Goodbye, I thought. I’ll be back someday.
Third Person POV
On the way to the airport, another black sedan traveled through the night in the opposite direction. In the passenger seat, Caelan sat pale and haggard, his face etched with exhaustion and pain. Something gnawed at him-an inexplicable sense of foreboding that he couldn’t shake.
The two vehicles approached the highway intersection. One taxi turning left toward the airport, one sedan continuing straight toward town.
In the taxi, Sable kept her head down, staring at her phone as she deleted Caelan’s contact information. She never looked up.
In the sedan, Caelan leaned back against the seat with his eyes closed.
The cars passed within meters of each other, two broken hearts traveling in opposite directions, neither aware of how close they’d come.
As the distance between them grew, both felt something shift.
Sable experienced a sudden, sharp pain in her chest. She turned instinctively to look back, but saw only the taillights of a black car disappearing into the darkness.
In the other vehicle, Caelan was struck by an overwhelming sense of emptiness, as if something vital had just been torn away from him. He didn’t understand what or why.
The sky began to weep soft rain, as if the heavens themselves mourned this missed connection.
#M
Sable’s POV
I sat in the departure lounge, scrolling through my phone, deleting everything related to Caelan.
I lingered on our wedding photo when the boarding announcement came on.
I stood slowly and walked toward the gate. At the last moment, I pressed delete.
One by one, I erased every trace of him from my phone. Our selfies, our couple shots, the candid pictures he’d taken of me when I wasn’t looking.
All of it vanished into digital oblivion.
When the last photo was gone, I turned off my phone and followed the other passengers down the jetway.
Caelan’s POV
The next day
I sat in my black sedan outside Crawford Manor, engine running.
Just get out of the car. Walk to the door. Face whatever she throws at you.
But every time I reached for the door handle, images flashed through my mind. Sable’s face when she’d seen the truth. The way she’d looked at me like I was a monster. The sound of our mate bond snapping.
She hates me. She’ll always hate me now.
I killed the engine, then started it again. Killed it. Started it.
Fucking coward.
I’d been circling this block for forty minutes, working up the courage to face the consequences of my sins.
Finally, I forced myself out of the car. My legs felt unsteady as I walked up the stone path.
I raised my fist to knock, hesitated, then forced myself to rap against the heavy wooden door.
Footsteps approached from inside. The lock turned.
The door swung open, revealing Rodrigo. For a moment, he just stared at me. His amber eyes took in my appearance- hollow cheeks, the dark circles under my eyes that spoke of sleepless nights.
Something flickered across his face, Sympathy, maybe. But it vanished quickly, replaced by cold reserve.
“What are you doing here?” His voice was flat.
“Rodrigo, I…” My throat felt raw. “I want to see Sable.”
“I miss her.” The words tore out of me, pathetic and desperate.
Rodrigo didn’t step aside to let me in. Instead, he positioned himself in the doorway, his large frame forming a barrier between me and the house.
“She doesn’t want to see you.”
I bit down on my lower lip, tasting blood. I understand. I just… is she upstairs? I could wait outside until she’s ready. However long it takes.”
His silence stretched between us, heavy and oppressive. Something about his expression made my chest tighten with dread,
My breathing quickened. “She… she’s okay, isn’t she?”
“Is she home?”
The silence dragged on until I couldn’t bear it anymore. I looked down at my feet, shame burning through me like acid.
“Rodrigo, I know I have no right to stand here.” My voice cracked. “I know I’m a sinner.”
I started beating my chest with my fist, each impact a punctuation of self-hatred. “I’m a coward. A complete and utter coward.”
“After I committed that unforgivable mistake all those years ago, I chose to run away.”
*I should have taken responsibility. Should have faced the consequences. But I ran like the fucking coward I am.”
Tears started sliding down my cheeks. “Isabella’s death is on me. No matter what happened that day, no matter if it was intentional or not, the fact remains-I killed her.”
“These past years, I’ve lived with this guilt every single day. Every night I’m tortured by nightmares.” My voice grew hoarser. “I know I can never make up for this mistake. I can never bring Isabella back to life.”
“Sable has every right to hate me.”
“I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I don’t deserve her love. I sure as hell don’t deserve to be that baby’s father.”
I looked up at Rodrigo through my tears. “I’m sorry, Rodrigo. I failed your trust.”
“I know I have no right to ask for anything. But please-just let me know she’s safe. That’s all I need.”
‘I can move far away. I can change my identity. I can do anything, as long as she and the baby are safe and happy.”
Rodrigo’s POV
Watching Caelan break down before me stirred emotions I wasn’t prepared for. Anger, pain, sympathy, helplessness-they all warred across my face,
This man who’d become like a son to me. Now standing here destroyed by guilt and grief.
After a long moment, I turned away slowly. “Wait here.”
I walked to my study and opened the desk drawer. The letter lay there. I lifted it carefully.
This letter was as painful for me as it would be for him.
I hesitated, holding the envelope.
212
Maybe this is mercy. Maybe knowing the truth will finally give him peace.
I returned to the front door where Caelan waited, his face a mask of desperate hope.
“You’re too late. My voice came out low and rough.
I held out the letter. She left last night.”
Caelan’s POV
I took the envelope with shaking hands. My eyes scanned the words rapidly, and with each line, the color drained from my face.
When I reached the part where Sable said she was leaving and asked not to be found, my hands lost all strength.
The letter fluttered to the ground like a dying bird.
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