“Love?” He spat the word like it tasted bad. “You think that fixes anything? You think saying ‘I love you’ erases the fact that I walked in and saw my best friend’s tongue down my wife’s throat?”
“I pushed him away!” I shouted, voice breaking. “I told him to get out! I chose you.... every single day I’ve chosen you even when you made it impossible!”
“You chose the easy one,” he snarled. “The one who doesn’t come with baggage. The one who doesn’t make you work for it.”
“That’s not fair...”
“Isn’t it?” He laughed again, ugly, jagged. “You auditioned for me every damn day. And the second I started failing the test, you had a backup waiting.”
“I never...”
“You did.” His eyes were glassy, pupils blown. “And now you stand here pregnant with my kid telling me you love me like that’s supposed to make the knife twist less.”
My hands shook. The baby kicked hard...once, twice. Like it could feel the fight vibrating through me. I pressed a palm to my side, trying to breathe through it.
“I’m terrified,” I whispered. “Of losing you. Of raising this baby alone. Of you waking up one day and realizing I was never enough. But I’m still here. Fighting. Because I believe we can fix this.”
He stared at me for a long beat. Something flickered in his expression, pain, maybe regret. Then it hardened again.
“You can’t fix what’s already broken,” he said quietly. “And I’m too fucked up to pretend otherwise.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Why not? It’s true.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I went to therapy. I tried. And the second I let myself feel something real, it all exploded. Because that’s what happens when I care. People leave. Or they cheat. Or they lie.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said desperately. “I’m right here.”
“For now.” His voice cracked on the last word. “Until the baby comes. Until you don’t need me anymore. Then you’ll take half my money and run back to Vegas with your real best friend.”
“That’s not...”
“Isn’t it?” He stepped even closer, voice dropping to a raw whisper. “You told Zariah you were planning to leave after the birth. Don’t lie to me. I know.”
My stomach dropped. “I said that when I was hurting. When you chose Sydney over me at the shower. When you walked away every time I needed you. But I’m still here. I haven’t packed a bag. I haven’t called a lawyer. I’m fighting for us.”
“Fighting,” he echoed mockingly. “By letting Kei kiss you.”
“I didn’t let him!”
“You didn’t stop him fast enough!” he roared suddenly, face inches from mine. “You let it happen in our house! While I was out trying to buy fucking roses to apologize!”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But I love you. I love you so much it hurts. Please, just give us a chance.”
He stared at me, chest heaving. For one heartbeat I thought he might reach for me. Might pull me close. Might say he loved me too.
Instead he stepped back.
“I can’t,” he said hoarsely. “Not tonight. Not like this.”
And then he turned.
“Cal... wait!”
He didn’t. He walked straight to the door, yanked it open, and slammed it behind him so hard the pictures on the wall rattled.
I stood frozen for two seconds.
Then my legs gave out.
