Chapter 14
ROMAN
W hat makes a house a home? Because right now, without Ava here, it doesn’t feel like home .
Home.
The word tastes bitter in my mouth as I stand in our kitchen, coffee mug trembling in my hands.
It’s been three days since Ava's text:
You can move back to the house. I'm staying at Shannon's.
Three days since she looked me in the eye and said she wanted a divorce.
The house feels hollow, a shell of what we once were—every corner holding echoes of what we used to be.
Our wedding photo is still on the mantle.
Poppy's artwork covers the refrigerator.
The throw pillows Ava spent hours picking out, arranged just so on the couch.
Everything exactly as I left it, yet completely different because she's not here.
I've been sleeping in the guest room. I couldn't bring myself to go into our bedroom, knowing it still smells like her, knowing the sheets probably still hold the shape of her body. The irony cuts deep—I have my house back, but I feel homeless.
"Daddy, can we go to the zoo?" Poppy asks.
"The zoo?" I spread chocolate across her toast—our morning ritual.
Poppy grins, green eyes tracking my every movement as I slide the plate toward her.
"Why the zoo?"
The front door opens before she can answer. My pulse skips a thousand beats as Ava drops her keys on the counter. Her eyes meet mine—flat, lifeless things that once held warmth.
"Roman."
"Mommy!" Poppy launches past me into Ava's arms. I watch my wife's face transform, deadness replaced by pure love as she scoops up our daughter.
" You smell like chocolate." Ava's laugh cuts through me.
I lean against the doorframe, my heart breaking.
What the hell had I been thinking?
"Go and eat your breakfast. Mommy needs to talk to Daddy."
My eyebrows climb. I ruffle Poppy's hair as she scurries past, then turn back to Ava. She watches me like I'm something dangerous.
I cross the kitchen, stopping when she steps back, hands raised like a shield.
"Roman, don't. I came to get my things."
Her things?
She's close enough to touch, yet I can’t. I swallow as she heads upstairs, pausing to look back.
"If you want to talk, do it while I pack."
I take the stairs two at a time, not wanting to waste a second. She's already at our dresser, suitcase open on the bed.
What the fuck is going on?
"Going anywhere nice?" I nod toward the case.
She glances up, holding a scrap of black lace between her fingers.
The underwear I bought her in Paris.
She drops it into the suitcase with deliberate care, then looks at me.
"I'm going to Kieron's for a break. I need peace, and I can't find it here."
The words hit like a physical blow. A growl escapes my throat.
"What do you mean you're going to Kieron's?"
"I mean exactly that." She lifts the dress I bought her in Milan—my favourite, the one that makes her skin glow—and tosses it in. "I'm going to Kieron's."
"What about Poppy?"
She blinks, as if surprised I'd ask. "She can come with me."
Over my dead body.
"No."
"Then she stays with you. I'll be back in a week."
I close the distance between us. She folds her arms, chin lifted in defiance.
God, she's beautiful . Even furious, and breaking my heart, she's the most stunning woman alive.
"Don't go. Not with him. I'm sorry?—"
"Do you know how I feel when I'm with him, Ro?"
My stomach drops.
"I feel beautiful . Wanted . He worships me, and you know what? I think you were right. He has always been in love with me, but I was too blind to see it."
Nausea rises in my throat. I close my eyes, fighting for control—anger at myself, at him, at this mess I created.
"Funny how he swooped in the moment I fucked up. Like a knight in shining armour?—"
She whirls around, yanking the zipper closed with sharp, violent movements. Her eyes blaze.
"That's exactly what I need, Roman. A knight in shining armour to save me from the wreckage you made of my life. So get this through your thick skull—I'm never coming back because of what you did. You hurt me beyond repair."
Tears stream down her face. I reach for her, but she slaps my hands away, the sound echoing in our bedroom.
"I'm sorry?—"
"Don't you get it?" Her voice breaks. "You were my everything . You and Poppy—my whole world . You destroyed that. For what? A cheap affair with some pretty girl you claim you didn't even love?"
Her eyes burn with fury and pain.
"But it’s true—I didn't love her. I love you . I was an idiot, tired, fed up of being last?—"
"Tired? Fed up of being last?"
It sounds fucking pathetic when she says it.
The hurt in her voice steals my breath.
"You were my everything ." She lifts the suitcase from the bed. "Now you're nothing ."
"Are you going to let me explain?"
"I don't know what you could possibly say, Roman."
"I'm sorry. I know I've said it a thousand times, but I'll say it every day for the rest of our lives. I love you more than I knew before this happened. Nothing means anything without you."
"You just regret getting caught. You're only sorry because your bit on the side went to the media."
I stare at her, shaking my head. "I ended things, so she went to the press. Yes, it meant telling you, but I didn't care by then. I knew you were my everything."
She laughs, the sound bitter and so foreign coming from her. "First, you never would've told me if she'd kept your dirty little secret. Second, I thought you were my everything too. Turns out we were both wrong."
"Ava, please." I put my hand on the door, blocking her path. "Don't leave me. Don't go with him."
"If you're worried about me sleeping with him, Roman, I can promise you I will be."
My world tilts. I stumble backward, her words hitting like bullets.
“Ava, you made a mistake back at the hotel?—”
"Let me think." She taps her finger against her lips, mock-thoughtful. "The hotel room—my god, he couldn't keep his hands off me. So many different positions, Roman. On the bed, against the wall, me on top riding him while he groaned my name."
Pain tears through my chest, stealing my breath and forcing me to listen to her.
"Don't, Ava..."
"Then the next morning when I woke up naked in his arms—god, he felt so good inside me.
He made me come with my legs wrapped around his waist, staring into my eyes like he'd been waiting years for that moment.
I don't think I've ever had sex like that—not even with you.
Raw, desperate, like we couldn't get enough of each other.
So enjoy those images, Roman. Just like I had to. "
She turns and walks out, leaving me gasping for air. Every word is true—I can see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice. All I want to do is find him and tear his throat out.
"Oh, and before you blame him—don't. It was all me. I seduced him. I knew how much he wanted me." She shrugs. "Sorry."
I cling to the banister, unable to see through my tears. The pain in my chest feels raw, exposed. I watch her disappear down the hallway, her beautiful laugh drifting up from the kitchen as she talks to Poppy.
So this is what it feels like to lose everything.
I splash cold water on my face, refusing to let Poppy see me broken. My hands shake as I make my way downstairs.
Ava looks up when I enter the kitchen.
"I'll be back soon, okay?" She rubs noses with Poppy, who nods and grins at me.
"Mommy said you'll take me to the zoo."
Poppy claps her hands as Ava walks past me. I reach for her hand, and she stops, pulling away like my touch burns.
"You're mine. I don't care what you do with him—you're mine ."
She holds my gaze, then shakes her head.
"No, I'm not. Not anymore."