Chapter 14

(Julian's POV)

The next day after the meeting with my private investigator, I was still sitting in the same chair, and wearing the same wrinkled shirt.

My phone sat on the desk, screen blank , while I kept wishing it would light up with her name, and kept imagining what I'd say if she called. But she never did.

The door opened then without a knock. I looked up, ready to yell at whoever had the nerve to walk in unannounced, but the words died in my throat when I saw who it was. 

Serena stood in the doorway, and she looked different than the last time I'd seen her. Her hair was packed in a ponytail that had not seen water and shampoo in days. Dark circles lined her eyes, and she was in jeans and an oversized sweater that hid the small bump I knew was starting to show.

"We need to talk."

My assistant appeared behind her, panting with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hart. She just pushed past the desk—"

"It's fine." I waved her away. "Close the door."

She left and Serena walked closer. She didn't sit down, and I didn't ask her to. She just stood there with her arms crossed, looking at me like I was some pathetic beggar off the streets.

"You look terrible."

"Thanks."

"Have you eaten today?"

"I don't know. What day is it?"

She ignored me and pulled out the chair across from my desk and sat down. "Julian, this has to stop. You need to move on."

I laughed, and it was loud and ugly. "Move on? She's been gone for three weeks and you want me to move on?"

"Maybe you should let her go."

The words hit me like a slap. "What did you just say?"

"Let her go, Julian. She's clearly moved on.”

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. Any woman who goes that far to get away from a man isn't coming back." Then she leaned forward to add in a low tone. "You're destroying yourself over someone who's already forgotten about you."

"Shut up."

"I'm trying to help you—"

"This is your fault." I stood up, knocking papers off my desk. "If you hadn't—"

"If I hadn't what?" She shot to her feet, matching my anger. "Loved you? You came to me, Julian. You pursued me, remember? You're the one who showed up at my door that first night. You're the one who said your marriage was losing its spark. You're the one who kept coming back."

"I never said any of that.”

"Yes, you did. Multiple times. You said Evelyn didn't understand you anymore. That she only cared about playing house while you built an empire. That you needed someone who saw you for who you really were. "Don't you dare rewrite history to make yourself feel better."

Maybe I had said those things, but I couldn't remember anymore. The past year and a half was a blur of lies I'd told myself to justify what I was doing.

"That was a mistake. Everything with you was a mistake."

Her face went white and she grabbed the edge of the desk like she needed it to stand. "You don't mean that."

"Get out. I can't look at you right now."

"What about the baby?" Her voice cracked. "What about US?"

The baby. Right. I kept forgetting about that in the chaos of losing Evelyn.

"There is no us." I walked around the desk, needing distance from her. "I don't care about what baby you're talking about. There never was an us. You were a distraction. A mistake I'm going to spend the rest of my life paying for."

She stared at me like I'd hit her. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. Then she turned and walked out, slamming the door so hard behind her.

I stood there for a minute, waiting for the feeling of guilt to come. But it didn't, I just felt empty.

A knock landed on the door again, buying me a few minutes of reprieve.

"What?"

My assistant pushed it open. "Mr. Hart, your two o'clock is here."

"Cancel it."

"But it's the investors from—"

"Cancel everything." I looked at her and my eyes hardened, "And you're fired."

She blinked. "What?"

"You heard me. Clean out your desk."

"Mr. Hart, I've worked for you for three years—"

"I don't care. Get out."

She left without another word, and I heard her crying in the hallway but I didn't care about that either.

I pulled out my phone and opened I*******m. Evelyn's account was gone, deleted weeks ago. But I'd saved screenshots like an idiot who thought we'd look back on them someday.

I found the last photo she'd posted. Our sixth anniversary dinner. Both of us dressed up, her in that red dress that made her eyes look brighter. My arm around her waist like I owned her. I used to. 

The caption said: “6 years with my best friend ❤️”

I scrolled through the comments. All the usual garbage people wrote as felicitations. “Couple goals.” “You two are perfect together.” “This is what love should look like!”

Then I saw my own comment underneath: “Forever with you, baby.”

I remembered typing that while I sat on Serena's bed while Evelyn was at home, probably waiting for me to come back from my fake business dinner. I'd posted that comment to keep up with appearances, and to make sure no one suspected anything was wrong.

Forever.

The word tasted as shitty as I felt.

I threw my phone across the room. It hit the wall and bounced off, screen cracked but still working.

Maybe it would stop working entirely and I could stop torturing myself with pictures of a life I'd destroyed.

***

(Serena's POV)

I made it to my car before the tears started.

My hands shook as I fumbled with the keys. Once inside, I gripped the steering wheel and screamed.

I screamed until my throat hurt and my voice went rough like sandpaper.

Then I started hitting the wheel with my palms. Over and over until they were sore.

A mistake.

He'd called me a mistake.

After everything. And after a year and a half of sneaking around and building something I thought was real. He'd told me he'd leave her to be with me, and just needed time.

I grabbed my phone with shaking hands and opened my messages. I scrolled and found Evelyn's contact. My fingers moved before my better judgement could stop them.

“You think you've won? You haven't. I'll destroy you.”

I press send.

The message bounced back immediately, and a red text appeared on the screen: “Message failed to deliver. Number no longer in service.”

And it dawned on me she's changed her number and cut me off completely. Just like Julian had just done.

I was alone in my car, pregnant with a baby the father didn't want, and the only two people who'd mattered to me in the past two years were both gone.

I put my head on the steering wheel and cried until I couldn't cry anymore.

When I managed to stop and looked up, my face was swollen and my eyes hurt badly. 

I turned off my phone and drove home, wondering how everything had gone so wrong so fast.