Chapter 28 THE FIRST GOODBYE
POV: Selena
I didn’t stop walking until the gates disappeared behind me.
My chest burned with every breath, like my lungs were filled with broken glass. I kept my head down, fingers locked tight around the strap of my bag, afraid that if I slowed even for a second, I would turn back.
And if I turned back, I would break.
A car passed. Another followed. None of them mattered.
All that mattered was the echo of Adrian’s voice in my head, the way he had looked at me like I was something he couldn’t afford to lose.
I kept walking anyway.
Because loving him meant leaving.
That truth hurt more than anything his father had said.
By the time I reached my apartment building, my legs felt numb. I climbed the stairs slowly, each step heavier than the last, my body finally catching up to the damage my heart had already done.
I unlocked the door.
The silence inside hit me like a wall.
No guards. No staff. No constant awareness of eyes watching. Just my small living room, my couch, my chipped coffee table, and the quiet hum of the refrigerator.
I dropped my bag by the door.
For a moment, I just stood there.
Then my knees gave out.
I slid down against the wall, pressing my face into my hands as the sobs finally broke free. They came hard and fast, shaking my shoulders, ripping through me in a way I couldn’t control.
I cried for what I lost.
I cried for what I chose.
I cried because doing the right thing felt unbearable.
The front door opened softly.
“Mija?”
Rosa’s voice.
I looked up, wiping my face quickly, though it was pointless. My eyes were swollen, my cheeks wet, my chest heaving.
She crossed the room in two steps and knelt in front of me, pulling me into her arms like she had when I was a child and the world felt too big.
“Oh, Selena,” she whispered. “What did they do to you?”
I buried my face against her shoulder.
“I left,” I said, my voice cracking. “I had to.”
She didn’t ask questions. She didn’t push.
She just held me while I cried until my breathing slowed and the pain dulled enough to let me think again.
Later, we sat at the small kitchen table. She poured tea I barely touched. I stared at my hands, still shaking.
“He was willing to lose everything,” I said quietly. “His family. His future. All of it.”
Rosa studied me. “And you couldn’t let him.”
“No,” I said. “Because love shouldn’t destroy someone.”
She reached across the table and took my hand.
“Real love is worth fighting for,” she said gently.
I shook my head. “Not when it costs too much.”
She squeezed my fingers. “Sometimes the cost is the fight itself.”
I didn’t answer.
That night, sleep came in pieces. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Adrian standing in the hallway, blocking the door, refusing to let me go.
I woke gasping more than once.
At some point, exhaustion won.
Then the pounding started.
Not soft. Not polite.
Urgent. Desperate.
I bolted upright, heart racing, the clock glowing 3:00 AM in red numbers beside my bed.
The pounding came again, harder this time.
“Selena!”
Adrian’s voice.
My breath caught in my throat.
I froze, listening, wondering if I was imagining it. Then it came again.
“Selena, please!”
I threw off the covers and ran to the door, my hand shaking as I reached for the lock.
I opened it.
Adrian stood there, rain-soaked, hair plastered to his forehead, eyes wild and burning with something close to panic.
“I don’t care what my father threatens,” he said, the words tumbling out fast. “I don’t care about the money or the inheritance. I care about you. Please don’t make me lose you.”
My heart shattered all over again.
And I knew.
This goodbye wasn’t over yet.