TEN YEARS LATER

"ARE WE DONE YET?" Harper whined for the umpteenth time, looking up at me with her brown eyes and a frown on her freckled face. The four year old dragged her feet as I pulled her along.

"Almost, just be patient, okay?" I responded as Holden set the shopping basket down, scanning the shelf for Cheerios.

He reached above and grabbed the yellow box, gently placing it into the basket. "Got the last one," he smiled.

"The last one?" I questioned hesitantly. "Are there any more boxes in the back?" I tippy-toed and raised my chin, looking for another box that was potentially hiding behind another cereal box on the shelf.

"No, I checked already. This was the last box, Hads," he insisted. He picked it up and inspected the box for any tears or dents. "The box looks fine and it's all sealed up. Plus, if we don't buy cereal today, Harper won't have anything to eat in the morning."

"I guess so," I complied, knowing how picky Harper was.

Harper tugged on my hand, "Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom."

"I'll take her," said Holden. She giggled as he swiftly scooped up her tiny frame in his arms and kissed her head. He smiled and tickled her tummy, making Harper giggle louder. A smile spread across my face as I watched the small interaction, a warm, fuzzy feeling spreading throughout my body.

"Can you get the apple juice and meet me at the front?" He asked, balancing Harper on one arm as he pointed behind us.

I nodded and picked up the basket. Holden gave me a quick kiss and I turned to Harper, kissing her nose, "I love you."

"Love you too," she smiled. We parted in opposite directions.

"Hadley?"

I turned around, a small smile still lingering on my face from a few moments ago. My mind went blank. The smile on my face morphed into confusion as my mouth parted slightly in shock, eyebrows raised.

"Hey...Milo." I offered him a small, friendly smile. "What are you doing here in LA?"

A warm feeling spread throughout my chest. I couldn't exactly explain what I was feeling, but it was a mix of satisfaction and nostalgia. Seeing Milo brought back a wave of emotions, but those feelings fleeted and I felt at peace standing across from my first love.

"I'm actually moving here from New York for work. I was offered a writer's position for an upcoming ABC show after What Lies Beneath the Surface ended." He placed his shopping basket onto the ground and put his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, that's right! You helped create the show, right?" I asked with excitement and awe.

"Mhm." He nodded his head.

"Wow, that's so cool!" A wide grin spread across my face. I added on, "The show was really good by the way."

"Thanks," Milo humbly replied. He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, "I didn't expect the crime show to run for six years, but I'm glad many people enjoyed the show."

Not wanting the conversation to end, Milo commented, "I heard you were cast in a Broadway show after graduating."

"Yeah, Stacey helped me land a role as a main dancer in Anastasia, which I'm really thankful for." I smiled softly as more nostalgia hit. "Even though it's been about a year and a half already since I left, I still kind of miss the adrenaline rush from performing in front of a live audience every night."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave the show?" Milo asked curiously, shifting his weight onto one foot.

"Oh, my..." I paused for a brief second as I tried to think of a way to tell Milo that I moved back to LA with Holden, "husband's company recently opened an office here in Cali, and they wanted him to oversee the new branch." I smiled awkwardly.

Although he tried to conceal his surprise and slight disappointment, his eyebrows rose slightly as his eyes grew bigger. He glanced down and saw the wedding ring on my left hand. The ring had two skinny bands intertwined with each other, forming a braid, with a circular diamond sitting atop the bands. It was simple yet classy.

Milo was silent. The gears in his head turned as he debated on his next words. "I know it's none of my business, but umm...how long have you two been married?"

He was deep in thought as he listened to every word I spoke, most likely wanting to ask me a million questions but holding himself back out of respect for my privacy. "We've been married for a little more than a year and a half. We moved here a few months after getting married."

Shifting the conversation to a less awkward subject, I said, "I was also offered a role in a musical show here in Cali, so I guess it all kind of worked out." I clasped my hands in front of my body. "I may even see you around occasionally since the show is also an ABC production."

Loud footsteps charged my way. "Mommy!"

I turned around and swooped Harper up into my arms just as she was about to crash into my legs. She giggled as I kissed her on the cheek, balancing her body on my hip.

Still with an awkward smile playing at my lips, I met Milo's astonished gaze. "This is my daughter, Harper." I looked down at my adorable daughter. I urged her softly, "Harper, say hi to Uncle Milo."

Harper waved at Milo with a smile. "Hello."

"Hi, Harper." Milo waved back. "How old are you?"

"I'm four." She showed Milo four fingers before wrapping her arms around me, snuggling her face into the crook of my neck.

"She's adorable," stated Milo with an adoring grin.

"There you are." Holden stood beside me, placing his hand on my lower back.

