Chapter 121

Chapter 121
Chapter 121

David’s POV

The pounding started inside my head before I even opened my eyes.

Heavy. Sharp. Like something was trying to break through my skull.

Then I realized it was not just my head.

Someone was banging on the door.

Loud. Hard. Over and over again.

I groaned and rolled onto my side. My body felt like it had been dragged through gravel. My throat burned. My mouth tasted like something dead.

I stayed on the floor for a second, hoping it would stop.

It didn’t.

“David! Open the door!”

Yvonne.

Of course it was her.

The pounding got louder. Faster.

I shut my eyes again. For a moment, I thought about ignoring her. Letting her keep hitting the door until she got tired and left.

But she wouldn’t leave.

Yvonne never left when she wanted something.

I pushed myself up slowly. My head spun. The room tilted. I grabbed the edge of the bed until it steadied.

The empty bottle rolled across the floor when I kicked it by mistake.

Perfect.

I stumbled to the door and opened it.

She pushed past me before I could say anything.

Like she still belonged here.

Like she still had a place in my life.

She stopped in the middle of the room and looked around.

The dust. The sheets over the furniture. The broken frame on the floor. The empty bottle.

Her face twisted.

“What is this place?”

I shut the door behind me.

“Lucia bought it. Years ago. For us.”

The words felt bitter in my mouth.

Yvonne let out a small, sharp laugh.

“Of course she did. Always doing too much. Always trying to prove how good she is.”

I felt something in my chest tighten.

“Get out, Yvonne.”

She ignored me.

Walked toward the window. Looked out like she was trying to see something that wasn’t there.

“No. We need to talk.”

“We don’t.”

She turned slowly.

“Yes, we do. About what she did. About how we fix it.”

“There is nothing to fix.”

Her eyes flashed.

“She destroyed us, David.”

I said nothing.

“She took everything. Everything. My home. My money. My life. And you are just standing here like it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“Then act like it!” she snapped. “We need to hit her back. We need to make her pay. We need to take back what’s ours.”

I stared at her.

“You still don’t get it.”

Her jaw tightened.

“Get what?”

“She didn’t steal anything from us.”

Her laugh came out harsh.

“Oh really? Then what do you call this? Because I call it ruin.”

“We stole from her,” I said quietly.

Silence.

For a second, she just stared at me.

Then she shook her head.

“No. No, that’s not how this works.”

“That’s exactly how it works.”

“No. She had everything already. We had nothing. She would not even feel the loss.”

I felt something snap inside me.

“We killed her baby.”

The words came out before I could stop them.

Everything went still.

Yvonne blinked.

“What?”

My chest felt tight. Hard to breathe.

“The day we left her. The day we took everything. The same day she lost the baby.”

Her face changed.

Slowly.

Like something inside her cracked, but she was trying to hold it together.

“I didn’t know about that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “We still did it.”

“I didn’t know,” she repeated, louder now. “Don’t put that on me.”

“I’m not putting it on you. I’m telling you the truth.”

She looked away. Shook her head like she could shake it out.

“No. That’s not… that’s not on us.”

“It is.”

My voice came out low. Heavy.

“We broke her. Completely. That was just one more thing that broke with her.”

She turned back to me, anger rising again.

“So what? That means she gets to destroy us? That means we just accept this?”

“Yes.”

The word came out simple.

Final.

Her eyes widened.

“You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

“You’re just going to let her win?”

“She already won.”

“No.” She stepped closer. “No, she didn’t. Not yet. Not if we do something.”

“We are not doing anything.”

“We can,” she insisted. “We’ve done it before. We can do it again. We just need to plan. We just need to be smart. We can take everything back.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m done.”

She froze.

“Done?”

“I’m done lying. Done stealing. Done pretending we were right.”

Her expression hardened.

“You’re choosing her.”

“I’m choosing the truth.”

“You love her.”

I didn’t answer right away.

Because it was not a question.

It was a fact.

