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I headed to the door to the bar’s exterior patio.

I started to push it open, then froze mid-stride, my hand dropping to my side as my gaze locked on two distinct figures.

Ana, seated at an outdoor table, leaning close to a man lost in a deep, intense conversation.

I arched a brow as I recognized him.

Freakin’ Massimo.

From my angle outside the expansive windows, her back blocked my view of her face, hiding her expression.

However, I could see Massimo’s face as he gesticulated.

A cold knot formed in my stomach.

Massimo was talking fast, his eyes fixed on hers, his hands gesturing.

Doubt slammed into my chest, a physical blow that fractured my soul.

The hell? Why was her ex-husband here?

I froze, paralyzed, my mind spinning through a hundred worst-case scenarios.

Massimo shifted his gaze to the window and spotted my silhouette.

He turned back to Ana, dismissing me with a swift glance, then reached for her and leaned across the table.

He captured her mouth in a kiss, his hands rising to frame her jawline.

From where I stood, the contact appeared consensual.

I stared, speechless, until rage slammed through me along with a wave of nausea.

Fuck.

I refused to stick around for the aftermath.

My heart plunged into ice, limbs shuddering as shock surged through me.

I retreated, my body shaking, and marched back toward the lifts.

After years of barely holding on to our emotional rollercoaster, I had no fight left to confront her.

I had to leave.

I knew I was being irrational; the calmer approach was to face them, demand the truth, and find out if I’d misinterpreted the scene.

Logic dictated that I stride back to them and push for answers, but my soul was too damaged to listen to the inevitable, exhausting explanations that would follow.

I was done with the drama, fuckin’ over the deception.

Hell, I was freakin’ finished with the agonizing torment of giving my heart to a woman who still belonged to someone else.

My defenses snapped back into place, a thick layer of ice encasing my emotions as I shut them down.

Turning my back on the pair, I cursed under my breath and dismissed them with a bitter shake of my head.

I strode toward the lifts, chest heaving, fists tightened, soul breaking, as I buried my heart, perhaps for good.