Chapter 6

Reid POV

The car felt like a coffin the moment I left the club, Natalie’s presence beside me suffocating. She spoke softly, her voice like syrup.

“Reid, I warned you… I told you she was getting too close to Adrian. You deserve better than this.”

“Stop.” My voice was hoarse.

“But..”

“Stop!” I snapped, my hand tightening on the wheel. “Not another word, Natalie.”

She flinched and went quiet. By the time I pulled up at the lake on the edge of the city, I couldn’t stand her silence either.

“Get out.”

Her eyes widened. “Reid, it’s dark..”

“I said get out!” My tone was sharp, final. She scrambled from the car, and I slammed the door, leaving her behind as I walked down toward the water.

The night air was cold, biting at my skin. I sat on the damp grass near the edge of the lake, staring at the rippling water that reflected the moon. My hands trembled as I raked them through my hair.

Karline’s face wouldn’t leave me. Her laughter. Her warmth when she curled into my arms. The way her eyes lit up when she called me hers.

And now the image burned in my mind..her lips parted, flushed, sitting in Adrian’s arms.

I pressed my fists into my knees, my voice breaking as I whispered, “Why, Kar? Why? Why did you do this to me?”

The wind didn’t answer. Only the water moved, mocking me with its calmness.

Memories assaulted me.

Her running barefoot through the garden with our son. Her curling against my chest in bed, whispering, “You’re my world, Reid.”

Her tears that night when I left for Natalie’s call. “Don’t go now. Stay with me.”

And I had gone. Like a fool. Like a man who didn’t deserve her.

I wanted to scream, but the sound strangled in my throat.

The pain burned through me, deeper than anything I’d ever felt. She was my safe place, my anchor. And now I felt like a man adrift, shattered, unworthy.

I clenched my jaw, tears pricking my eyes. “Maybe I was never enough for you, Karline. Maybe I never deserved you.”

I dug my hands into the grass, grounding myself against the storm inside me.

But no matter how hard I tried to push her away from my thoughts, her voice kept echoing in my ears. “I’d never betray you, Reid. Never.”

My heart ached so violently I thought it might tear out of my chest.

If she was lying, then everything we had was a lie.

If she was telling the truth, then I’d destroyed us with my mistrust.

Either way, I had lost her.

The lake swallowed my reflection as a sob tore free. For the first time in years, I felt small. Broken. Unworthy of the love I thought was mine forever.

“God,” I whispered to the night. “Tell me how to live without her.”

But the silence was my only answer.

Karline's POV

The night dragged on like torture. I didn’t sleep. I sat curled on the sofa, eyes red and swollen, clutching my phone as if staring at it long enough would make it ring. Every sound outside made my heart jump, thinking it was him.

When dawn finally bled through the curtains, I dragged myself into the kitchen. My hands shook as I cracked eggs, sliced bread, and set the pan on the stove. It was the only thing I could think to do, cook his favorite breakfast, the way I always did when he came home exhausted. Maybe the smell, the warmth, the familiarity would soften his anger.

I laid everything neatly on the table, toast, eggs, coffee. My chest ached, waiting for the sound of the door.

At last, I heard it. The lock turning.

“Reid?” My voice cracked.

He stepped inside, his shirt wrinkled, his eyes shadowed, exhaustion and something darker carved into his face. For a second, hope flared in my chest.

“You’re home,” I whispered, hurrying forward. “I made breakfast. Please, eat something..”

But he brushed past me, his expression blank, his footsteps heavy.

“Reid,” I called, panic clawing up my throat. “It’s your favorite. Just sit down for a moment, let me..”

“I’m not hungry.” His voice was flat, empty, and it cut through me like a blade.

He headed for the stairs. I grabbed his arm, desperate. “Reid, please, listen to me! Nothing happened last night..I swear it on everything I love. I didn’t cheat on you!”

He shook me off, his eyes finally meeting mine. They were filled with a pain so deep it stole the air from my lungs. “Don’t.”

“Reid..” My voice broke into sobs. “I would never do that to you. I don’t even know what happened, I was dizzy, I couldn’t think, I, please, you have to believe me!”

“Enough, Karline.” His tone was harsh now, final. He turned away and climbed the stairs, every step echoing like a sentence.

When he reached our bedroom, he shut the door with a heavy thud.

I stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs, staring up through a haze of tears. The plate of food sat untouched behind me, steam curling upward as if mocking me.

“Reid!” I screamed, my voice cracking, raw with pain. “I didn’t cheat on you! Please believe me, please!”

The silence that followed was worse than any insult, any curse. It was the silence of a man who no longer wanted to hear me.

I sank to the floor, clutching my chest, sobbing until the sound of my own heartbreak filled the empty house.

Reid’s cold dismissal: “I’m not hungry.”

Her pleading and screaming, contrasted with his silence and slammed door.

That suffocating, devastating emotional wall between them.

I was still sitting on the floor when I heard the door upstairs creak open. My tears hadn’t even dried yet, but I scrambled to my feet, hope flaring again. Maybe..maybe he was ready to listen.