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Please Come Back 107

Christiana’s POV.

As soon as Daniel left, the room felt strangely quiet. Too quiet. I stood there, my arms wrapped around myself, staring at the door Alex had walked out of moments ago. I hated him. I had every reason to. I had seen hell because of him and yet…there was something tugging at me.

The way he looked at me when he saw Daniel holding me…it was like his whole world had collapsed. That haunted look in his eyes, the pain deep in his face, made me feel unsettled.

I shook my head, trying to push the thought away. He deserves it. He deserves to suffer after everything he’s done. But no matter how hard I tried to convince myself, I couldn’t shake the discomfort growing in my chest.

Alex had always been so full of himself, so arrogant, so damn confident. And now…he looked like a ghost. Not a word came out of his mouth when I asked him why he was here. Not even a snarky comeback or a bitter retort to Daniel. Nothing. Just silence. His eyes had said everything, though. It was the kind of pain that cut deeper than any insult. And for some reason, it bothered me.

I ran a hand through my hair, still damp from the tears I had shed earlier in Daniel’s arms. He had been so sweet, so comforting but the moment Alex entered the room, the atmosphere shifted. I had seen the hurt in Alex’s eyes when he saw us together. And I knew…I knew…that it stung him.

But why did it matter?

Istarted pacing the room, my heels clicking against the marble floor, my thoughts racing. “Christiana,” I whispered to myself, “you owe him nothing. Nothing.”

I stopped and exhaled slowly, but my mind was still spinning. The way he stood there, silent and defeated… it didn’t make sense. Alex always had something to say. He always had a way of making things upsetting or would have tried to curse at Daniel. But today? He couldn’t even find the words.

And that…troubled me.

I remembered the way he had looked at me, like he was broken. Like he had already lost. Was he really hurting?

I clenched my fists, hating myself for even caring. He had done this to us. He had destroyed everything, hurt me, abandoned me when I needed him the most. So why do I feel this way now? I shouldn’t feel anything for him. Not anymore. But I did. I hated that I did.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Damn it, Alex.” My voice cracked slightly, and I realized how torn I was. I despised him, but there was this nagging feeling, this unsettling emotion that wouldn’t leave me alone.

Was it pity? Guilt? Something else? I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know.

I sank into the chair behind my desk, my legs suddenly feeling too weak to hold me up. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, and buried my face in my hands. Why does this have to be so complicated?

There was a knock on the door, and I jerked my head up, half–expecting it to be Alex coming back. But it was just my assistant, Grace, peeking her head in to ask if I needed anything. I waved her off, not in the mood to talk to anyone.

After she left, I sat back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t get Alex’s face out of my head. The way his shoulders had slumped, the way he walked out of here like a man with no fight left in him.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out, but his image was seared into my mind.

He had come to apologize, hadn’t he? That was probably why he was here in the first place. To say sorry. Maybe even to offer some kind of solution to all the chaos he’d caused. But then…he saw me with Daniel. And whatever he had planned to say or

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Chapter 107

do, it fell apart.

And I felt…guilty.

I slammed my fist down on the desk, frustrated. Why should I feel guilty?

I should be happy that he was finally getting a taste of his own medicine, that he was the one in pain now. But instead, I felt this stupid knot in my stomach, and I couldn’t shake it.

I rubbed my hands over my face again, feeling exhausted. Alex had already taken so much from me…my peace, my trust, my love. And now he was taking my clarity, my sense of closure. Because after seeing him like that, I didn’t feel relieved. I didn’t feel vindicated.

I just felt… confused. Torn.

“I don’t owe him anything,” I muttered under my breath, trying to convince myself. But my heart wasn’t buying it.

I stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the city as the rain poured down. The streets were wet and shiny, people rushing by with their umbrellas, trying to escape the storm. But somewhere out there, Alex was walking in that rain. I could feel it. I could feel his pain, as much as I didn’t want to admit it.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and my chest tightened. Why does it hurt so much to see him like that?

