Chapter 7
“It’s not like that, Camille. The one I’ve always loved is you.
“I admit, I was momentarily drawn to Kimberly. But from beginning to end, my heart has always belonged to you.”
As if afraid I wouldn’t believe him, Xavier hurriedly rummaged through his bag. After a few moments, he pulled out a diamond ring, holding it up to me with reverence.
It was our wedding ring.
The same one he had thrown away before. I never expected him to pick it up again.
Xavier took my hand, slowly sliding the ring onto my finger.
As if fearing I would resist, he gripped my hand tightly.
“What we have never disappeared. There was just a fog that made me lose my way.
“But now that it’s cleared, I can finally see where I should be. I know who matters most in my heart.”
He was trying to win me back with a ring, with the love we once shared.
But the moment didn’t last. His smile faltered.
The ring, once fully on, was noticeably loose, at least a size too big. It no longer fit the way it once had.
I wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
6:56 AM .
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So, when it went missing, Kimberly must have taken it to get it resized.
I let out a quiet scoff.
Xavier, on the other hand, looked utterly panicked, at a complete loss.
“It can be fixed. It’ll go back to the way it was,” he muttered as if trying to convince himself.
I didn’t respond.
And maybe he finally realized how futile it all was because, in the next moment, he completely broke. “I’m going to make her pay for this,” he growled, grabbing his phone.
V
While he was distracted, I quietly slipped the ring off my finger, placed it back into his palm, and walked away without hesitation.
“Camille!”
Xavier’s desperate voice echoed behind me.
I didn’t turn back. I got in my car and drove off.
Through the rearview mirror, I saw him, red–eyed, chasing after me.
For a split second, I saw myself in him.
For all these years, with Kimberly around, hadn’t I done the same? Chasing after him, breaking apart over and over?
But unlike me, he had Kimberly to catch him when he fell. He wouldn’t have to suffer for long.
I thought that was the end for us.
But I underestimated just how far Xavier was willing to go to keep me.