“Yes,” I said finally. “I do.”

Her face twisted.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“I always did. I just ignored it.”

“You married me.”

“I betrayed her.”

“You chose me.”

“I chose wrong.”

The silence between us felt sharp.

Like broken glass.

Yvonne’s eyes filled with something darker now.

Not just anger.

Something worse.

“So that’s it? You just turn on me?”

“I’m not turning on you. I’m stepping away.”

“Same thing.”

“No. You chose this path. I’m just refusing to walk it anymore.”

She moved closer again, her voice dropping.

Soft. Almost sweet.

The same tone she used before. The one that used to work on me.

“We were good together,” she said. “We got what we wanted. We made it happen. You think you can just walk away from that?”

I stepped back.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

Her eyes flashed.

“You’re weak.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re scared.”

“Yes.”

That surprised her.

“But I’m not blind anymore,” I added.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“We were the victims,” she said again. “She had everything. We had nothing. She deserved to lose.”

“No,” I said. “She didn’t.”

“She made you feel small. She controlled everything.”

“She loved me.”

“That’s not love. That’s control.”

“No,” I said again, more firmly. “That was love. What we did was control.”

She laughed, but it sounded wrong.

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“Maybe I just found it.”

Her patience snapped.

“Fine. Stay here. Be broke. Be miserable. But I’m not done. I’m not letting her walk away like this.”

“You will if you’re smart.”

“I’m not interested in being smart. I’m interested in winning.”

“You already lost.”

Her face went cold.

“I haven’t even started.”

I stepped closer this time.

“If you go after her, I will stop you.”

She blinked.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“You think you can stop me?”

“I know I can.”

She laughed again, but there was less confidence in it now.

“With what? You have nothing.”

“I have enough.”

Her smile faded.

Slowly.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“You’d betray me?”

I held her gaze.

“Yes.”

Her face went pale.

“After everything?”

“You betrayed her first. You don’t get to act shocked now.”

Silence.

Heavy. Dangerous.

She looked at me like she did not know me anymore.

Maybe she didn’t.

“I thought you were on my side,” she said quietly.

“I was never on your side,” I replied. “I was just lost enough to follow you.”

That hit her.

I saw it.

She stepped back like I had pushed her.

“Fine,” she said. “Do whatever you want. But I’m not stopping. I will make her pay. With or without you.”

“If you touch her,” I said, my voice low, “I will make sure you regret it.”

She held my gaze.

“You think I’m scared of you?”

“You should be.”

Another silence.

Then she laughed again, but it sounded empty.

“We’ll see.”

She walked to the door.

Stopped right beside me.

“You’ll regret this,” she said softly.

“I already regret everything.”

She opened the door and left.

Her footsteps echoed down the hall.

Then faded.

Gone.

I stood there for a long time.

Just staring at the closed door.

My hands were shaking.

Not from fear.

From everything.

From what I had done.

From what was coming.

Yvonne would not stop.

I knew that.

She would come after Lucia.

And this time, it would be worse.

Because now she had nothing left.

I turned slowly and walked back into the room.

The broken frame was still on the floor.

I picked it up carefully.

The glass was cracked across Lucia’s face.

But her smile was still there.

Bright. Soft. Real.

It hurt to look at it.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

My voice sounded small.

“I can’t fix what I did. I know that. But I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

The room was silent.

Only my breathing.

Only my guilt.

I set the frame down gently.

Walked to the window.

The city stretched out below.

Somewhere out there, she was living her life.

Without me.

Better without me.

And somewhere out there, Yvonne was planning something.

I could feel it.

Like a storm coming.

I closed my eyes.

“I won’t let it happen again,” I said quietly.

Not to the room.

Not to the picture.

To myself.

Because this time, I would not be the man who stood by.

This time, I would not be the reason she broke.

Even if she never saw me.

Even if she never knew.

Even if it meant nothing to her.

I would protect her.

That was all I had left.

And I would not fail again.