CHAPTER 80

The days after the second betrayal stretched into weeks, then into months, each one blurring into the next. For Luke, it was like walking through a storm that refused to end.

He had always considered himself strong, the kind of man who didn’t bend under pressure, who could face obstacles with a steady hand. But when it came to Obetta, strength seemed useless. Every ounce of control he had built for himself crumbled when her face appeared in his mind.

And she appeared often.

Sometimes, it was her laugh, echoing in the corners of his memory, light and carefree. Other times, it was the warmth of her hand in his, or the way she had looked at him on nights when she swore he was the only man she would ever love.

Those memories clashed violently with the truth the image of her lips pressed against another man’s, the sound of her excuses, the taste of betrayal that no amount of forgiveness could wash away.

It left Luke torn, caught between two worlds: the love that still lingered and the pain that refused to fade.

Luke had always believed that love was supposed to be a force of strength, a steady foundation that held people up when life grew hard. But with Obetta, love had become a chain.

It pulled him back to her even when he tried to run. It whispered lies in his ear, telling him she could change, that maybe if he gave her enough time, she would finally realize what she stood to lose.

And he wanted to believe those lies. God, he wanted to.

Because the alternative was unbearable the thought that all the time, all the energy, all the pieces of his heart he had given her had been wasted.

There were nights when he sat in his study long after midnight, a glass of whiskey untouched on the desk, staring at the flickering fire. He would close his eyes, and her face would appear as vividly as if she were standing before him.

He hated her. He loved her.

Both feelings wrestled inside him, tearing him apart.

Obetta didn’t let go easily.

She called him. She sent messages. She appeared at his home, sometimes in tears, sometimes in anger. She knew how to play on his emotions when to beg, when to accuse, when to remind him of what they once had.

“Luke, we were happy once. Don’t throw that away,” she had whispered one night, standing in the rain outside his door. Her hair clung to her face, her makeup smudged, her body shivering from the cold.

He had let her in, against his better judgment.

She sat by the fire, wrapping herself in the blanket he gave her, and looked at him with those wide eyes that had once melted him. “I made mistakes, yes. But doesn’t everyone? I’m human, Luke. I slipped. But I love you. Doesn’t that count for something?”

Her words cut into him. Part of him wanted to say yes, to believe her love outweighed the betrayals. But another part deeper, quieter knew that love without trust was poison.

And slowly, painfully, that part grew louder.

The final break didn’t happen all at once. It built up like water behind a dam, cracks spreading wider each time she pushed against the edges of his patience.

One evening, she came again this time not crying, but confident, as though she still held power over him.

“You can’t walk away from me,” she said, standing tall in his living room. “You love me too much. You always will.”

Luke had stared at her, his chest tightening.

It was true he did love her. That was the hardest part. But he also knew love alone wasn’t enough.

For the first time, he said it aloud: “Obetta, I can’t do this anymore.”

She froze, blinking. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s over.” His voice was steady, though his heart thudded painfully in his chest. “I’ve tried. God knows I’ve tried. But you don’t stop. And I can’t keep forgiving the same mistake.”

Her lips trembled, then curled into a bitter smile. “So that’s it? After everything, you’re just going to throw us away?”

“No.” He shook his head slowly. “You did that. I’m just… finally admitting it.”

Obetta’s eyes burned with a mixture of rage and despair. She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Luke stood there long after she was gone, his hands clenched, his body trembling.

He had ended it.

But it didn’t feel like relief.

It felt like bleeding.

………………………

In the weeks that followed, Luke withdrew from everyone. He buried himself in work, in estate matters, in anything that kept his mind occupied.

The staff noticed the change how he smiled less, how he spoke only when necessary, how he carried a heaviness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. But no one dared to ask.

Behind closed doors, Luke built walls.

Brick by brick, he stacked them high.

No one would see him vulnerable again. No one would get close enough to wound him the way Obetta had.

He told himself it was better this way better to be guarded, better to keep his heart locked away. Emotions were dangerous. Trust was dangerous. Love was the sharpest weapon of all.

And so he let himself harden.

The Luke Vandell who once laughed easily, who once believed in love as a lifeline, became a man of steel. His charm remained, his control sharpened, but his heart? That, he buried deep.

Still, late at night, the ache returned.

When the house was silent and the world was asleep, Luke would lie awake, staring at the ceiling, remembering. Remembering the way Obetta had once looked at him like he was her world. Remembering how it felt to give himself completely to someone.

And then remembering how it felt to lose it all.

He hated that he still missed her sometimes. He hated that her shadow followed him. But heartbreak didn’t vanish overnight. It lingered, a scar under the skin, reminding him of what it cost to love without caution.

That scar became a lesson.

Never again, he told himself.

Never again would he let anyone break him the way she had.

By the time Abigail entered his life, Luke was no longer the same man Obetta had once held.

He was colder. Sharper. His heart was locked behind walls so high even he couldn’t see over them.

But those walls hadn’t erased the man he used to be. They had only hidden him, waiting for someone worthy enough to break through.

And though Luke didn’t know it yet, that someone was already on her waapter in the flashback style until the memory fully fades?