“Elena...” His voice came out pleading.
“I want a divorce!” I repeated, sobs wrenching through my body.
“Please. Please. Don’t say that.” The words tumbled out of him.
“Let me explain, Elena,Love. Please.”
I glared at him through swollen, tear-stained eyes. “I’ve read everything, Adrian.Everything.”
The flicker of shock in his eyes was all the confirmation I needed. He still held my arm, his grip steady, desperation written in every line of his face.
“Elena, please, forgive me. I was wrong—”
“I’m pregnant, Adrian. For God’s sake, I’m carrying your child. And you—” My voice cracked, my whole-body trembling with anger and heartbreak.
“Don’t say divorce. Please. I’m sorry,” he whispered, almost in fear, his voice raw with regret.
I shoved his hands away. “Ihateyou so much.”
With a sob, I hurled his phone toward him. He caught it, his eyes falling on the screen still open to the damning conversation. His face collapsed under the weight of guilt, but I no longer cared.
That night, I discovered the man I believed to be faithful was cheating on me with another woman. That night, the marriage I trusted to be strong fractured at its core. That night, the world I thought was perfect collapsed.
CHAPTER 1
Adrian
She was supposed to be nothing, just a part of my past that resurfaced unexpectedly. Our brief encounter at the reunion, I thought it ended there.
It was during our college reunion. I had stepped away for a moment, taking a seat in the corner to make a quick call before heading back to the others. Just a few minutes. That was all I intended. Somewhere in between, Phoebe had taken the seat across from me.
She stirred her tea slowly, eyes unfocused, like she was watching something far older than the table between us. “You know,” she said, trying to sound casual, “you were really different back in college.”
I glanced up at her. “How so?”
She tilted her head slightly, studying me. “I used to think you were… distant.”
I let out a quiet breath. “Did I?”
A faint smile touched her lips. “We never talked like this.” She paused, her fingers lightly circling the rim of her cup before continuing, “Especially not with me. You kept your distance. Not in an obvious way, but enough that it didn’t go unnoticed.”
I leaned back in my chair, my gaze steady. “William,” I said after a moment. “I was just doing what I was supposed to.”
“I know.” She nodded, still stirring her drink. “And you—” she added, quieter now, “—you never crossed a line.”
Her words lingered longer than they should have.
Then she looked up at me, the light catching her eyes just enough to reveal the muted green beneath the brown. “I thoughtyou were just being polite,” she went on. “But now… I think you were being careful. Like you’d already decided not to want something.”
For a moment, I didn’t respond.
Instead, I looked away, my attention drifting toward the others across the room.
“Will was my friend,” I said finally, my tone even. “He liked you.”
“And you?” she asked, toying with a strand of her dark, softly tousled hair, the gesture casual, but her eyes anything but.
I held her gaze for a second, just long enough to acknowledge the question.
