Chapter: chapter 133Isabella's POV.FOUR YEARS LATER.Whenever I counted the time. Everything still felt extremely strange to me. It has been four good years since I walked away from the love of my life, Declan. When I walked away from him I was carrying nothing but a broken heart and a secret growing inside of my womb. And also a stubborn determination to survive through my obstacles in life. Atlanta had become my home now but it wasn't where I had planned to be in life. But I had to survive through it all and Atlanta became a place where everything changed for me.When I screamed loudly through pregnancy contractions with no one by my side, except for a nurse who held my hand tightly. Atlanta was the place I whispered two names in the hospital room as I promised them the entire world. Adrian and Aria.My son and my daughter, my twin miracles. They were four years old now and they were loud and messy. They were extremely full of life and Adrian with his endless curiosity always asked me questions abo
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: chapter 132Declan's POV.I received a message from my grandmother. She was arranging a family gathering and she wanted me to be around but when I told Sabrina about it, she was persistent on joining me and I also didn't want to argue with her so I just let her do whatever pleases her.Family gatherings in Eleanor Westwood mansion used to feel warm in different ways. But now Sabrina was all a part of it and she made it impossible for me to breathe properly.She had completely left no stone unturned to make herself not look or feel ignored. She was always smiling too brightly, always talking too loudly. And acting as though she had the right to be here in this family gathering. I watched her laugh at jokes that weren't funny and I felt myself getting angrier but it was of no use if I tried to show it because it would still land in a fight between us.My grandmother sat across the table. Her eyes were fixated on us but she didn't speak. She just watched Sabrina quietly and I noticed the way Sabrin
Last Updated: 2025-09-16
Chapter: chapter 131Isabella's POV.The hotel room was too quiet. It was the kind of silence that pressed against my ears until I could hear my own heartbeat pounding so hard in my chest, it was uneven and very heavy. I sat on the edge of the bed as I held the thin blanket in my hands, staring at the wall like it could answer the questions I had in my head.Was I selfish for living? Or was it selfish to stay knowing fully well I was silently breaking apart inside of me? Nothing about the hotel felt like home to me but that was the point? Wasn't it?. I didn't want comfort. I wanted distance. I wanted to disappear. I pressed a hand against my stomach which was still flat. There was still no visible sign of the secret I carried, but I knew about the secrets and that knowledge burned me from inside out.Declan would never know.I raised my knees up to my chest as I rocked my body slightly so that I could try to cheer up my mood but the more I tried. The more the tears flowed down my cheeks in streams that
Last Updated: 2025-09-15
Chapter: chapter 130Declan's POV.It was morning already and I woke up to the sound of silence. At first, it didn't bother me because the room was dim and the curtains were still drawn together.I thought maybe Isabella had woken up before me. Maybe she was making tea to drink, because that is what she loves to drink early in the morning whenever she wakes up. Or maybe she was writing her feelings in that journal that she never let me read.But for some reason I knew that something felt off. The space beside me was cold and untouched. Her pillow still held the faint trace of her perfume, but the bed sheets on her side were still neatly arranged as if she hadn't slept here last night. “Isabella?” I called out her name with a deep voice and there wasn't any response. I sat upright on the bed as I rubbed my eyes and waited for the sound of her footsteps in the hallway. But the house was still so quiet and it was alarming to me. I placed my feet on the floor as I stood up from the bed.I walked to the room
Last Updated: 2025-09-10
Chapter: chapter 129Isabella's POV.The pen slipped from my hand and rolled across the page of my journal. I stared at the messy words I had just scribbled.“I'm tired. I want to disappear. Maybe move is not enough to survive all on my own”My chest felt heavy and writing was the only way I could breathe these days. The only way to release the storm tearing me apart. Declan was just downstairs, but to me it felt as though he was further away from me than ever.And as for Sabrina, she had the way of making the walls of this house close in on me until I couldn't find a space to stand.I pushed the journal away and rubbed my eyes as I stood up. I thought maybe some water would calm the knot in my throat. As I stepped into the hallway, I heard voices from the living room and I froze when I heard hers.“Declan. I know you are tired so just let me help you relax. All you have to do is just sit down and I will massage your shoulders.” Sabrina said as her voice was laced with softness.My stomach clenched tightl
Last Updated: 2025-09-10
Chapter: chapter 128Isabella's POV.I had been skipping meals for days as I told myself that it was nothing but just stress from school or the weight I knew about crashing down on me.But in the silence of my room. I knew about the truth, my body was changing and my stomach disturbed me in ways I couldn't ignore. The faint dizziness came in waves, pulling me into a place of denial and fear.Still, I locked that truth deep inside of me refusing to let anyone, especially Declan see it.I heard a knock on the door as I heard Clara speak from outside the door.“Mrs Isabella. Breakfast is ready downstairs.” Clara informed me.“You all can go ahead without me. I have already eaten” I lied and she didn't say anything to me and left instead.A few minutes later I heard a knock on the door and I was about to get angry because I told her that I wasn't hungry so I wasn't coming back to ask me the same question? I stood up from my bed and then I walked towards the door with anger inside of me as I opened it only to
Last Updated: 2025-09-09
