Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Ruan had been awake since the early hours of the morning. Exhaustion weighed heavily on his temples alongside the reality of his current situation. He barely even looked at Megan. Looking at her felt like a direct sentence for all his mistakes.
“Can you ever forgive me for this?” she murmured, but her words carried too little weight to convince him. “Please, don't turn me in to the police. I only wanted to get rid of Osvaldo.”
Ruan shifted his feet; they felt swollen and throbbed painfully inside his flip-flops. His expression hardened instantly the moment he looked at her. The fascination he used to feel for this woman had completely vanished.
“Your plan failed,” Ruan said, averting his gaze for the second time. “Nobody knows where he is; he got away scot-free again.”
“I don't want to talk about Osvaldo. I want to talk about us.”
Her words made his stomach churn. Like a hand squeezing his intestines, a sharp, stabbing pain flared up in his belly and slowly climbed to his head. Ruan was completely exhausted, his legs ached, and he was dying for sleep; the absolute last thing he wanted was to discuss the two of them. Because an “us” no longer existed.
He contemplated walking out to end the conversation before it could even begin, but Ruan knew it was time for the truth. Megan needed to be the first to know how he really felt.
“There is no 'us' anymore,” he said, casting a completely indifferent glance her way, “and there never will be again.”
Megan's bloodshot eyes locked onto him. They had been down this road before, and repeating the same thing over and over was becoming exhausting. Ruan realized he hadn't made himself clear enough and that deep down, Megan still held onto a shred of hope that things would change and improve between them.
“You're just confused, I get it,” she paused, forcing a smile to mask her growing desperation. “I felt the same way when you slept with my half-sister right before our wedding.”
“Don't try to twist things to make me feel guilty, Megan,” his voice rose, exposing his dynamic impatience. “You were already planning to marry another man; you cancelled our wedding at the very last minute. So no, I wouldn't consider what happened between Chloe and me a betrayal.”
“What are you talking about?” She narrowed her eyes, her facial expression turning as hard as stone. “I loved you, Ruan. I still love you.”
“You love me so much that you married another guy for money,” he yelled—for the first time in years, he actually shouted at the woman he had worshiped his entire life. Rubbing his face, he tried to regain control of the situation. “I can forgive you, Megan, and I won't turn you over to the police either, but this ends right here.”
“Our love has lasted for decades; it's not just going to end right here.”
Ruan held his breath as he stared into her eyes. He had spent decades building a perfect relationship that only ever existed inside his head. Years spent aching for a woman he thought he truly loved. He felt like a total fool for wasting so much time on a fantasy.
“I don't love you anymore, Megan.” The words broke free, and he instantly felt a massive weight lift from his heart. Relief was the only accurate word, even after witnessing the raw shock consume Megan's tear-stained face. “Honestly, I don't think I've loved you for a very long time, but I'm only just realizing it now. I feel absolutely nothing for you anymore—not even pity.”
“That's a lie,” she hissed, pointing a finger directly at him as her facial muscles contorted in anger. “You're only saying that to hurt me, to punish me because I married someone else.”
“No, I'm not, and you know it,” he countered, stopping himself before turning his back on her. His legs barely obeyed his commands, and his heart hammered so violently against his chest that his ribs actually started to ache.
“Let me guess, you went and fell in love with someone else?” her mocking voice sliced through the air. “You fell for Chloe? What a sick joke.”
Ruan slowly turned his neck to look at her. Hearing her voice say those words made his heart skip a beat in an entirely different way; it gave him the absolute certainty that Megan was right. Ruan's eyes lit up instantly.
“You're entirely right,” he said, though his smile vanished so quickly it startled him. “I am in love with another woman. It just took me far too long to admit it to myself.”
“What?” Her voice dropped to nothing more than a faint whisper.
“You needed to be the first to know, Megan.” He forced a heavy breath from his lungs. “I am in love with the only woman who ever truly loved me back. I love Chloe, and she's the one I want to be with.”
Panic seized Megan; her hands shook violently as she tried to stand up, but her body entirely refused to cooperate. She could only sit there and watch Ruan walk away, grab the handle, and pull the door open.
He turned back one last time to look at her.
“Don't ever look for me again,” he said, as fresh tears streamed down Megan's face. “Don't call me, and don't ask me for help, because I won't come to save you ever again. This is goodbye, Megan.”
Ruan stepped through the doorway and let the wind slam the door shut behind him, creating a violent crash that sounded like the final note of a failed love that probably should have never existed in the first place.