“Let me go!” I spat, jerking my arm away from Tyler’s grip, my heart racing as a storm of emotions surged through me. The cold night air did nothing to cool the fire burning inside me.
Tyler stepped back, his eyes wide, hands raised in surrender. “Sam, chill. Just let me explain.”
I scoffed. Explain?
“Explain what?” I snapped, taking a step toward him, my voice trembling with anger. “Explain how you almost killed me? How I lost our baby because of you? How you humiliated me, called me a slut, and handed me divorce papers without even asking me a single question?” My voice broke, but I refused to let the tears fall.
Not now. Not in front of him.
Tyler’s face paled, his lips parted as if he was searching for the right words, but nothing came out. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Explain what, Tyler?” I demanded, my voice louder now, echoing in the empty car park. “How you brought your mistress here to embarrass me? Or how you’re still the same person who believes whatever garbage someone feeds you, without even giving me the benefit of the doubt?”
He flinched at my words, guilt flashing across his face. Good. He deserved to feel every bit of the pain he caused me.
“I didn’t know you would be here,” he said, his voice quieter now, almost pleading. “I swear, Sam, and I didn’t know she was going to do this”
I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “You didn’t know?” I paused. “You never know anything, Tyler!” I shouted, my voice thick with disgust. “You’re so quick to believe the worst in me, but you can’t see what’s right in front of your face. You’re blind to everything except your own ego!”
I could feel my chest heaving with the effort to contain my emotions. But no more. I was done bottling it all up. Tyler was going to hear every single thing I had held in for so long.
“You destroyed me, Tyler. You shattered my life into a million pieces.” I spat the words like venom, my voice shaking with the force of my anger. “And now you want to act like you had nothing to do with it? Like you didn’t believe those lies about me, didn’t throw me out of our home, didn’t sign the divorce papers without even blinking?”
Tyler’s face was a mask of anguish, his eyes filled with a mixture of regret and confusion. But I didn’t care.
“And then you bring that woman.. that homewrecker.. here to a charity event my company is hosting? How dare you?” My voice was raw, my eyes burning with tears I refused to shed. “You think you can just waltz back into my life and everything will be fine? That I’ll forgive and forget?”
I shook my head, my fists clenched at my sides. “No, Tyler. You don’t get to do that. Not anymore. I’m done being your doormat, your victim.”
Tyler took a step towards me, his hand reaching out as if to touch me, but I stepped back, the distance between us feeling like a chasm I couldn’t cross.
“Sam, please,” he said, his voice soft but urgent. “I know I hurt you. I know I made mistakes…”
“What's the point of all this?” I didn't let him finish. “Please? Why?”
Tyler’s eyes locked with mine, his expression pleading. “Because I’m trying to fix it, Sam. I’m trying to make things right. I’ve been going to therapy, working through my anger issues, my trust issues.
I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. “Oh, you’re trying to fix things now? Now that it’s too late, I've rebuilt my life without you?”
Tyler’s shoulders slumped, his expression resigned. “I know it’s too late,” he admitted. “I know I can’t undo the damage I’ve done. But I need you to know that I’m sorry. That I wish I could go back in time and change everything.”
“Sorry?” I scoffed, taking another step back. “Is that supposed to make it better? Is that supposed to heal the wounds you inflicted on me? On our marriage? On our child?”
Tyler clenched his jaw, his eyes dark with frustration. “Sam…?”
“It’s simple, Tyler. You destroyed me. You didn’t trust me, you didn’t care about me, and you sure as hell didn’t love me the way you should have. So don't think you can come here, make excuses, and what? Make everything better?”
His eyes softened, his voice quieter now. “Sam, I never stopped loving you. I…”
“Don’t,” I interrupted, holding up my hand. “Don’t you dare say that to me.”
He took a step closer, his eyes searching mine, pleading. “I made a mistake, Sam. I know that now. I was wrong about everything—about the pictures, about Julie, about us. I…”
I cut him off, my chest tight with the weight of it all. “A mistake?” I repeated, my voice laced with disbelief. “A mistake is forgetting to pick up milk at the store, Tyler. What you did was destroy our lives. I lost our baby because of you! Do you understand that?”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Tyler’s face crumpled, and for a moment, I saw the man I had once loved.. the man I thought I would spend my life with. But it wasn’t enough. Not anymore.
“I don’t know what to say,” he murmured, his voice hoarse.
His eyes darkened, guilt and regret clear on his face. But I didn’t care. I didn’t want his regret. I wanted him to feel even a fraction of the pain I had endured.
“I’m here for work, Tyler,” I said, my voice hardening as I straightened up. “Not this. Not you.”
As if on cue, Caleb appeared at the edge of the parking lot, his eyes locking onto mine as he walked over.
Relief washed over me at the sight of him, like a lifeline pulling me out of the storm that was Tyler.
“Is everything okay here?” Caleb asked, his voice steady but his eyes wary as they flicked between Tyler and me.
Tyler’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of Caleb. There was a flicker of something in his expression.. jealousy, maybe, or frustration. I didn’t care enough to figure it out.
“Yeah,” I said quickly, turning to Caleb. “I’m fine.”
Caleb looked at Tyler, his brow furrowing. “Are you sure?”
“I said I’m fine,” I repeated, stepping closer to Caleb, grateful for his presence. I could feel Tyler’s eyes burning into me, but I refused to look at him.
“We should go,” I added, glancing at Caleb. “I still have an event to finish.”
Caleb nodded, but I could feel the tension in the air as Tyler took a step forward, his voice low and tense.
“So, this is what you’re doing now? Running off with him?”
I turned to face Tyler, my heart pounding in my chest. “What I do is none of your business anymore.”
Tyler’s eyes flared with something… anger, jealousy, maybe both. “He doesn’t know you like I do, Sam.”
“And that’s the point,” I shot back, my voice cold. “He’s not you.”
The hurt in Tyler’s eyes was obvious, but I didn’t feel sorry for him. Not anymore. He had made his bed, and now he could lie in it.
“Let’s go,” I said to Caleb, turning away from Tyler without another word.
As we walked away, I felt Tyler’s eyes on me, his presence heavy in the night air. But I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.