Chapter 11 Replaced
~Haven
It made no sense.
Just a few minutes ago, he had been cold.. Treating me like nothing more than a walking sex toy. And now…now he claimed to love me. Claimed that he wanted me.
I took a step back.
For the first time, I truly stepped away from Walter—my heart heavy, broken in my chest. I started to see things clearly. Walter didn’t love me. He didn’t love Hannah. He loved no one but himself.
He was always there, alternating between us both, using us as he pleased. Manipulating. Controlling. Selfish. Greedy. Just like Hannah, just like Father…no different.
I took another step back, then another, finally charging toward the door. Walter’s hands shot out to catch my wrist. Reflexively, I pulled free and shoved my palm into his face before he could speak.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” I screamed.
“You’re leaving?” he asked, voice sharp, edged with impatience. “I told you, didn’t I? I said I love you. You said you wanted answers, and now I’ve given them to you. I love you. I want you!”
His words hit me like cold water. It irritated me—the arrogance, the certainty that he could just talk me into whatever he wanted.
“And you think I’d believe that?” I spat, a scoff breaking through the tight line of my lips. I tried to hold back tears, but my eyes betrayed me. It hurt more than I thought it could. Walter didn’t love me. He never had. And maybe…he never would.
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Hannah…Haven, I mean. You know that,” he stammered, uncertainty cracking his voice.
“You can’t even say my name without getting me mixed up with her, yet you claim to love me,” I snapped.
I wiped my face with trembling hands and stormed out.
Into the living room.
His friend—the one who had seen me earlier—dropped the wine glass in his hand, the sound of shattering crystal snapping me back.
“Haven, are you okay?” he asked, eyes wide with concern.
I froze, my chest heaving.
“He told you, didn’t he? That I’ve been sleeping with him. You liked it, didn’t you? The view of me…fucking my brother-in-law. You loved it, didn’t you? The sight of me standing on the stairs, trying to cover myself?” I said, voice sharp, biting.
“It’s not what you think, I swear, I just…” he stammered, faltering. Fear and confusion flickered across his face.
“I don’t blame you,” I said, cutting him off, my voice quieter now, tinged with exhaustion. “I blame myself. I was dumb.”
With that, I turned away, walking out, away from Walter, away from the humiliation.
And I swore—to myself that I would never, ever return to Walter’s bed.
…….
The drive home was meant to be quiet… a moment for me to get a hold of myself, but my own thoughts refused to give me peace.
He never loved me.
I’ve been stupid.
Walter never cared.
He used me.
I should have just backed down—left him for Hannah—but I didn’t.
The sex… did he even enjoy it?
He didn’t chase after me when I left… is that how uninterested he truly is?
“Ahhhh!” I screamed, my grip tightening around the steering wheel as the tears flowed freely.
Everything suddenly became unbearably loud. The sound of my own voice as I cried, the tires of the car rolling violently against the road… the sound of people laughing, the blaring honks… they all screamed at me, cruelly reminding me that Walter would never be mine.
I shouldn’t have tried to have him in the first place. I would never have been hurt like this.
My hands suddenly felt sore… I no longer knew what it felt like to drive, so I pulled over immediately.
It wasn’t enough reason to kill myself.
Not for someone like Walter.
I stayed there—on the side of the road that felt less busy.
I let myself cry. I let myself feel the pain, and then I swore to myself… to forget Walter. Completely.
…….
The tears finally stopped flowing, and I eventually felt like picking myself up.
After washing my face, I raised my head and spotted a nightclub in the distance.
I started the car and drove toward it, hoping that the loud music and a few drinks would help clear my head.
I slowly walked into the club—a place where it felt like nothing else mattered.
The music flowed into me. It was helping… at least for a while.
I needed something to drink, maybe even a hookup with a man if I had to. So I headed toward the bar to grab a drink.
“Hi ma’am, and what would you like?” the man asked, flashing a smile as his gaze lingered.
“I want a…” Before I could finish, I turned—and then I spotted him.
Walter.
He sat in a corner with his legs crossed.
Unlike me, who could barely hold myself together, Walter was smiling as he drank.
He didn’t care. Not even a bit.
My purse almost fell, but I caught it before it did. The strength I thought I’d gathered vanished like it had never existed.
My legs dragged against the ground as I walked away from the bar, ignoring the bartender as he called out to me.
I kept telling myself to forget Walter, but my thoughts kept drifting back to him. The sight of him drinking happily made my heart ache, yet my eyes wouldn’t stop flickering toward him.
My eyes were laced with tears—again—and I rushed into the restroom to shed them.
…
I was still washing my face when a group of girls walked in… reeking of alcohol. I was about to leave when I heard them talking.
“Emma’s such a lucky bitch, isn’t she?” one asked, and they all giggled.
“She is,” the brunette chuckled. “She got to hook up with a hottie. He looks so rich, and with the way he held her, I’m sure he fucks well too. I asked if he was interested in a threesome, but he said he only destroys one bitch at a time,” she smacked her teeth.
“I was hurt, though. I could have made it big. His dad’s rich. I think his name is Walter Bruce or something…”
And that was when my heart hit my chest.
I knew Walter wasn’t mine, but then… I still wanted to know… if the man they were talking about was him.
If he’d found a replacement for me that quickly.
I rushed out of the restroom, back to the spot where I’d seen him earlier—and there he was.
On one hand he held a drink, the other grabbed Emma’s ass.
It was him.
He touched her like he owned her—the same way he did to me, the way that had made me think what we had was real.
I cried.
Right there.
Shamelessly.
He had already replaced me.
Then our eyes met.