Chapter 102 One Hundred And Two
Austin stood there.
For a second, her mind refused to process it.
He looked different.
Unshaven.
Tired.
His usual polished confidence was gone, replaced by something raw and uncertain.
“Antonia,” he said softly.
Shock hardened into something colder.
“What are you doing here?” she asked immediately.
Her voice was not welcoming.
It was guarded.
He swallowed.
“I know I should have called.”
“Yes,” she replied sharply. “You should have.”
He glanced past her shoulder instinctively, as if searching the apartment.
“I won’t come in,” he said quickly, noticing the tension in her posture. “I just… I needed to see you.”
Her jaw tightened.
“This isn’t a good time.”
“I won’t take long.”
Silence stretched between them.
She should close the door.
She should end this now.
But curiosity, and unresolved anger, held her still.
“Say what you came to say,” she said finally.
He exhaled shakily.
“I messed up.”
Her eyes darkened.
“That’s an understatement.”
“I know.”
He ran a hand through his hair, visibly unsettled.
“I shouldn’t have told Kennedy what I did.”
Her breath hitched slightly.
“You didn’t just tell him,” she said quietly. “You twisted it.”
“I didn’t twist anything.”
“You implied things you knew would hurt him.”
His gaze dropped.
“I was angry.”
“At me?” she asked incredulously.
“At both of you,” he admitted.
Her chest tightened.
“Why?”
“Because I cared about you,” he said, voice rising slightly with frustration. “And watching you still in love with him—it destroyed me.”
Her expression hardened.
“So you decided to destroy me back?”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“But it was the result.”
He flinched at that.
Silence followed.
“You had no right,” she continued softly, but with cutting clarity. “You had no right to interfere in something you didn’t understand.”
“I understood enough.”
“No,” she snapped. “You understood what you wanted to understand.”
Her words hit.
He stepped closer, desperation flickering in his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
She stared at him.
The apology felt thin.
Late.
“Sorry doesn’t undo what happened.”
“I know.”
“Because of you,” she continued, her voice trembling slightly now, “he doubted me. He questioned my intentions. He questioned my character.”
Austin’s face fell.
“I didn’t know he would react like that.”
“You knew,” she shot back. “You knew the way you said it would affect him.”
He had.
And he had spoken anyway.
“I was jealous,” he admitted quietly.
The honesty hung between them.
“Jealousy doesn’t justify cruelty.”
“I know,” he repeated.
She folded her arms tightly across her chest.
“Why are you here, Austin?”
He looked at her fully now.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Her stomach dropped.
“No.”
“Yes,” he insisted. “I made a mistake. A terrible one. But I don’t want that to be the end of us.”
“There is no ‘us,’” she said firmly.
“There was.”
“Not in the way you wanted.”
His jaw tightened.
“I could love you the way he doesn’t.”
The words hit wrong.
She stiffened.
“You don’t get to compare yourself to him.”
“I’m not comparing,” he said quickly. “I’m saying I would choose you.”
Her eyes flashed.
“I never asked you to.”
“I know,” he admitted. “But I’m asking now. Give me another chance.”
The audacity of it stunned her.
“You interfered in my relationship,” she said slowly, “knowing it could destroy it. And now you want me to trust you?”
“I was hurt!”
“So was I!” she snapped.
The baby stirred faintly inside the apartment.
Both of them froze.
Her maternal instinct kicked in immediately.
“This conversation is over,” she said quietly but firmly.
“Antonia—”
“No,” she cut him off. “You don’t get to show up here and destabilize my life again.”
“I’m not trying to—”
“You already did.”
Silence.
His voice softened.
“I love you.”
She stared at him.
The words felt misplaced.
Heavy.
Unwanted.
“You don’t,” she said quietly.
His face crumpled slightly.
“You love the idea of winning,” she continued. “Of being chosen. Of not losing.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is.”
She stepped back slightly, placing physical distance between them.
“I loved Kennedy,” she said, voice trembling. “And I still do.”
The admission felt like stepping off a cliff.
But she didn’t look away.
Austin’s expression shifted from desperation to something defeated.
“And if he doesn’t choose you?” he asked.
Pain flickered in her eyes.
“Then I’ll survive it.”
“And me?”
“You’ll move on.”
His shoulders slumped.
“I thought maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“That after everything… you’d see that I stayed.”
“You didn’t stay,” she said softly. “You sabotaged.”
The words landed heavily.
A long silence followed.
Finally, he nodded once.
“I deserve that.”
“Yes,” she replied.
He looked at her one last time.
“Does he know how much you love him?” he asked quietly.
She hesitated.
“That doesn't concern you.”
A faint, sad smile touched his lips.
“I hope he’s smart enough not to waste it.”
Before she could respond—
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Stronger.
More familiar.
Her heart leapt violently.
Austin saw the shift in her expression immediately.
He didn’t need to ask.
Kennedy.
Reality settled between them.
“This is my cue,” Austin murmured.
He stepped aside from the doorway just as Antonia’s pulse began to thunder in her ears.
Two men.
One past.
One possibility.
And she stood between them.
The footsteps stopped directly outside her door.
Antonia’s pulse roared in her ears.
Austin remained where he was for half a second longer than necessary, as though bracing himself for the inevitable collision. Then he stepped back fully, moving to the side of the hallway just as a shadow darkened the threshold.
A firm knock followed.
Not rushed.
Not uncertain.
Deliberate.
Antonia’s hand tightened around the door handle.
For one suspended moment, she considered not opening it.
But that was impossible.
She inhaled slowly and pulled the door wider.
Kennedy stood there.
Dressed in a fitted navy shirt, sleeves rolled slightly at the forearms. His expression was composed, but his eyes—those eyes—were alert, scanning, taking in everything at once.
And then they landed on Austin.
The air shifted instantly.
Something cold and electric snapped into place.
Austin straightened slightly, jaw tightening.
Kennedy’s gaze flicked from him to Antonia.
Slow.
Measured.
“What is he doing here?” Kennedy asked evenly.