“Well, she told me she knows she treated you wrong all those years by pushing you away. She said she regrets letting her fear rule her and neglecting how you felt.”
“Really?” My eyebrows went up. “She actually said that to you?”
Ben nodded. “We were having lunch together, with Lina too. Lina was surprised, and honestly, both of us were left speechless.”
My eyes drifted to her as she walked toward one of her patients’ rooms until she disappeared from view. She really had changed for the better. She was trying so hard to build a better life.
“What are you thinking now?” Dean asked. I turned to him and saw the frown on his face. “You look like you’re about to do something stupid.”
Now I was the one frowning. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re thinking that you’re scared you’re going to ruin it for her.”
My eyes widened. “Sometimes it freaks me out how well you can read my mind.”
He chuckled, but only for a second. Then his expression turned serious again.
“I’ve only got one thing to say—don’t decide for her. She knows what she wants and what she needs. If she needs you, be there. If she doesn’t, then don’t push it.”
“I’m always going to be there for her, Dean. Even when I left... she was still the first thing on my mind, no matter how hard I tried to push it away.”
“You’re both divorced now,” Ben said. Then he paused, looking thoughtful. “Honestly, I’m surprised you actually went through with it. Last time, you barely made it to the lawyer’s office, then you showed up at our place and were so distraught you threw up in our bathroom.”
“Yeah,” I grimaced. “I still threw up, though. But this time it was before, not after. I almost didn’t make it to the lawyer’s office.”
“But you couldn’t go through with it last time,” Ben said. “What changed?”
“Because I fucked up, Ben. Badly. She deserved happiness, and all I gave her was pain.”
“You know, she said the same thing,” Ben replied quietly, his gaze softening as he looked at me. “She told me she only ever gave you pain.”
He let out a breath, shaking his head. “You two blame yourselves so much. It’s like you’re both martyrs. Sometimes I want to shake the hell out of you—make you see how much you love each other.”
He paused, then added, “But you cheated on her. And yeah, I get it. You felt trapped in a marriage that wasn’t working, like there was no other way out. But still... you cheated.”
Ben’s voice dropped, gentler now. “I do hope you find your way back to each other someday. But not yet. Not until you’ve sat with the pain. Because maybe then, you’ll understand what she’s worth.”
He spun around dramatically and then walked away. Dean and I looked at each other.
“Does it scare you that he always says the right thing?”
“Yeah,” I nodded slowly.
“Cam,” Dean said, his tone serious. “Sloane, she’s your one. In this lifetime, she’s it. You realize that now, don’t you? There’s no one else who could ever take her place.”
He looked me straight in the eye. “So, think about it carefully. What do you really want? Are you going to fight for her and be what she needs, or stand back and watch her end up with someone else—and still be what she needs?” He paused, studying my expression. “Because that’s exactly what you’re going to do, isn’t it? Be there for her, but only from the sidelines.”
He paused, lowering his voice. “She has to get past the hurt to come back to you truly, and after what you did, that’s not easy. But, Cam, she might not realize it yet—or maybe she does. You’re her one, too.”
Isat at the edge of the bed, watching as Sloane moved quietly around the room, going through her usual bedtimeroutine. She looked calm and composed now. There was no trace of the breakdown from before. I could only hope that what she showed on the outside matched what she felt inside.
It had been a week since my conversation with Ben and Dean, and their words still hadn’t left my mind, especially what Ben said about sitting with my pain. He was right. Even though I’d always known Sloane’s worth, I betrayed her in the worst possible way.
Sloane was my love. She always had been, and she always would be. I kept holding on to that. I knew how deep my disappointment had run—how I let it take over until it drove me to do something unforgivable. I didn’t know how she could ever move past it. I wasn’t sure anyone could.
But would I give up on her?
Would I really try to move on with someone else after already proving to myself how fucking pointless that was? Everything I kept telling myself made sense in my head, but not in my heart. It had always been Sloane. It would always come back to her.
