AN: I don't think you guys are ready for these upcoming chapters. It's gonna be a lot :)

Thank you all so so much for 5k. I literally went from 4k to 5k in less than a week...freaking insane.

Love ya!!

~Alex

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My heart hurt. It physically hurt and I could feel every single little piece it had been broken into. I've never felt this type of pain before.

It was the type of pain that took your breath away and left you feeling broken and numb. Not only my heart felt broken, but my entire soul. My body. Everything.

Because I'm in love with you.

Harry loves me. But he also loved Maria.

And there's nothing I could say because I'm in love with him, but I also love Niall.

We were in the same boat at the moment and it was a boat that was threatening to tip over with every wave that rocked its wooden frame. The only thing keeping it from tipping completely over was mine and Harry's determination to prevent it from doing exactly that.

It was our now expressed and genuine love for each other that kept us from sinking under the strong, relentless waves.

"Come on, Aurora. Time to get up," Liam says softly, nudging my shoulder ever so slightly.

I was currently hidden away in my bed with my arms wrapped tightly around me and my knees pressed to my chest, wallowing in my own self-pity.

It's been two days since my argument with Harry and it's been two days since I heard him say that he loves me. God, did I love him.

There was nothing I'd rather do right now than run into his arms and hear him say those words to me over and over again. And there was nothing I'd rather do than tell him the exact same thing just so I could see that beautiful smile of his appear on his lips and wash all of my worries away.

"Rory, come on. We're going to be late for work," Liam interrupts my thoughts once again and I only sink lower into my bed.

Surprisingly, I went to work yesterday. I didn't feel anything. I just felt numb and I kept myself busy all day, trying not to think about Harry.

But today was a whole different story.

"It hurts," I whisper, my voice cracking as I feel myself verge on the brink of tears.

Liam sighs in defeat and drops a kiss to my temple, "Do you want to stay home then? I can handle things by myself today."

"No, Li. I need to get my mind off of him. Lying around in bed all day won't do me any good," I mumble, mentally preparing myself to get out of bed and start a new day that didn't include Harry, no matter how badly I wanted him to be there by my side.

I didn't need to be alone all day wallowing in my own self-pity just because my life wasn't going the way I wanted it to go.

My brothers left early Wednesday morning, still threatening to kill Harry with each passing second. I reassured them that I would be fine and we would work things out, but I honestly wasn't sure if that was the truth. Everything didn't seem like it was going to be fine.

Not when Harry and I are in love with each other, but also love someone else.

"Are you sure, babe? I understand if you need to stay home."

"No. I'm good. Let's go to work."

And so that's what I did. I got up, showered, got dressed, did my hair and makeup, and went to work like I always do. Except this time, I didn't have the bright smile of Harry to greet me with a cup of coffee as he stopped by every morning before going about his day.

Needless to say, the whole world was dark and grey. The petals on the flowers weren't as bright as they used to be and my smile wasn't as warm and welcoming as usual. Everything just seemed bland and lacked meaning if I didn't have my beautiful Capolavoro to bring the sunshine and warmth that always followed him everywhere he went.

Liam tried to cheer me up with random jokes and funny stories, but none of them really seemed to help my state of mind that I was currently in. My smile kept faltering when I would talk to a customer and I'd lose motivation while making a flower arrangement, not feeling like making anything beautiful when nothing in my world was beautiful at the moment.

Every time someone would say the word flower, my head would snap in their direction, hoping that maybe it was Harry who had spoken the simple word that was now one of my favorite things to hear.

I was currently fiddling with a stray freesia, feeling the softness of its petals tickle my fingertips and smelling its sweet smell waft upwards and flooding my senses. It was getting later on in the afternoon and less and less people were coming into the store with it being so close to closing time. Liam was in the back checking our storage room while I was supposed to be putting together arrangements for Liam to handle tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the day I'm supposed to be leaving with Harry to go to his sister's wedding in England. Now I wasn't even sure if I'm still going or not. Harry had my ticket and I doubted he'd want to see my face again after how I left him the other night.

I left him broken and a complete mess, but knew that it was for the best. If we had stayed around each other for much longer, words that we didn't mean would be said and it would've left us even more broken than we are right now.

I look up from where I was currently fiddling with the freesia to look outside at the dimming world of Rome. The sun was just beginning to set and people were on their way home from work or on their way to a restaurant for date night. Amongst all of the people walking past my shop, one person in particular caught my eye.

He was walking with his head down, his shoulders slouched so poorly that it was evident the cause was from heartbreak. My heart stopped beating as his curls danced around his face in such a beautiful way it brought a little bit of color back into my dull world.

Part of me hoped he would walk on by and completely ignore the hopeful girl watching from the window, but the other part of me was begging him to look at me. Begging him to look at me and cause all of this cold loneliness to evaporate into thin air with just one look.

I wanted him to see I was in just as much pain that he was in. I wanted him to see that our argument had taken a toll on me and that I wasn't fine.

I wanted him to see that I love him.

For a brief second, his head lifts up and he meets my eyes, only for his head to drop back down again as he continues to walk right on by. But then he freezes in his tracks and snaps his head back up, staring straight at me with shock and disbelief written all over his face.

Tears well up in my eyes as I see nothing but pain and love etched into every fiber of his face. He takes a step towards the window, his arm extending ever so slightly and coming up to place his palm against the glass. A sad smile tugs on his lips as a tear slips from my eye and travels slowly down my cheek.

His brilliant green eyes were now dull and sad, the skin surrounding his eyes red and puffy as if he'd been doing nothing but crying. He didn't have the same bubbly and happy demeanor surrounding him wherever he went. It was almost as if the only thing that surrounded him now was a cloud of sadness. A cloud of sadness that was my own doing.

