“I knew that if Skylar wanted you back, you’d drop me in a heartbeat without a second thought,” Lucia continues. “You only settled for me because you didn’t want to be alone.” She scoffs, then takes a slow step towards me, her gaze hard and unrelenting. “You used me. Treated me like I was still the fucking mistress, only wanting me when you felt lonely and sorry for yourself. You made me feel like I was always second best toher! So I did the only thing I knew would hurt you deeply—fuck another man.
“That man is married, Lucia—with a child! You didn’t just hurt me, you may have ruined an entire family.”
“Correction,heruined his own family. It’s not my fault some men are just too fucking weak,”she spits, the words clearly meant to cut me.
And it does. Because the truth is, I’m just as guilty as Adrian. I betrayed my wife, hurt her in the worst possible way,and tore everything apart in the process. Now, I’m paying the ultimate price for it.
“I’m not going to deny that I was still in love with Skylar,” I tell her truthfully. “I was with her for ten, long years, for crying out loud. You can’t just move on from that overnight.”
She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest like a petulant child, but I just ignore it and continue on.
“I’m sorry you felt like you were second best. You could have ended things
with me at any time. You didn’t have to stay. You didn’t have to cheat.”
I pause, needing a moment to control my heavy breathing. “The sad part about all of this, was that the moment I found out you were pregnant, I was determined to make things right between us. I knew it was a chance at a fresh start—a clean slate. A chance to rebuild our relationship. And I was prepared to do anything to fix our relationship. But then you did what you did, and now...now it can never be repaired.”
“We can start over again, Kaden. It’s not too late!”
I shake my head slowly. “It’s already too late. I can’t trust you anymore. You’re not who I thought you were. And quite frankly, I’m starting to think I never really knew you at all. The harsh truth is, Lucia—we’re too toxic together. All we do is hurt each other… and everyone around us.I can’t live my life like that anymore. It’s painful, miserable and exhausting.”
“So, what? You’re just going to walk out on us now, is that it? You’re going to leave Ari fatherless?”
“She has a father. He just doesn’t knowabout her yet.”
Her eyes narrow, and I can tell she wants to argue more, but I quickly turn away from her before she can utter another word and walk over to Arianna instead. Lowering myself beside her, I lean down and press a tender kiss to her forehead.
“My sweet, precious girl. You will always have a special place in my heart. I will never forget you,” I whisper, my voice soft and low that only she can hear. I linger for a minute longer, letting the quiet moment stretch, while memorising every feature of her one last time.
Taking in a deep, steady breath, I slowly straighten to my full height and finally step back from her, forcing myself to turn and walk away. Each step is slower and heavier than the last, as if they’re being weighed down by grief and heartache.
As I start to move past Lucia, I take one last look at her—her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she’s trying to hold herself from falling apart.
“I trust that you’ll take good care of your daughter,” I say as I reach her side. “I trust that you’ll give her the kind of life she deserves, and a mother she can always depend on. Whether you want to hear this or not—it’s no longer about you anymore. Do the right thing for once in your fucking life. Call her damn father.”
With that, I leave the room, my steps quick and painful, as though everything inside me is being ripped out by the roots. When the front door closes behind me, the sound echoes like the final nail in the coffin.
Whatever fragile thread of hope I’d been clinging to has now dissolved into nothing. Not a single speck remains.
I guess I was never meant for a happy ending after all. Not after every selfish, reckless, and destructive thing I’ve done.
This emptiness, this loss, this heartache—this is my life sentence. The universe’s ultimate punishment for all my wrongdoings.
I am destined to live this life sad and alone.
As I step into the thick, dry summer air, the heaviness of my new, bleak reality crashes down on me like a giant, suffocating wave.
Everything that ever mattered is gone.
I’ve finally hit rock bottom.
And deep down, beneath the anger, beneath the resentment, beneath the grief, the dark
thoughts echo relentlessly:
It’s whatyou deserve, Kaden. It’s what you fucking deserve.
Chapter 1
