MasukThomasThomasThe apartment was far too quiet when we arrived.I had imagined being here differently—imagined a small place filled with life, with Kiara moving around, with the babies crying, making noise, filling every corner with something real. I had pictured chaos, warmth, interruptions… a life.But there was nothing.Only silence.Not the kind of silence you look for when you need to rest or think. Not the kind that comforts you. This was a hollow silence—heavy, uncomfortable. It crept into every corner, echoing inside my head, pressing against my chest. Since the moment we walked in, I hadn’t been able to get used to it.The absence of everything was unbearable.The walls felt narrower somehow. The air was different. There was no constant movement, no voices in the background, no footsteps echoing down a hallway. No presence of others, even in quiet moments.Just emptiness.I dropped my backpack near the couch and stood there for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do next
ThomasI never thought loving someone could hurt this much until I met Kiara.I always knew she hadn’t fully forgotten Jake. That truth had always lingered somewhere in the back of my mind, like a shadow I chose to ignore. But I never believed it would come to this. I told myself that if it ever did—if one day she chose him over me—I would be mature enough to understand it. I convinced myself I was prepared.After everything I had been through—the gunshot, the hospital, the constant feeling of standing on the edge between life and death, fighting for just one more day—I thought nothing could hit me harder than that. I thought I had already endured the worst kind of pain a person could feel.I was wrong.This… this was worse. Far worse than the bullet that had torn through my body. That pain had been physical, sharp, immediate—but it had an end. It could be numbed, treated, healed. What I felt now was something entirely different. This pain didn’t have a clear source I could touch or r
KiaraI stayed a few more minutes in the room with the children, rocking the baby until her breathing became calm again. Ada loved her mom, and that made me happy. They were the only ones who could bring a smile to my face in that moment. Blake had calmed down, too, barely moving in his crib, unaware of everything happening in the living room. At least that was something. I preferred that they never felt a situation this tense again.When I was sure they wouldn’t wake up again, I carefully stood and left the room, closing the door softly so I wouldn’t make any noise.I didn’t really want to go out. I didn’t want to step back into the chaos, but I couldn’t use my children as a refuge either. I had to face what was happening. Jake was down there alone with his mother, dealing with a situation I was also largely responsible for.Jake stood in the middle of the room, looking toward the stairs, watching his mother come down.I followed his gaze.Juliette walked to the door, holding a suitc
KiaraThomas had finally left the house, no matter how hard I tried to stop him. I tried to convince him, but it was useless. He had already made his decision. I stood there staring at the door for a while, hoping he would change his mind, as if I expected it to open again, as if at any moment Thomas would come back and somehow everything could return to normal. It didn’t happen, of course.The silence left behind in the house was louder than the noise of the party and the shouting from earlier. It was incredible how everything suddenly felt so dead.I felt Juliette’s presence before she spoke. I didn’t have to turn around to know she was there, standing, staring at the door her son had just walked out of. She was crying, afraid that something might happen to Thomas.“Excellent. Are you happy now?” she asked.She didn’t shout. She didn’t raise her voice. But she looked at us with resentment.I slowly turned. Jake stood a few steps behind me, his body tense, as if he already expected h
KiaraI heard footsteps on the stairs before I saw him, and I knew it was Thomas coming down. There was no mistaking his steps. He looked completely determined to leave, and I knew I had to act fast if I wanted to convince him to stay at least one more night.Where was he going in the middle of the night? Where could he go on his own?I looked up.He was coming down with a backpack slung over his shoulder and two more in his hands. He wasn’t carrying much, but enough that he wouldn’t have to come back.“Thomas…” I said softly.He didn’t respond. He kept walking down, not looking at me, his gaze fixed on the last step.Jake stood beside me, still, his arms tense, watching everything without interfering, and I was grateful he didn’t step in.I took a step forward.“Thomas, wait.”He didn’t look at me.When he reached the last step, he finally lifted his gaze. His eyes passed over me for barely a second before shifting to the door. God… he was really going to leave. He wasn’t bluffing.T
ThomasI never thought loving someone would hurt this much until I met Kiara.I always knew she hadn’t fully forgotten Jake, but I didn’t think this would happen. And I believed that if it ever did, I would have the emotional maturity to understand it. I thought I was prepared. I thought that after everything I had been through, the gunshot, the hospital, the constant feeling of being between life and death, fighting to make it through one more day, nothing could hit me harder than that. I was wrong.This… this is worse. It was worse than the bullet. The pain inside me wouldn’t go away with time or medication.There was a huge knot inside my chest. I shut myself off from love the moment she told me she was with him. Before talking to her, I prayed that what was going through my mind wasn’t real. I prayed my suspicions weren’t true, but they were.I walk around the room, trying to shove as many of my belongings as possible into my bags so I can leave the house without having to come ba
Jake I walked past Kiara and Thomas, holding Irina’s hand. What nonsense. Kiara is trying to drag me into some confusing game of senseless accusations. I could be many terrible things, but I would never send a text message about a baby’s health issues. As we walked toward the house, leaving Ki
KiaraJake stopped the car and got out. His face showed confusion and annoyance.“What the hell are you doing? Move. I need to park the car,” he said in a harsh tone.Thomas came to my side.“Do you think what you’re doing is funny?” I accused.Irina also got out of the car. Her red heels clicked ag
Jake When that intrusive question escaped my lips, Kiara stiffened. I waited for her to turn and face me, but she didn’t. Her breathing quickened, sharper than before. A second later, she kept walking toward the exit. She couldn’t bear being in the same room as me, and honestly, I couldn’t stan
Jake One of the most impulsive decisions I ever made was divorcing Kiara. The second was getting involved with her sister. The third was marrying Irina. We had just gotten married in secret. I managed to get a last-minute appointment at the civil registry so we could get married before the







