Five Years Of Broken Dreams Novel Novels & Stories

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.

But after the accident, my nights had been filled with unbearable suffering. The only thing that had kept me going through those years of pain had been my love for Queenie. When I realized she no longer loved me, I had nothing left to hold onto in this world. As a crippled man, my existence would only burden my parents and son. "Mom, you're lying." Leroy pushed Queenie away. "You held a knife to my neck and said that only Mr. Francis mattered to you. That Dad and I didn't matter at all. "It's your fault I don't have a dad anymore. I hate you. You're nothing like my friends' moms. Their moms only love their dads, but you love Mr. Francis."

In my half-conscious state, I tried to follow the sound, but it dissolved before I could grasp it. Our divorce, signed in silence while lawyers shuffled papers and pretended. The moment I'd seen Mia's signature on the final documents. The dreams grew stranger as the medication deepened its hold. I was five years old again, trapped in that warehouse with a little girl who'd comforted me with steady hands and a voice like music. But now I could see her face clearly—green eyes and copper hair and a smile that would stay with me for decades. "We're going to be okay," dream-Mia told dream-me, her child's voice carrying impossible wisdom. "I promise we're going to be okay."

I'll keep every promise I made. Then he closed the door. And the breakup I'd been about to say died in my throat. When I woke up the next morning, Joshua was already gone. For the first time, I opened the door to the room I'd never been allowed to enter. A sketchbook sat on the desk. I flipped it open. The first drawing was of a woman with her clothes half off. Gwen. The sketch wasn't even finished. I remembered begging Joshua to draw me once. He'd refused.

No more begging for love. No more pretending not to notice lipstick stains on his shirts. No more waiting alone at the dining table until midnight. No more smiling while another woman proudly carried my husband's child. I tightened my grip around the small suitcase beside me. Five years... Five years of sacrificing my dreams. Five years of living for a man who had never truly been mine. I laughed bitterly. "What a fool I was." A black luxury car stopped beside the gate. The driver hurried out and opened the rear door.

Scarlett I couldn't sleep. No matter how many times I closed my eyes. No matter how many times I turned over in bed and tried to force myself to relax, seep simply refused to come. The guest bedroom felt unfamiliar. The silence felt unfamiliar. Even the air felt unfamiliar. Everything about this place reminded me of a version of myself that no longer existed. Five years ago, I had walked out of this mansion with a broken heart and a suitcase full of shattered dreams. I had promised myself I would never return.

Present My breath caught in my throat, like I had just drowned, and finally reached the surface. The yellow light from the bed lamp slapped me back into reality. My spacious room—the messy gray sheets, the AC running, and the cold air piercing my sweat-soaked skin. I hugged my chest, trying to soothe the rumbling that felt like it was hollowing out my ribs. That dream again. The same dream. That night, Dylan had blood on his neck. I covered my face with both hands, but that didn't erase it. The images still lingered in my mind's eye. Five years had passed, and this dream still crushed me every night, bringing me back to when everything stopped.

Yet, the shadow of betrayal and the pain he left behind could not be easily ignored. I looked out the window, watching the light rain fall again. Tears streamed down my cheeks, unable to be held back. Why did love have to be so complicated in my life? Why did I have to struggle to understand these feelings? I wanted to trust him, but the pain I felt was so deep. Five years was a long time to reflect on everything that had happened. I had built a new world and found strength within myself. But now, with his return, it all seemed to crumble in an instant.

"Deanna, what did you just say? "Didn’t you say before that this child was the treasure your whole family had been waiting for? That I was a hero to your family? That you’d treat me well for the rest of your life? How can you turn on me like this?!" "That was before!" Deanna screamed, her voice breaking. "Look at the situation now! My company is being destroyed. Your family is collapsing. I’m not going down with you! We’re breaking up right now. Stop clinging to me!"

“She's pretending that she doesn't know me. She’s doing this on purpose." He nodded. "After what happened five years ago, I would've been surprised if she hadn't." I scratched my head. What happened five years ago was the best yet the worst time of my life. But how was it both? I’d met Joy, which gave me the hope that I needed to know that I could still love someone else, someone other than Olivia. But then, with a sudden shift, things went down, and I was back to the start. Broken. "You, of all people, know how much I wanted Joy."