Chapter 172 I Release You

Chapter 172 I Release You
Jeremy’s POV

I had been sitting here for so long that the plastic chair beneath me had molded to my weight, or maybe I had gone numb enough not to feel it anymore. My hands were clasped together, fingers interlocked so tightly my knuckles had turned pale, yet I hadn’t noticed when it happened.

Carrying her in earlier had felt mechanical, like my body was moving ahead of my mind, like instinct had taken over because if I stopped to think, I might have shattered completely.

I had been afraid she would die.

That fear had been sharp, animalistic, clawing at my chest as I held her weight and felt how fragile she was, how wrong that felt. But now that fear had dulled into something heavier. Anger. A quiet, simmering anger that sat in my lungs and refused to let me breathe properly.

I didn’t pray- didn’t pace. I just sat there.

When Carol finally came toward me, I shifted and looked up at her. Her steps were hesitant, face pale. I was eager to hear an update from her.

“She’s stable now,” she said softly.

I exhaled, relieved. “Good.”

The word came out flat- Controlled and Detached.

“I want to see her,” I added, just as calmly. “I need to talk to her.”

Carol hesitated, then stepped closer, lowering her voice like the walls might be listening. “Jeremy… please. Choose your words carefully. She’s vulnerable right now. She needs rest. And she’s already upset that I told you.”

I nodded. I didn’t trust my mouth enough to say more.

When I pushed the door to her ward open, the room was dim, the machines humming softly but doing nothing to ease my mind. She was lying on the bed, her skin pale against the white sheets. Her head turned slowly toward the door when she heard it open.

Her eyes met mine.

My chest twisted, so sharp and sudden, but I was doing a great job at keeping my cool.

I stepped closer, stopping just beside the bed, my jaw clenched so hard it ached. Her eyes didn’t leave me for once. They looked teary too. I wished I could care.

“How do you feel,” I asked, my voice low and clear, a thick contrast to how I was feeling— loud and disturbed. “after killing the baby?” I added.

Her breath caught loudly. I could hear it.

“Jeremy…” she whispered, tears immediately flooding her eyes.

I didn’t stop.

“Does it make you feel better now,” I continued, my voice tightening despite my effort, “knowing you just damaged me forever? Knowing I might never heal from what you did?”

Her lips trembled. She shook her head weakly. “Jeremy… please. Stop. I have my reasons.”

I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Reasons?” I repeated. “It was my baby too. I deserved to know about it. I would have protected you. I would have protected the baby with everything in me. Everything. I only have one question for you, Teyana.” She swallowed visibly, as if she was scared of the unsaid.

I leaned closer, my eyes burning into hers.

“Why?”

Her tears spilled more freely. “I’m sorry.”

The words hit me like an insult.

“You’re selfish,” I uttered quietly.

The door opened behind me.

“Jeremy, stop,” Carol said urgently. “Please. Don’t do this now.”

I snapped around, rage finally breaking through the surface. “Shut up.”

She froze, stunned into silence, but still she tried. “Please,” Carol continued, her voice shaking. “This isn’t the time to do this. You’re hurting her.”

She had no idea who was really hurting here. I turned back to Teyana, my chest heaving.

“I overrated you,” I spat, my voice cold. “I thought you were the light of my world. I really did. But I was wrong. You’re not that far from the darkness either. You ruin things, then hide behind innocence when you are nothing like it. You are just another mistake I made.”

I didn’t even hear footsteps joining us before I felt the hit landed across my face. The slap echoed across the room.
My head snapped to the side.

For a second, everything went silent. I tasted blood in my mouth. And in a sickening way, it felt right.

“No, please.” Teyana sobbed.

I knew who had come in and slapped me before he spoke. Vance must have called him. I didn’t want to bring her here but I had to- because this was the only hospital I trusted to attend to her fast.

My father stood there, his chest rising and falling, his face hard with fury. “You don’t get to do this,” he said sharply. “You don’t get to almost ruin her life by impregnating her and then stand here saying those demeaning things to her. If you don’t have anything kind to say, then leave.”

I straightened slowly, my jaw clenching, my eyes lifting to meet his.

“Thank you,” I said calmly. “I needed that.”

His expression flickered- surprise and confusion vivid on it. I didn’t wait for him to respond. And I didn’t spare another glance at her.

I turned and walked toward the door.

“Jer—Jeremy, please don’t let him leave,” I heard Teyana sob behind me, her voice a shaky mess.

I didn’t turn back.

If I did, I would break. I would say more hateful words I couldn’t take back. 

The drive was a blur of red lights and clenched teeth. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my arms trembled. I considered the underground ring. The thought came fast and instinctive. I needed pain. I needed to hit someone or be hit, to pour this rage into something that could bleed.

But I stopped myself.

I had come too far to fall back into that hole.

Instead, I drove to my private gym.

The moment I stepped inside, I went straight for the punching bag. I didn’t warm up. I didn’t pace myself. I hit it with everything I had. My fists slammed into the leather over and over, each punch heavier than the last, my breath ragged, sweat pouring down my spine.

I punched until my arms screamed. Until my shoulders burned. Until my vision blurred.

When I couldn’t stand anymore, I dropped to my knees, my chest heaving hard, a sound tearing out of my throat that was half a scream and half a sob. Pain was a shitty thing. I had known it all my life.

But I had a choice. I didn’t want it anymore. I was tired of the circle. Get hurt-forgive-hope-then get hurt again. It never stopped. But that was only because I was letting it.

I felt my heart detaching before my my lips mouthed it to myself. “I release you, Teyana,” I muttered, my voice breaking. “I release you from my life.”

And for the first time since it all began, the rage finally cracked—leaving only devastation behind. But I was ready to do without what broke me. That was the difference.