I hated that I cared. I hated that it still affected me. But it did. And that scared me.

I turned away from the window, trying to shake off the unease that had settled over me. But deep down, I knew. I couldn’t ignore it forever.

Alex may have been the cause of my pain, but seeing him like this… like a broken man…it did something to me. And I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face what that meant.

One hour later.

I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the untouched salad in front of me. My appetite was gone, completely obliterated by the constant replay of Alex’s expression in my mind. I’d tried to eat, tried to distract myself with work, with anything, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. That broken, defeated look.

I pushed the salad aside with a frustrated sigh, my stomach churning. It didn’t matter what I did, Alex occupied every corner of my mind. I had tried so hard…so hard…to forget him, to move on, to focus on the life I was building for myself and my kids. Daniel had been there for me, supportive and kind, and I should be thinking about him right now. He was the one who had held me when I broke down, the one who cared about me. But instead, it was Alex’s face that haunted me.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” I whispered to myself, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it would somehow erase the image of him standing in my office, silent and shattered. But it didn’t. It

wouldn’t.

I leaned back in my chair, exhaling slowly. My chest felt heavy, and my thoughts kept spinning, refusing to settle. Alex had been out of my life for so long, and yet today… today had brought everything crashing back. All the memories, all the pain, all the confusion.

He had looked so vulnerable. So unlike the Alex I knew. The Alex who had broken me, time and time again.

I bit my lip, feeling that familiar ache deep inside. I shouldn’t care. I should be happy to see him suffer the way I had suffered. But I wasn’t. And that realization made my heart sink.

Every time I picked up my fork, my mind drifted back to him. To that silent plea in his eyes, the way he hadn’t said a single word before walking out. The way he didn’t even fight back when Daniel was there, comforting me. It was like he had given,

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Chapter 107

up.
And that…that unsettled me in ways I couldn’t explain.

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I stood up abruptly, pacing the room again, trying to shake the feeling off. “Stop it, Christiana,” I muttered. “You don’t owe him anything. He hurt you. He deserves this.”

But even as I said the words out loud, they rang hollow. I couldn’t shake the knot in my stomach, the uneasy feeling that something was shifting, something I wasn’t ready to face. I hated it. I hated that he still had this power over me, even after everything.

I went to the window again, staring out at the rain, watching it fall steadily in sheets. Somewhere out there, Alex was walking in that rain. Alone. Miserable. Probably drowning in the same thoughts that were consuming me now.

Why couldn’t I just let him go? Why was it so hard to forget?

My hand gripped the windowsill tightly as I fought back the emotions swirling inside me. I didn’t want to feel sorry for him. I didn’t want to care. But the truth was, I did. Despite all the hate, despite everything he had done, there was still a part of me…deep down…that couldn’t let go.

“Damn it,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, but I blinked them away quickly. No. I wasn’t going to cry again. Not over him. Not anymore.

I tried to focus on anything else…on the work waiting for me, on the kids, on Daniel…but nothing worked. Alex had wormed his way back into my mind, and now I couldn’t get rid of him. Every time I thought about the kids, I remembered how they had looked at me with such anger, blaming me for keeping them from their father. Every time I thought about Daniel, I felt guilty for still being so tangled up in thoughts of Alex..

It was like I was stuck in this endless loop of confusion and pain, unable to break free.

I sat back down, staring at the clock. It was late, and I should have been hungry, but my appetite was long gone. All I could think about was Alex, out there in the rain, walking like he had nothing left. And it scared me how much that thought hurt.

Why does it still hurt so much?

I closed my eyes, resting my head in my hands. I didn’t have the answers. I didn’t know why I still cared. All I knew was that seeing him like that had shaken something inside me, and I wasn’t su

re how to deal with it.

And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push the thoughts of him

away.

Please Come Back

Please Come Back

Status: Ongoing

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