From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 94

**Dreams Folding Into Broken Time**

**Chapter 94**

Their spot by the lake.

The words struck me like a fist to the chest, knocking the breath out of me.

How could I have overlooked that?

“Shit, I gotta go,” I exclaimed, hastily sidestepping him, my mind racing.

“Hey, wait up! I don’t even know your name!” he called after me, his voice a mix of confusion and urgency.

I raised my hand, my engagement ring glinting in the fading light, a desperate attempt to ward him off. “I’m engaged!” I shouted, diving into my car before he could process the absurdity of my claim.

With a screech of tires, I tore out of the parking lot, my heart pounding with each frantic beat. I prayed fervently that Dean would be at the lake, that somehow this would be the final place I needed to search.

The drive felt interminable, though I knew the roads like the back of my hand. Memories washed over me like waves crashing against the shore. How many times had we taken this route back when life felt uncomplicated? When love was all we needed? When we were blissfully in love?

Finally, I parked at the edge of the woods and turned off the engine, the sudden silence enveloping me like a heavy blanket. The familiar crunch of my feet on the trail echoed in the stillness, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and pine needles. Every twist and turn was etched in my memory, my body moving instinctively along the path.

And then, through the trees, I spotted him.

Dean.

A wave of relief washed over me, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Thank goodness.

He was still in the tuxedo from last night, the fabric soiled at the knees, his tie hanging askew as if it had surrendered to despair. He sat hunched on the ground by the lake, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees, his gaze lost in the depths of the water. Beside him, his phone buzzed incessantly on the grass, the screen lighting up with Chloe’s name, a haunting reminder of what was slipping away.

But he didn’t reach for it. He didn’t even flinch at the sound. I knew he heard it, yet he was unwilling to let her voice intrude upon this moment.

I swallowed hard, each step toward him feeling like a weight pressing down on my chest. I lowered myself onto the grass beside him, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his body, yet just far enough to maintain a fragile distance.

He didn’t turn to look at me.

“You found me,” he said at last, his voice rough and strained, his eyes still fixed on the lake, as if it held all the answers.

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