Collide Into Ruin

Prologue

The city pulsed around her, but Emilia felt nothing. No sound, no air, just the static hum of disbelief rattling through her bones. The streetlights cast a dim golden glow over the slick pavement, reflecting the twisted, distorted image of the man she had loved for eight years-her Chase-pressed against another woman.

Not just any woman. Hallie Rogers. B-list actress. Overly dramatic. A voice like nails on a chalkboard. And now, apparently, the woman carrying his child.

Emilia stood frozen, watching as Chase cradled Hallie's stomach with the same hands that used to trace circles on her back in the morning. The same hands that had once wiped away her tears and held her close, promising her forever.

She wanted to look away, to run, to breathe, but her body refused to move. The world felt like it was spinning violently, yet she remained anchored in place, drowning in the scene before her. His lips. On hers. His hands. On her. His love. Gone.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, snapping her back to reality. A text.

Chase: Yeah, I know I promised, Em, but I'm sorry-business calls. We really need to win this deal. It's vital. Look, I promise to make it up to you as soon as it closes. I'm sorry, babe. I promise to be home for breakfast tomorrow. I love you. G2G.

A bitter laugh ripped from her throat, a sound foreign even to herself. Her hands shook as she stared at the screen, her own reflection visible in the glass. Empty eyes. A hollow face.

Eighteen excuses this month. Eighteen times he had promised her something and never followed through. And now this.

Her birthday cake sat untouched on the table beside her, candles melted into a pool of wax. A reminder of how she had spent the evening alone, waiting for a man who had already given himself to someone else.

Her phone dinged again-Instagram story notifications. Mechanically, she tapped the screen, scrolling through birthday wishes from friends. Sweet posts, kind words, pictures of better times. Then-the last story.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Hallie Rogers. A video. Smiling, glowing, and unmistakably giddy.

"OMG, guys... I just can't contain this news anymore! My boyfriend and I are expecting! AHHH! This is so exciting. I love him so much, and he loves me. Don't you, handsome?"

A low grunt in the background. A sound Emilia knew all too well.

Chase.

Her hands clenched into fists, nails biting into her palms. He was supposed to be in a business meeting.

Her eyes darted to the background of the video-a hospital.

Her stomach lurched. The screen blurred as she scrolled to the next slide. A photo dimly lit but clear as day. Hallie, her lips ghosting over a man's whose face had been blurred into obscurity. But Emilia knew.

She knew the way he held her. She knew the shape of that jawline, the way his fingers curled at the small of a woman's back. She knew because she had memorized him. Because she had spent nearly a decade loving him.

The next image.

His hand. On her stomach. Again.

The phone slipped from her grasp, hitting the floor with a hollow thud. A sob wrenched from her chest, violent and unrelenting. The room spun, the edges of her vision dimming. She couldn't breathe.

With shaking hands, she reached for the one person who had always made sense-Chase's mother.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Then a voice-soft, hesitant.

"Emilia, sweetie..." a pause, then a shaky breath. "I-I can't talk long. I'm at the hospital with Chase and Hallie. The baby had a bit of a scare, but everything is okay now."

The baby.

Emilia's body went numb.

There it was. Confirmation. An entire reality she had been blind to, now suffocating her like an iron weight on her chest.

Her mind replayed the last four months, searching for clues, for signs, for something-anything-that could make this make sense. But all she found were memories stained in betrayal, laughter turned to lies, a love story that had unraveled right in front of her, and she had been too blind, too trusting, too in love to see it.

A choked sob escaped her lips, and she pressed a hand to her mouth as if that could stop the ache from swallowing her whole.

Some people collide and create galaxies. Others crash and leave nothing but ruin.

And tonight, Emilia was nothing but ruins.