Prologue #2
“I know exactly what you mean! You want to keep Arianna in the dark about who her real father is, like he doesn’t exist. And then expect me to shoulder the weight, and take on the responsibilities of raising another man’s child, someone who, by the way, has a fucking family of his own.
” I let out a dry, humourless laugh. “No. You don’t get to do what you did and then expect me to save you like I’m some knight in shining armour. ”
“I’m not. I just don’t know how to do this on my own.”
“Then call her fucking dad!”
“He can’t know, Kaden! He has a wife, a son—”
“Well it didn’t stop you from fucking him and getting yourself knocked up, did it? I don’t care if you’re too much of a coward to call him, but either way, he deserves to know about his child.”
She shakes her head, sobbing hysterically with her hands covering her face. For a fleeting moment, I actually feel pity for her. That perhaps I’m being a little too harsh. Too cold.
But it’s gone almost as quickly as it comes, replaced by the memory of everything she’s ever done. The marriages she’s destroyed. The homes she’s torn apart. And I’m snapped right back to feeling nothing but anger and disdain towards her.
“You don’t understand,” she chokes out, her voice breaking under the strain. “Adrian’s going to deny everything. He’s not going to want to know about Ari.”
“How would you know that? You haven’t even tried to reach out to him.”
The very mention of her lover’s name only makes my blood boil. I’ve never met the man, but I know enough that if we ever come face to face, he’ll wish he hadn’t.
From the little information my private investigator dug up about Adrian Turner, I quickly learned that he married his high school sweetheart, has an eight-year-old son named Zac, and works as a primary school teacher at the same school Lucia works at.
He was the new teacher when they first met, the one who, ironically, replaced my ex-wife after she left over my affair with Lucia.
I swear, the universe’s twisted sense of karma couldn’t have been more cruel—or more perfect, depending on how you look at it.
Lucia eventually confessed that their affair began shortly after I moved in with her, right around the time the cracks in our relationship were starting to show. What should have been a fresh start for us, quickly became one of the worst times of my life.
Every little thing with her became an argument—suspicion, frustration, jealousy, all replacing the closeness we once shared. And no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to bridge the growing distance between us.
But still, I stayed. I told myself I had to. I destroyed my marriage because of her—because of us. I couldn’t let that sacrifice mean nothing.
“Please… don’t do this.” She sniffs, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “Our daughter loves you.” Her voice trembles, barely audible through her cries. “I understand you don’t want to be with me anymore, but please, don’t punish her for my mistakes.”
“Just stop! Stop trying to guilt-trip me, Lucia! You know I’d never do that. I’ll always be available to her whenever she needs me, but at the end of the day, she someone else’s child, not mine. You made sure of that.”
She lets out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t believe this is happening. This is a fucking disaster!”
“Well maybe you should’ve thought about that before you went and spread your legs for another man like some cheap whore!”
Even after the words are spoken, I don’t feel an ounce of remorse.
If anything, it just brings me back to that night I found all those text messages between her and Adrian on her phone.
That was only a couple of weeks ago, but it feels like it was only yesterday when I discovered she’d been cheating on me for five whole months.
The minute I found out, I hired a private investigator to follow her, and not even a week later, he delivered all the proof I needed right at my doorstep. Lucia was barely through the front door when I confronted her and demanded a DNA test.
“You’re such a fucking pig!” She spits, her anger quickly replacing the fake tears. “It was all your fault I cheated in the first place you know that.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Okay, Lucia. Go on. I’d love to hear how this was all my fault
“You were still in love with her!” she shouts, and for a moment, I worry she’s woken up Ari. Thankfully, she only stirs, but doesn’t wake.
“I knew that if Skylar wanted you back, you’d drop me in a heartbeat without a second thought,” Lucia continues.
“You only settled for me because you didn’t want to be alone.
” She scoffs, then takes a slow step towards me, her gaze hard and unrelenting.
“You used me. Treated me like I was still the fucking mistress, only wanting me when you felt lonely and sorry for yourself.
You made me feel like I was always second best to her!
So I did the only thing I knew would hurt you deeply—fuck another man.
“That man is married, Lucia—with a child! You didn’t just hurt me, you may have ruined an entire family.”
“Correction, he ruined his own family. It’s not my fault some men are just too fucking weak,” she spits, the words clearly meant to cut me.
And it does. Because the truth is, I’m just as guilty as Adrian. I betrayed my wife, hurt her in the worst possible way, and tore everything apart in the process. Now, I’m paying the ultimate price for it.
“I’m not going to deny that I was still in love with Skylar,” I tell her truthfully. “I was with her for ten, long years, for crying out loud. You can’t just move on from that overnight.”
She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest like a petulant child, but I just ignore it and continue on.
“I’m sorry you felt like you were second best. You could have ended things
with me at any time. You didn’t have to stay. You didn’t have to cheat.”
I pause, needing a moment to control my heavy breathing.
“The sad part about all of this, was that the moment I found out you were pregnant, I was determined to make things right between us. I knew it was a chance at a fresh start—a clean slate. A chance to rebuild our relationship. And I was prepared to do anything to fix our relationship. But then you did what you did, and now...now it can never be repaired.”
“We can start over again, Kaden. It’s not too late!”
I shake my head slowly. “It’s already too late.
I can’t trust you anymore. You’re not who I thought you were.
And quite frankly, I’m starting to think I never really knew you at all.
The harsh truth is, Lucia—we’re too toxic together.
All we do is hurt each other… and everyone around us.
I can’t live my life like that anymore. It’s painful, miserable and exhausting. ”
“So, what? You’re just going to walk out on us now, is that it? You’re going to leave Ari fatherless?”
“She has a father. He just doesn’t know about her yet.”
Her eyes narrow, and I can tell she wants to argue more, but I quickly turn away from her before she can utter another word and walk over to Arianna instead. Lowering myself beside her, I lean down and press a tender kiss to her forehead.
“My sweet, precious girl. You will always have a special place in my heart. I will never forget you,” I whisper, my voice soft and low that only she can hear. I linger for a minute longer, letting the quiet moment stretch, while memorising every feature of her one last time.
Taking in a deep, steady breath, I slowly straighten to my full height and finally step back from her, forcing myself to turn and walk away. Each step is slower and heavier than the last, as if they’re being weighed down by grief and heartache.
As I start to move past Lucia, I take one last look at her—her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she’s trying to hold herself from falling apart.
“I trust that you’ll take good care of your daughter,” I say as I reach her side.
“I trust that you’ll give her the kind of life she deserves, and a mother she can always depend on.
Whether you want to hear this or not—it’s no longer about you anymore.
Do the right thing for once in your fucking life. Call her damn father.”
With that, I leave the room, my steps quick and painful, as though everything inside me is being ripped out by the roots. When the front door closes behind me, the sound echoes like the final nail in the coffin.
Whatever fragile thread of hope I’d been clinging to has now dissolved into nothing. Not a single speck remains.
I guess I was never meant for a happy ending after all. Not after every selfish, reckless, and destructive thing I’ve done.
This emptiness, this loss, this heartache—this is my life sentence. The universe’s ultimate punishment for all my wrongdoings.
I am destined to live this life sad and alone.
As I step into the thick, dry summer air, the heaviness of my new, bleak reality crashes down on me like a giant, suffocating wave.
Everything that ever mattered is gone.
I’ve finally hit rock bottom.
And deep down, beneath the anger, beneath the resentment, beneath the grief, the dark
thoughts echo relentlessly:
It’s what you deserve, Kaden. It’s what you fucking deserve.