Zenobia smiled and patted Natalie''s shoulder. The warmth was real, the voice


    was real. She stepped back, her smile widening as she looked her over. Natalie was thinner, but her eyes were bright and clear, free from the sorrow they used to hold. She looked just like she had when they first met.


    "Natalie, I knew you''de to your senses one day. I knew you wouldn''t let them push you around forever."


    Natalie''s eyes reddened. For Zenobia, it had been a case of cutting her losses in time. For her, it had taken dying to finally wake up.


    "I have, Zenobia," she said. "I''ve left the Scott family, and I''m divorcing Sebastian. I''m never going back, and I''ll never love him again." She hade on a whim. Matthew had been called away on urgent business, so their dinner was canceled, and she''d suddenly felt the urge to see Zenobia.


    Zenobia was thrilled. "Good for you, Natalie. You''re too brilliant to be worn down by them, trading your career to cook for a man. That''s only worth it if the man is worth giving up everything for." She gazed out at the calm, tranquil sea. "Look at me. I was in love with Jerome since I was twelve. I chased him all through school, bing theughingstock of our entire social circle. I did so many stupid things for him, only to realize that if a man doesn''t love you, you can''t force him to."


    "That night, a few months ago, when they set me up... that''s when I finally gave up on him. You once asked me how I could walk away so easily when loved him so much. At the time wanted to tell you


    it was because I saw how you treated Sebastian, and I saw a reflection of how I used to be with Jerome. Women like us, with no self-respect, we can never be happy."


    "After that night, when I looked at Jerome, the overwhelming love I felt for him just... evaporated. I didn''t love him anymore. I stopped chasing him. Ichased him for over a decade, and people called me hispdog. But was just fighting for my own happiness, and I learned to ignore what they said. He was always with Yvonne, and I thought a woman like her wasn''t worthy of his love, that he''de back to me eventually. But the familiar can neverpete with the thrill of the new. His heart was always with her."


    The setting sun reflected in Zenobia''s eyes, a look of both relief and finality.


    Natalie understood. She faced the ocean, just as her friend did, a smile in her voice. "Zenobia, thank you. I''m finally realizing that letting go isn''t that hard. We were always our own worst enemies."


    Seeing that Natalie had truly figured things out, Zenobia smiled back and looked down at her round belly. "I know you''re busy, but you have to keep my secret. The baby is due soon. There''s a hospital on the ind, so he''ll be born here. But I don''t want the Scotts to know was ever pregnant. He doesnt love me, so he probably wouldn''t love this child. It''s better if he never knows." Her doctor, a former ssmate, had told her she was having a boy.


    "Zenobia, I won''t tell Jerome," Natalie promised. She hadn''t even told her about his ident. She knew it''s what she would have wanted, but not what Zenobia would want. Zenobia might resent Jerome, but she would still wish him well. That was her way of loving-she could stop loving, she could stop hating, but she would never wish him harm.