Memory and The Last Goodbye

Memory and The Last Goodbye

Finley Steele

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For three years, librarian Sarah Miller has lived with a broken heart and a literal failing one, mourning her smokejumper husband Ethan, presumed lost in a massive wildfire. Then, a shocking phone call reveals Ethan is alive, but he has amnesia, calls himself Ash, and is building a new life with an entirely different woman who is pregnant with his child. Sarah travels across the country to confront him, only to find him utterly unrecognizable, showering a new love, Olivia, with the tenderness he once reserved for Sarah, even gifting her the silver locket that symbolized their eternal bond. The man she vowed "till death do us part" looks through her as if she's a stranger, the pain of his forgetfulness clashing with the unbearable sight of their most sacred token adorning another woman. Despite her own dwindling days and a heart shattered anew, Sarah chooses to hide her true identity, posing as his long-lost sister "Grace" in a desperate, selfless act to preserve his newfound happiness, even if it means dying in silence, forever erased from his memory.

Introduction

For three years, librarian Sarah Miller has lived with a broken heart and a literal failing one, mourning her smokejumper husband Ethan, presumed lost in a massive wildfire.

Then, a shocking phone call reveals Ethan is alive, but he has amnesia, calls himself Ash, and is building a new life with an entirely different woman who is pregnant with his child.

Sarah travels across the country to confront him, only to find him utterly unrecognizable, showering a new love, Olivia, with the tenderness he once reserved for Sarah, even gifting her the silver locket that symbolized their eternal bond.

The man she vowed "till death do us part" looks through her as if she's a stranger, the pain of his forgetfulness clashing with the unbearable sight of their most sacred token adorning another woman.

Despite her own dwindling days and a heart shattered anew, Sarah chooses to hide her true identity, posing as his long-lost sister "Grace" in a desperate, selfless act to preserve his newfound happiness, even if it means dying in silence, forever erased from his memory.

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The Divorce That Changed Everything

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The "Brewery of the Year" award felt like a cold stone in my hand, heavy with the unspoken weight of my wife, Jenny's, silence. She was the General Manager, the face on stage, thanking everyone but me, the head brewer, the one who actually crafted the award-winning beer. I was used to being invisible, just "Ethan Clark, the technician," a replaceable employee in her eyes, despite being the silent 65% owner of the brewery I started with my college roommate. At the party, a sales rep asked when Jenny and I would start a "brewing dynasty," and she laughed a sharp, dismissive laugh. "I'm not putting my career on hold to have a baby for any man. It's not worth it." Her words hung in the air, a public declaration that numbed me. Back home, I found a package from a fertility clinic addressed to her. My heart pounded as I opened it. Inside, a detailed IVF statement confirmed she was one month pregnant. Then, my blood ran cold: the donor was listed as "Wesley Todd." Wes, her "gay best friend," the man with the pitying, contemptuous gaze. The pieces slammed into place. She stormed in an hour later with Wes, scoffing at my divorce demand. "It's not about the joke, Jenny," I said, voice flat. She brazenly explained her twisted plan: "Wes's family is very conservative... I agreed to be a surrogate for him. We did IVF. We're going to have a modern family together." The audacity, the gaslighting, the sheer arrogance of their betrayal left me with a wave of pure disgust. "The divorce is final," I told them. "And I'm selling the house. You have twenty-four hours." The next morning, they tried to fire me from my own brewery, strutting in with fake authority. That' s when my CEO, Matthew, finally revealed the truth to a stunned Jenny: "He was never just an employee, Jenny. He's the boss. He's always been the boss." Why did she, the woman who claimed "visionary leadership," never bother to check who truly owned the company she flaunted? And what dark secrets about her and Wes were about to spill out?

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