I noticed him looking through articles on raising pups—something he never cared about before. My heart leapt. Maybe he was finally ready. Maybe he wanted the future I had longed for, the family we could build together.
But as the days passed, the truth became clearer. Those plans? They weren’t for us. They were for someone else.
For her. Elara.
The thought twisted inside me like a blade.
That night, Darius came home earlier than usual. The door creaked open, and he called out, "Hey, babe!" His voice sounded too cheerful, too fake.
I lay in our house, staring at the ceiling, my heart in pieces. The sound of the shower in the other room barely comforted me. When he finally climbed into bed, his hand brushed mine, as if nothing had changed between us. But I couldn’t reach back.
I wanted to feel something, anything, other than this emptiness. I wanted to believe we could fix it, that we could save what was broken. But all I could feel was the truth—I wasn’t the one he wanted.
Then, like it was the most casual thing in the world, he spoke. His voice was soft, almost tender.