The Weight of Broken Promises

Bella Beaufort stumbled back, heart cracking in a thousand pieces.

She couldn't look. Couldn't move. One more second and she'd snap—either scream at him or break down right there in the dirt.

She turned and ran.

At the preschool gate, her bestie—Heidi—was already out of the car the second she saw Bella's face.

"Bella, what happened? Nico said you went back for something—what's going on?"

Nico was Heidi's son. She'd dragged Bella along for the parent-teacher thing.

Bella looked like she'd seen a ghost. Tears blurred her vision.

"I need you to look someone up."

"Who?"

"Steven." Her voice cracked. "He has a son."

***

[Babe, I won't be back for another week. Did you miss me?]

Bella stared at Steven's text as tears slipped down.

Every July, he disappeared for two weeks. Said it was business overseas.

Six years, she never questioned it.

Now? The truth hit like a slap to the face.

He wasn't working. He was with them—his lover and their kid.

If she hadn't gone back for Nico's jacket, she'd still be clueless.

Rain slammed against the windows. Thunder shook the walls. Lightning lit her pale face in the glass.

She flipped through the photos in her hand, shredding herself with them.

Maybe she should've seen it coming.

The Roccas were old-school. They'd never let someone who couldn't have kids into the family.

Unless... this was the plan all along.

And Steven? The guy who swore he'd love her forever?

Where did he fit into that lie?

Her chest ached.

She and Steven had been inseparable since they were kids. Everyone said they were endgame.

At eight, she fell out of a tree. He jumped under her, broke his arm, and still grinned through the pain.

At twelve, she got her first period and ruined her skirt. He noticed and panicked, though he had long known what this was all about.

At eighteen, he risked his life in an illegal race just to win her a ring and propose.

He'd told her, "Bella, I'll love you forever."

That kind of love was wild, reckless—pure. And she'd fallen for it completely.

The night before their wedding, she was kidnapped by one of his enemies. By the time they found her, she was barely breathing.

Steven showed up swinging—broke three ribs getting her out. She took a knife for him.

That was the day she lost her chance at motherhood.

When his mom—Miranda— found out, she tried to split them up.

But Steven, still covered in bruises, locked himself in the Rocca chapel for three days—no food, no sleep. Just rage and heartbreak.

"I'd rather give up this family than give up Bella," he told Miranda.

That's when she finally backed off.

As soon as he healed, they got married. The whole city watched like it was a fairytale.

And still—he betrayed her.

Bella's phone lit up. 'Hubby.'

The name felt like a cruel joke now.

She answered, numb.

"Babe, have you been eating? Did you miss me?" Steven's voice was soft, sweet.

Before, that would've melted her. She'd have answered with love, no hesitation.

Now? If she said a word, she'd fall apart.

"Babe? Something wrong? Don't be scared. I'll come home right now." He was already moving.

She couldn't see him. Not now.

"I'm fine." Her voice was dry, cracked. "Just a cold. Work's important—don't come back."

Her first lie to him.

He didn't catch on. He hesitated, like something felt off, but still hovered.

"Alright. Get some rest. Call me later, okay? Don't make me worry."

"Mm." It was all she could manage.

Just as Bella went to hang up, a woman's voice cut through the line—flirty, smug.

"Steven, Ollie's asleep. We can..."

Steven's breathing shifted—faster, heavier.

Then the call dropped.

Bella's grip on her phone tightened, knuckles white. A chill crawled over her skin.

He was with that woman.

Bella didn't let herself think past that.

A sob ripped through her chest, brutal and raw. Like her heart had been crushed in someone's fist.

She'd tried to believe he only saw the woman for the kid.

But now?

He'd made his choice.

Heidi burst in, eyes wide, but stopped cold when she saw Bella—shaking, shattered.

"It's not worth it, Bella. Not for a man."

Tears hit the photo in Bella's hand, blurring it.

Heidi pulled her close, voice sharp with fury.

"Steven's trash. He fed you all those sweet lines when he proposed—and now he's hiding a whole family behind your back?"

Bella shut her eyes, letting the tears fall.

Her heart had already decided.