CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cole
Her smile faltered the moment her eyes met mine.
One second, she was laughing—carefree and happy—and then, just like that, the laughter died on her lips.
And I noticed. I noticed every bit.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sharp.
I swallowed hard, knowing anything I said might only upset her more. "I just wanted to talk."
"It's late, Cole," she said firmly. "We can talk another time."
"I'm sorry it's late. I tried calling, but you wouldn't answer," I said, knowing how pathetic it sounded.
She nodded but said nothing.
I glanced at Archie and Julian, both watching me with stern expressions, then at Emma, who looked about ready to strangle me.
"Well... I'll come back in the afternoon, then." I shifted on my feet, feeling a bit awkward. "I stopped by earlier, but no one was home, and I couldn't reach you. I got worried, so I waited."
"Okay," she said flatly.
Indifference. That was her reaction to me now.
I would've preferred it if she yelled or got angry. Hell, even if she punched me.
But this? This cold, detached indifference?
It hurt so much more.
And I had no one to blame but myself.
"Okay," I echoed, my voice hollow, grasping for something—anything—that might shift the way she was looking at me. "I'll wait until you're inside."
She shook her head. "No need. I have my friends here with me."
That caught me off guard. "They're all staying?" I blurted.
"Yes," Sara replied, but the surprised look on Archie and Julian's faces told me they hadn't been informed of this plan.
She was using them as a buffer, a silent way of keeping me at arm's length.
The realization sank in, settling like an unbearable weight in my chest.
"Okay, then. Good night, sweetheart," I said softly, noticing the way she flinched at the endearment. It slipped out, an old habit I couldn't seem to break.
"Good night," Sara mumbled before brushing past me and heading toward the front door. Emma and Julian followed, and just as they reached the steps, Julian's voice rang out through the night. "Watch out for the stairs, Tink! You're so fucking drunk."
Emma huffed in response, but I barely registered it.
I was face to face with Archie.
"I see you everywhere, Archie," I growled, frustration seeping into my voice before I could stop it.
"Yeah..." he drawled, completely unfazed. "Can't say I care much about what you think."
"Is this what we've come to?" I snapped, bristling with anger. "You're my best friend."
He didn't answer me.
"I did nothing wrong to you," my voice rose. "Whatever's going on between me and Sara shouldn't concern you." I stepped closer, getting in his face. "Sara is my wife. It's not your place to put yourself between us."
"Believe what you want, but I'm not taking advantage of her," Archie said calmly—too fucking calm—which only grated on my nerves more. "I just want to be there for her."
"Because you're in love with her."
"Yes."
His honesty hit like a punch to the gut. No hesitation, no attempt to deny it. Just a simple, undeniable truth.
I clenched my jaw, my hands curling into fists at my sides. "At least you're not pretending."
Archie exhaled slowly. "There's nothing to pretend about." His gaze remained hard on me. "I love her. And I will not apologize for that."
"And now you see your chance to swoop in and play the hero," I bit out, my frustration spilling over.
Archie didn't so much as flinch. "No. I was there for her. She was hurt, Cole. By you. Deeply disappointed with Bobby, with Steve. You didn't see how much you shattered her, but I did. And I refused to let her face that alone. Because when you love someone, you don't walk away. You stand by them. You make them your priority."
My jaw tightened. "You think you love her more than I do?"
"Perhaps I do," he said, tilting his head as he searched my face as if he genuinely wanted to know if I really loved Sara. "Because if you really loved her, you wouldn't be doing this to her."
I flinched. His words hit like a slap.
"You fucked up, Cole," he continued, his voice edged with disbelief. "I don't know what the hell was going through your head when you cheated on Sara. Because it's Sara , Cole. Do you have any idea how fucking lucky you were?"
I knew exactly how lucky I was. I always had.
Sara was everything—beautiful, intelligent, and kind. She possessed a quiet strength, the kind that didn't demand attention but held everything together. She loved with her whole heart and gave without hesitation, and somehow, against all odds, she had chosen me.
And I ruined it.
I let my selfishness, my own weaknesses, shatter something I should have protected. She had been my light, and I had been the one to snuff it out. And every fucking minute of my life, I was reminded of that.
"Why are you here?" Archie asked, his voice quieter now, though the edge hadn't completely faded.
My eyes narrowed. "Do I need your fucking permission to see Sara?"
"No." He shook his head. "That's up to her. I just want to know your intention."
I hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words. In the end, I told him the truth.
"I need her," I admitted, exhaling a heavy sigh. "I'm at the lowest point of my life, the most painful phase I've ever been through, and all I could think about was getting to her."
Archie looked thoughtful as he listened, waiting for me to explain more.
"She's the only thing that gives me peace," I said, dragging a hand down my face, exhaustion sinking deep into my bones. "Just one minute with her. That's all I need."
Archie was quiet for a moment, absorbing my words. "You've seen her. What now?"
Yeah. What now?
One minute with her was a drop in an ocean of longing. A cruel taste of something I could never get enough of.
I met his gaze, my voice raw with desperation. "It's not enough," I growled. "I need more."
Archie's jaw tightened, his expression hardening.
"I'm going to win her back, Archie."
It's not just a choice. It's the only path forward, the only way to breathe, to exist. Without her, I was a ghost, wandering through a life stripped of meaning.
