He never touched me like that. Never kissed me like that. When he did fulfill his “duties,” he wouldn’t even look at me. I was nothing but a contract. A political arrangement.
“You’re the only woman who can make me feel this way, Dahlia,” I heard him say.
And that was it.
I stopped walking. A sob escaped before I could stifle it. I froze. Only then did I realize I was crying.
I was still hurting. Still hoping. That was the cruelest part.
With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and walked farther away from the noise until their pleasure was only a dull echo behind closed doors.
I opened a number I saved long ago. One I never deleted.
[Damian, I’m divorcing Reynold. Pick me up after a month.]
That was the message I sent to the only man who never turned me away.
Seconds later, my phone rang.
I answered, already breaking. “Damian…”
“He made you cry again?” he said, voice cold. “That's why you’re finally going through with the divorce this time?”
Shame washed over me. I had tried to leave Reynold in the past.
I had promised Damian before. But I never followed through. I stayed with the man who never chose me. yet, Damian waited, only to get hurt by my cowardice.