Chapter: chapter 246"I actually believed that we would eventually have to take sides.” Marcus could vividly recall the memories. He had been friends with Haven since high school, witnessing his journey through a painful breakup with his college girlfriend, who had betrayed him by getting involved with his roommate. Smoothly flowing friendship marked by shared experiences and challenges. The betrayal had caused Haven to build walls so high that they appeared insurmountable. His innate warmth and optimism were buried beneath layers of protective cynicism. When Fiona first re-introduced Alexis to their friend group few months ago, Marcus noticed the same wounded walls in her. Fresh from calling off her engagement to a man who had gradually tried to suppress her sparkle, in an effort to control her better, Alexis was portraying a demeanor characterized by sharp edges and cautious aloofness. Haven and Alexis moved around each other cautiously, like two wary cats, drawn to each other yet filled with insecurit
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 245The park seemed hushed, only the little giggles from the children playing and the jogging steps from around the park seemed to be the only sound apart from the heartbeat of both Haven and Alexis. Haven and Alexis sat across from each other, their gazes locked. Time seemed to stand still as they simply were, their presence filling the space with a quiet intensity. Haven's heart pounded in his chest. He’d never felt this way about anyone before. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time, every detail, every nuance, striking him with a fresh sense of wonder. Her eyes, a deep, captivating brown, held a universe of emotions. He could get lost in them for hours, exploring the depths of her soul. Alexis, too, was lost in the moment. She felt a warmth spreading through her, a comforting familiarity that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Haven’s gaze was steady and kind, a stark contrast to the chaos that often surrounded her. In his eyes, she saw acceptance, understanding, and
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 244Haven's throat was fixed. He knew precisely what she meant—how they had both lost themselves in the splits and cleft of their fizzled marriage, getting to be individuals they didn’t recognize. "Do you ever think," he said, his voice scarcely capable of being heard, "about what us?" Alexis gave him a sidelong look, her expression softening. "All the time." They fell into a pensive quiet, the kind that comes as it were when two individuals share a history as well complicated for words. "I think," Alexis began gradually, "we were trying so hard to be what we thought the other needed that we overlooked to be ourselves." Haven gestured, her words resounding deeply. "No doubt. I thought I had to be this culminating supplier, continuously solid, continuously in control. But I wasn't truly letting you in. I see that now." "And I kept trying to be this perfect spouse," Alexis included with a little, self-deprecating snicker. "I needed to demonstrate that I was enough, that I coul
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 243Alexis let out a little, severe giggle. “I never stopped caring, Haven. That’s the problem.” The genuineness in her voice cut through him like a knife, more sharp than any offended she may have tossed his way. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “If you never stopped caring, why did you leave?” She hesitated, her expression tormented. “Because I was tired of waiting for you to choose me.” Haven felt the air leaving his lungs as if she had punched him. “What are you talking about? I was continuously there.” “You were physically there,” Alexis whispered, “but your heart was someplace else. Continuously working, continuously building. I needed more than that.” He closed his eyes, blaming wrapping around him like chains. He had worked himself to the bone to donate them both a great life, believing it would be enough. But in the process, he had missed the foremost vital thing—her. “I thought I was doing it for us,” he said, his voice overwhelming with lament.
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 242A minute, the walls around her heart trembling but not very falling. Perhaps, just perhaps, she might take another step. “Yeah,” she said unobtrusively. “I think I do.” Haven leaned back in his leather chair, checking the numbers on his laptop screen with a tired but fulfilled smile. Business was good, better than ever, in reality. Growing his firm had been one of the most risky choices of his life, but the payoff had surpassed his expectations. However, even in the midst of his proficient victory, a gloomy hurt remained underneath the surface, one that wasn’t so effortlessly relieved by benefits and development charts. He tapped a number of keys to distract himself and ran a hand down his face. He had a whole lot to do on his plate for the upcoming investors meeting that could serve as a major boost for the future of his company. His company that suffered a downgrade after the divorce with Alexis was slowly getting recognized and becoming a better version of itself.Outside the wide
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 241She moved awkwardly in her seat, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s easier that way. In case you don’t expect anything, you can’t get hurt.” Dr. Patel inclined forward marginally, her hands resting on the armrests of her chair. “It sounds like you’ve built walls around yourself to secure against dissatisfaction. But those walls also make it difficult for people to associate with you, don't they?” Alexis collapsed her arms firmly over her chest. “Yeah, well. it’s not like anyone’s trying that hard, anyway.” “Do you think that’s true?” Dr. Patel inquired tenderly. “Or is that something you tell yourself since it feels safer?” Alexis looked absent, jaw fixing. “What difference does it make? They give up inevitably. Friends, boyfriends. everybody. It continuously happens.” Dr. Patel let a minute of hush hang between them before she spoke. “Tell me about your last relationship.” Alexis moaned, rubbing her sanctuaries. “Do we have to?” “I think it could help us learn mor
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
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