"I'm going to prove to her I'm not the same man who hurt her. Every day, for the rest of my fucking life, I'm going to show her I'm the man she needs. And I won't make the same mistake again. I will devote myself to her. I will worship her." The thought of losing her was fucking unbearable. "I've learned my lesson the hard way, and I won't lose her. I love her too much."
Archie remained silent, but I saw the shift—the slight softening of his expression, the crack in his armor. Despite everything, a part of him still cared about me. We had been through so much together, Archie and I. Once, we had each other's backs, inseparable like brothers.
And now, here we were. On opposite sides of a battle I never thought I'd have to fight.
Desperation clawed at my chest, sinking its talons deep. I swallowed my pride, my voice barely more than a breath as I pleaded, "You can't take her away from me."
Archie crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze never leaving me as he asked, "What kind of man do you think she needs?"
The question hit me harder than I expected, forcing me to pause. For a moment, I was silent, retracing my steps, confronting the ghost of the man I had been. The one who took her love for granted, who shattered her trust, who failed to honor her devotion to me.
Sara never cared for wealth, power, or status, nor the things the world assumed mattered. She never had. At her core, she was a romantic. She needed a man who cherished her, respected her, and chose her every single day without hesitation.
And I had been everything she didn't need.
But I swore to myself that I would become the man she deserved, the one who would never fail her again.
"Cole," Archie exhaled a long breath. "I get that you regret what you did. I know you've learned your lesson, and I believe you're trying to be a better man for her."
He paused, looking thoughtful as he lifted his head and met my gaze.
"But I'm not stepping away," he said firmly. "I'll be there whenever she needs me. I gave her my promise, and I intend to keep it."
Another pause, and this time, his eyes darkened. "And I'll wait. Patiently. Until she finally sees me. Until her feelings for me grow." His voice dropped, but it was filled with determination. "If that happens, Cole—if she chooses me—you won't take her away from me."
*** *** ***
Since Leo walked into my life and set fire to everything I thought was true, Steve, my lawyer Fred Milles, and I had been relentlessly chasing every lead, refusing to let this go unanswered. We went straight to the clinic and demanded to see the original test results. And when I read it—when I saw that cold, undeniable 0% staring back at me—
Everything inside me shattered beyond repair.
I wasn't Elena's father.
The truth had been right there all along, buried under lies, and I had been too blind, too damn stupid to see it. Within days, Fred arranged for Leo to take a test at the same clinic. When the results came back, they confirmed what I had been dreading.
Leo was Elena's father. Not me.
But then came the court-ordered DNA test. One final, inescapable verdict.
I had clung to hope, fragile and desperate, praying for a different truth. But the results didn't lie.
Still, I wasn't Elena's father.
Since then, everything stopped for me. The world kept spinning, but I was no longer a part of it. Time moved forward, dragging everyone else with it, but I remained frozen in place, trapped in the moment my life unraveled.
I had lost everything.
The future I had built in my mind, the love I had poured into a child who was never mine to begin with, it was all gone.
And I lost Sara along with it.
She was my anchor, my one constant, and now she was slipping further and further away.
Now, I had nothing left. Just the unbearable weight of emptiness pressing down on me, crushing the air from my lungs, leaving behind a hollow ache where my heart used to be.
I knew I deserved this. Every bit of it.
The universe had finally delivered its judgment, and this devastating loss was my reckoning. A merciless punishment for every mistake, every selfish choice, every moment I had foolishly taken for granted.
But knowing that didn't make it hurt any less.
I had nothing left but regret, and it felt too heavy to carry.
Opening the door of the house where Elena was sleeping upstairs, I was at a loss for what to do. I had no claim to her now and never would. She belonged to Elsa and Leo. I was just the outsider, even though my love for the child was probably greater than the love of both of them combined. But it didn't matter.
I didn't know where I stood anymore. Leo would fight for custody—that much was certain—but that was his battle, not mine. My fight was different. I racked my brain, trying to find a way to protect Elena from the fallout. I couldn't just walk away and leave her alone with Elsa, not when I knew what she was capable of. But I also couldn't throw Elsa out of the house, not without risking any chance of keeping Elena safe under this roof. She was still Elena's legal parent.
The only option left was to support Leo in the custody battle, ensuring Elsa didn't manipulate the situation to her advantage. And beyond that, I had my own battle to fight.
I was going to sue Elsa.
She and that bastard Phil Jones had stolen something from me—precious time, love, a future that, as it turned out, had never truly been mine. And I was going to make sure they paid for it. I would rain hell down on them, make them face the full force of the law. They deserved nothing less.
As I walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water, a noise from Elsa's room caught my attention. It was faint but enough to make me pause. She had been coming and going as she pleased, barely making an effort to keep up appearances anymore. The pretense was gone. Whatever act she had once put on for me had crumbled the moment the truth came out.
It was a strange, almost surreal feeling, sharing a roof with the person who had single-handedly destroyed my life. I should have thrown her out. Should have made her suffer the way she made me suffer. But Elena was still here, still caught in the crossfire, and that was the only reason I hadn't burned this entire house to the ground.
Elsa had been missing for days—probably off gathering information from Phil, who was now out of a job. Fired from the clinic, disgraced, and well aware that a lawsuit was looming over him. It was only a matter of time before he faced the consequences. And Elsa? She wasn't far behind.
I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.
I already knew it was Elsa.
Slowly, I set my glass down on the counter. Then I turned around.
And there she was, standing before me, naked as the day she was born.