Page 70 of The Ruin I Chose

The terrace was warm, the air thick with the scent of frangipani flowers. Kyra was chasing bubbles, her laughter rising like music.

Vihaan crouched beside her, letting her smear foam across his cheeks. They looked like a painting I’d once seen in Florence—father and daughter, suspended in joy.

I stood at the terrace door, fingers restless against the necklace. I had layered it with my ‘K’ pendant necklace. It felt strange. Heavy. Like wearing a secret. Like carrying a confession against my skin. Every time it touched my collarbone, I remembered his silence. His kiss. His absence.

Vihaan looked up and walked towards me, wiping his face with the edge of his sleeve. He paused when he saw me.

“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

I didn’t answer. Not with words.

Maybe I have, I thought.

I took a breath. “I need to tell you something.”

He nodded, sensing the shift in my tone. We walked inside and sat across from each other on the sofa. Kyra’s laughter still echoed outside. My mother sat on one of the benches beside her, humming softly, keeping her distracted—just enough not to hear us. My hands trembled. My throat felt scraped raw.

“I’m sorry,” I began. “For everything. For how our marriage ended. For how I ended it.”

He didn’t speak. Just waited.

“I tried,” I whispered. “I tried to hold on. But I was drowning. Losing myself. And you didn’t see me slipping.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t what you needed. I didn’t know how to be. I saw it happening… I just didn’t know how to stop it. To be the man you wanted—the man you deserved.”

I looked at him, eyes burning, tearing up.

“I met someone in Italy.”

The words felt foreign in my mouth. Like I was admitting to a version of myself I hadn’t fully met. His jaw tightened. His brows furrowed. But he didn’t interrupt.

“I didn’t plan it. I didn’t go looking. But I was hurting with all that was happening with us. And he saw me. Really saw me.”

I paused. My hand drifted to the necklace Marcello gave me. Vihaan hadn’t noticed. Not yet. The guilt surged up, thick and choking.

“Before I knew it, I crossed a line,” I said. “I hate myself for it. I ruined everything. I never meant to hurt you. Never meant to do the worst thing—not to you.”

My voice broke. I covered my mouth, but the sob tore through me. Sharp and ugly.

“I’m so sorry,” I said again. “I know I don’t deserve kindness or your forgiveness. But please—please don’t take Kyra away from me.”

Vihaan came closer, took my hand. “I would never do that.”

“She’s my life,” I said. “You know better than anyone—I’ll die without her.”

His eyes softened.

“I’d never do that to you, Rox. Never. You’re her mother. And you’re a damn good one.”

He paused. “I know you didn’t do it to hurt me. You were hurting too.”

I looked at him, tears streaming, collapsing into his arms, sobbing. He held me like he used to—firm, quiet, steady.

“This won’t change anything,” he said. “We’ll co-parent. We’ll share custody. I forgive you. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s fair.”

I nodded.

“Just… please don’t tell your family,” I whispered.