Chapter 135
Chapter 135
Kelly
The room was silent with the weight of everything that had happened. Davis’s body was taken by the ambulance. Clara stood across from me, her face still.
She had dropped the gun. And yet, she still looked at me like she didn’t understand. Like she couldn’t comprehend why I had stopped Lucian and Adrian from taking her away.
“…Why?”
Her voice was hoarse, barely audible.
I held her gaze, my hands still trembling at my sides.
“Because I know what it’s like to someone you love.”
Clara inhaled sharply.
I saw it in her eyes, the understanding that finally clicked into place. For so long, she had seen me as her enemy. As someone who had everything, while she had lost it all. But now, she knew the truth. I had lost just as much as she had. Maybe even more.
And now, standing here, looking at the woman who had once been my confidant, my safe haven, my friend, I realized something else. We would never be those people again. The ones who used to laugh together, who used to share secrets and dreams.
Too much had happened. But we could at least walk away. Not as enemies, not as friends. Just as two people who had survived life with its terms and conditions.
Clara exhaled slowly. “So… this is it?”
I nodded, tears filling my eyes. “This is it.”
She swallowed hard. For the first time, there was no hatred in her expression. Only exhaustion and acceptance.
When they say friendship breakup hurts, they sure did not lie, coupled with the facts it happened because so many thing were on stake, I realized it was time to let our friendship go.
Then, without another word, she turned and walked away. I didn’t stop her. How could I? I watched Clara turn her back on me without giving her at least the last hug. That was the moment I truly realized…..
It was finally over.
…….
A week later, I went to visit my dad. Thankfully, he was recovering.
His eyes met mine. For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then, finally, he let out a ragged breath.
“I—” His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. “I regret everything, Kelly.”
I clenched my jaw.
“I regret what I did,” he continued. “I regret… leaving you. I regret the things I can never take back.”
A part of me wanted to believe him. A part of me wanted to scream at him that sorry wasn’t enough. That no amount of regret could fix what had already been broken.
But the truth was…I didn’t care anymore. His regrets didn’t change the past. And I refused to let them control my future.
So, instead of answering, I took a step back.
“You can live with your regrets,” I said quietly. “But I’m done living with them, too.”
His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something else. But I didn’t wait to hear it. I turned and walked away. Because, for the first time, I was able to control my anger.
……
I hadn’t planned on visiting my mother’s grave. But somehow, I found myself there. It had been too long. The cemetery was quiet, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows over the marble headstones.
I stood in front of hers, staring at the name etched into the stone. For so long, I had been trapped in the past. Haunted by my father’s betrayal. Haunted by the pain that never seemed to fade.
But now, standing here, I realized something. My mother had always protected us. Even when my father had abandoned us. Even when the world had tried to tear me apart. She had always been my strength.
And now, it was time for me to find my own.
I knelt down, brushing my fingers lightly over the cold stone.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Not just for the past, but for reminding me that I had a future. That I didn’t have to carry the weight of my father’s sins. That I didn’t have to be defined by what I had lost.
That I could move forward, not as a victim, not as a survivor, but as myself. A woman who had made it through the storm, and was finally stepping into the light.
I let out a slow breath, standing up. Then, without another word, I turned and walked away.