Chapter 17 - Ethan's Final OfferLate that night...

Ethan requested one private meeting.
Mary agreed.
He placed a small box on the table.
Inside lay her engagement ring.
“I was going to change.”
Mary looked at it.
“You changed.”
“Please don't send me to prison.”
“You're asking the wrong person.”
“I loved you.”
Mary nodded.
“I believe you.”
Ethan looked surprised.
“But love doesn't erase choices.”
She stood.
May you like
“And choices have consequences.”
She left the ring behind.