After I introduced the two and they shook hands, Holden pulled me a little closer to his side, his arm remaining wrapped around my waist as we continued to talk for a few more minutes before heading toward the front to pay for our groceries.

Before parting ways as the four of us exited the store, Milo spoke softly and placed his grocery bags on the ground. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

I turned to Holden, "You and Harper can go to the car first. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Placing a quick kiss on my cheek, Holden nodded and said a quick goodbye to Milo before heading toward our car with our groceries and Harper in his arms, her mouth slightly opened as she slept peacefully against Holden's shoulder.

"I never properly apologized to you, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry for leaving you like that ten years ago. I know it was a cowardly move to end our relationship over the phone so unexpectedly rather than talking it out. I just...didn't want to end our relationship in person because it would've felt final and I didn't want to lose you," He spoke quickly but paused to gather his thoughts.

"I should've told you this ten years ago, but I want to try to make things right even though this is long overdue. I'm sorry, Hadley for leaving you at the airport that day and ending our relationship minutes before my flight took off. It was a shitty thing to do, but I hope you can forgive me.

"And if it's alright with you, I'd like to become friends again." He placed his hands in his pockets and glanced down at our feet before looking up at me, his eyes filled with sincerity.

After a few moments of silence as I processed his words, I let out a soft sigh. "I forgive you, Milo."

He grinned and his body relaxed. I added with a soft smile, "And, yeah, that would be great if we stayed in touch as friends...especially since we'll be co-workers." I stepped closer toward Milo and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy, Hads."

We hugged for a few more seconds, a silent goodbye to our past as we moved on with our separate lives.

Pulling away from Milo, I quietly said, "I'll see you around, Milo."

He offered me a final smile, "Bye, Hadley. See you around."

Milo and I waved goodbye before parting ways as I ambled to my car while Milo walked toward his. Before opening the passenger door, I turned to the side one last time, spotting Milo opening his car door in the next aisle over. As if he could sense my eyes on him, Milo looked up and waved. I waved back one last time before slipping into the passenger seat, letting out the deep breath I was holding.

Holden placed his hand on my thigh with a concerned look on his face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I gazed into Holden's eyes, the tension in my body slowly melting away.

He moved his hand from my thigh to my face, lightly stroking my cheek before capturing my lips with his. He placed a lingering kiss on my forehead before intertwining our hands in my lap, rubbing small circles on the back of my hand.

"I'm here to listen when you're ready," Holden simply stated.

I brought our hands to my lips, placing a kiss on the back of his hand. "Thank you."

∞

After putting Harper to bed, Holden led me to the couch. He hoisted my legs across his lap and snaked an arm around my waist. I wrapped my arm behind his back and laid my head on his shoulder, placing a kiss on his neck.

"I love you," whispered Holden, gently stroking my thigh as he softly kissed my forehead.

"I love you too." I looked up at him and smiled, giving him a quick peck. "Thank you for always being there for me when I needed you."

"I'll always be here for you, babe." He smiled down at me, causing a slight shiver to run down my spine. Even after ten years, Holden still gave me butterflies.

Taking it one step at a time, I explained to Holden about what happened at the grocery store, satisfying his curiosity. With his focus entirely on my face, often glancing down at my lips, he listened silently. Although Holden has heard bits and pieces about my past relationship, his eyebrows furrowed as I opened up about my emotions from the past and present.

"How do you feel now, Hads?" Holden asked calmly, unfazed by my past relationship.

I sighed with content. "Better. Even though our relationship ended a long time ago, I feel like I finally received closure."

I snuggled into Holden's shoulder, readjusting myself into a more comfortable position as a yawn escaped my mouth.

"Mommy?" Soft footsteps descended down the stairs. Rubbing her eye, Harper climbed into my lap, lying against Holden's chest.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Holden asked her, wrapping his arm around her small frame.

"I wanted to be with you and mommy." Harper closed her eyes.

Pulling down the soft throw blanket draped across the couch, Holden covered the three of us as my eyelids became heavy, physically and emotionally exhausted. Holden gave us a forehead kiss each before gently resting his cheek against the top of my head.

A smile tugged at my lips as I slowly faded in and out of consciousness. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout my body as I laid in Holden's arms, feeling safe and homey as we cuddled our daughter.

_______________

A/N: Hello, everyone! This special chapter is for all of you Hadley and Holden shippers ;)

But this is it. This is the final bonus chapter. Not gonna lie, I felt a bit emotional writing the end of this chapter because I loved writing this story. I hope you enjoyed reading about Hadley and Milo's journey.

One final note, thank you for getting Three Years Later to one million reads! 🥺 I'm so grateful for each and every one of you who stuck around for the entire book and left sweet comments. Your comments always give me a good laugh or make my day.

As always, thank you for reading Three Years Later :)

- Karlee 💛