I wanted him to come inside and talk to me, but I knew I wasn't necessarily ready to talk to him yet. There were still some things I needed to think through before I even thought about talking to Harry.

But time was inevitable and was passing along with each second. I'd have to talk to him eventually. Especially since I was supposed to be leaving with him tomorrow.

"Aurora!" Liam calls from the back and I reluctantly tear my eyes away from Harry, "Oh, nevermind! I found it!"

"Okay!" I call back to him and quickly snap my head around to meet Harry's eyes again, but to my disbelief, he was gone.

He had vanished just as quickly as he had appeared, leaving me feeling empty and broken all over again. I was hoping maybe he would mouth the word 'Flower' to me through the window, or just do something that way I knew that he didn't want our relationship to come to an end. But I received nothing. Just a few seconds of eye contact and a sad smile, then he was gone.

After our little encounter, I walked around in a daze.

I don't remember locking up the store or telling Liam goodbye. I don't remember walking home and walking past Harry's apartment building, debating as to whether or not I should go inside. I don't remember going home and collapsing onto my sofa in a fit of tears.

I just remember Harry's sad eyes and his small smile before he vanished within seconds, leaving me reeling from the weight of knowing he was in pain.

"Hey, Rory?" McKenna asks softly while my face is buried into a pillow, sobs uncontrollably leaving my lips and tears streaming like waterfalls from my eyes, "I'm leaving for the night and I don't know when I'll be back. Do you need anything before I go?"

"Ice cream?" I peek up at her from the fluffy blue pillow, wondering why she was being so nice to me.

She smiles kindly at me before disappearing into the kitchen to grab a small pint of ice cream I had hidden away in the freezer for days just like this, "Here, hun. I'll be back later tonight. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks," I mumble, taking the spoon and ice cream from her. I watch as she grabs her things and heads towards the door, sending me yet another kind smile over her shoulder, "McKenna? Can I ask you something?"

She turns away from the door, giving me a questionable look, "What's up?"

"Why are you being so caring all of a sudden? Normally you're always making some rude comment to me...but now you're being...kind," I don't make eye contact with her as I speak, thinking that maybe she'll regain her usual attitude.

"I haven't been...completely honest with you about why I came to visit," McKenna sighs and my head shoots up to meet her eyes, "The reason why I left college was because...I met someone. We fell in love and then he just...left me. He didn't say why or even tell me goodbye. I just woke up one day and he was gone."

"Oh, Kenna. I'm so sorry," I frown, reaching out to take her hand and pulling her to sit down beside me on the couch.

Resting her head on my shoulder, she takes a deep breath before continuing, "Turns out he went back to his ex. So when I saw that Harry was with Maria...I understood how you felt. I'm not completely horrible you know."

I laugh softly and rest my head on top of hers, "I know. Thank you."

"Just don't get used to it," she says quickly before getting up from the couch and grabbing her things once again, "I'm still the prettier one."

There's the McKenna I know.

"Always will be," I laugh, waving goodbye to her as she leaves with a proud smile and a whirlwind of perfume.

The movie playing on the television is barely a distraction for my racing mind. My thoughts were too caught up in Harry and what was going to happen to us. Was he going to tell me he's leaving me for Maria? Were we both going to decide to go our separate ways?

I wasn't sure how much time passed by while I sat on the couch and ate ice cream, getting lost in my own thoughts, when I heard a knock on my door.

Ar first I thought it was just a figment of my imagination, but sure enough, a few seconds later there was another knock followed by a voice.

"Aurora? Are you home?"

Harry. It was Harry.

I quickly turn off my television and sprint to the door, checking through the tiny peephole to make sure I was right.

"Aurora, darling. I need to talk to you. Please open the door if you're home," he says just loud enough for the sound to carry through the wooden door.

My hand hesitates on the lock, debating as to whether or not I should open it and let him in. I'm not ready yet. I know that if I see him and talk to him now, things won't go so well.

A few more seconds of silence pass by before I hear him slowly slide down my door, his back pressed up against the wooden object, and his head hitting it with a small thump, "If you're in there...I just want you to listen to me. I know you're probably still upset about the whole Maria thing and I understand if you still are," I slide slowly down the door and softly rest my head against it, closing my eyes as I listen to his voice, "I just want you to know...that I meant what I said. I meant every single little thing."

He pauses and I hear him take in a ragged breath. I think about lightly knocking on the door just to let him know that I was there and I was listening to him, but decide against it, thinking that maybe he'll open up his heart just a little bit more if he thought I wasn't there.

"I'm in love with you, Aurora. I truly am and I have been for a long time. And I know I still love Maria and you still love Niall...but...but we love each other. I don't want what we have to end. You've made me a better person and you've made me feel beautiful. I've never felt beautiful before and...and you helped me see that," Harry pauses again as a tear rolls down my cheek, clearing his throat a bit, "I've probably just confessed everything to a door and your neighbors...but if you're there...I love you, Flower. This wasn't exactly how I wanted to tell you that I love you...but it feels good to finally get it off of my chest. That day on Gianicolo Hill when I was playing with your hair and I spoke in French...I told you then that I loved you. So now I'm telling you in a language you understand...hoping you know exactly how much I mean it."

I clamp my hand over my mouth to muffle my sob, feeling myself getting closer and closer to opening the door and falling into his arms. A folder slides underneath my door and I reach out to take it with shaky hands, wondering what was inside.

"Inside is your ticket and everything for tomorrow," Harry says, his voice cracking slightly, "I'll understand if you don't come. I really want you to, but if you're not ready...I'll understand. I love you, Flower. You're still my Flower. No matter what..." he inhales shakily and I hear him get up from the ground.

"I just hope I'm still your Capolavoro."