression turned from regret to remorse and back again. Eventually, she could only whisper three words so unlike the ones she wished she could say, "I'm so sorry."