#Chapter 91: Commuter Train


    Abby


    The morning sunlight streams through the curtains, casting a warm glow that starkly contrasts with the


    cold feeling settling in my chest.


    I’ve been up all night, haunted by Karl’s confession, the unendingplications it brought into my life,


    and the dilemma of Adam’s unknown intentions. Now, packing my bags feels like I’m folding away


    pieces of a life that’s no longer within reach, no matter how close I almost came to trying to take it back.


    I’m dressed in jeans and a hoodie for the train, and I’m almost done packing when the door swings


    open. I nce up, startled, and there he is—Karl, his eyes puffy and bloodshot, a day-old stubble


    darkening his jawline. It’s clear that he didn’t sleep muchst night, either.


    For a moment, he seems like a stranger, but the heartache I feel tells me he’s anything but.


    “What do you want?” I snarl, unable to hide my disdain. “I’m almost done packing, and I’m about to call


    my Uber. So if you have something to say, don’t waste my time.”


    “Abby, let me take you to the train station,” he murmurs.


    I roll my eyes, zipping my suitcase shut with a little more force than necessary. “That won’t be


    necessary.”


    “But it’s the least I can do—”


    I cut him off, my voice tinged with bitterness. “The least you could have done was not interfere in my


    life. Look where that got us. But it’s toote now, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m leaving.”


    He flinches as I try to pass him with my bag in hand, but then he steps forward and grabs my suitcase


    before I can stop him. “I’m taking you to the train station, Abby. You don’t have to talk to me, but I’m


    taking you.”


    I want to argue, but the defeated look on his face gives me pause. Do I have the energy for another


    confrontation? Sighing, I grab my handbag and follow him out of the room.


    The car ride is tense, each passing mile stretching the silence taut like a tightrope between us. Karl


    attempts small talk, but it’s in vain.


    “So, you want some music, or…”


    I don’t answer. However, unperturbed, Karl points at a cafe along the side of the road.


    “Can I at least get you some coffee for the trip home? Some breakfast, maybe? You can eat on the


    train—”


    “I’m not hungry.”


    Karl pauses. “I’m sure you’ll be hungry in a little while, and you’ll wish you had something.”


    Part of me wants to agree, and another part of me wants to tell him to screw off. But when ites


    down to brass tacks, I can’t bring myself to respond at all.


    Instead, I keep my gaze firmly fixed on the passing scenery outside the window, a dull blur of colors


    that matches my mood perfectly. Karl’s voice fades into the background, overshadowed by the mor


    of my own thoughts, and he eventually gives up entirely.


    We arrive at the train station after what feels like an eternity, and Karl pulls into a parking space. I make


    no move to get out, my fingers clutching my bag tightly. He turns off the ignition and looks over at me,


    his eyes searching for something I don’t want to give him.


    “Abby, can we talk? Before you go?” he asks, his voiceced with a desperation that would have


    moved me once.


    “I think we’ve said enough, don’t you?”


    “I did what I did because I wanted to win you back,” he blurts out, and something about the sincerity in


    his eyes, mixed with the pathetic context of it all, turns my stomach.


    “Win me back?” I repeat, my voice rising. “By bribing someone into breaking up with me? By


    manipting my life? That’s not love, Karl, that’s control.”


    “But Abby, I—”


    “Save it,” I cut him off, my patience at its end. “Your chances were up the moment you decided you had


    any right to intervene in my life like that.”


    For a moment, he looks like he’s about to speak, but then he just nods. His shoulders slump in defeat


    as he gets out of the car, dragging my suitcase out of the trunk. I step out and walk over to grab my


    bag, taking care not to touch his hands when I do.


    “You don’t have to do this,” he says softly, as if finally realizing the finality of this moment.


    “I know. I want to.”


    He steps back, giving me space to walk away. For a second, our eyes meet, and in that moment, I see


    a flicker of the man I once knew, the man I once thought was changing for the better. But it’s toote for


    that now.


    I turn away, and without another word, I make my way into the station. I hand my ticket over to the


    attendant and find my way onto the train, settling into a seat that offers a clear view of the tform.


    Karl’s there, standing in the same spot, watching me with his hands in his pockets. Our eyes meet one


    shrinking outline of past mistakes and broken trust, until he''s just a blur in the distance.


    I lean back in my seat, close my eyes, and exhale a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I don’t know


    whates next, but one thing’s for certain: I can’t let Karl in again. Not now, not ever. And honestly,


    it’s my fault that I ever let him back in to begin with.


    The train lurches forward, gaining momentum as it pulls away from the tform. I can’t help but nce


    out of the window onest time. Karl still stands there, his figure bing a mere speck in the


    distance. A twinge of guilt tugs at me, but I push it aside. This is the path I’ve chosen; there’s no turning


    back now.


    Just as I’m settling into that thought, a sudden rush of sensation floods me—a pulse of energy, a primal


    awareness that jolts my senses alive.


    My wolf. After all these years, she’s back.


    “What the hell are you doing?” I can feel her thoughts meshing with mine, both familiar and foreign after


    all this time.


    I’m too shocked to formte a coherent response. “You… You’ve been dormant for years, and now you


    decide to show up? Why?”


    “I was heartbroken,” she replies. “When you chose to move forward without me, without us, I retreated.


    But I never lost hope. I thought maybe one day the two of you would work it out, and we could be whole


    again.”


    Her words areced with a bitterness that stings. “And you chose toe back now? When I’m leaving


    Karl?”


    “Exactly. You’re leaving our fated mate, Abby. Do you not realize what you’re doing right now?”


    “Karl hasn’t been our mate for years. And besides, that ship has sailed. I thought that there might be


    the tiniest chance of us working things out, but not now. Not after what he did.”


    My wolf lets out a low growl. “And what exactly did he do that’spletely unforgivable?”


    “He manipted my life, bribed someone into leaving me. He tried to control me, just like old times.”


    For a moment, there''s silence. Then she snarls, a ripple of anger that races through me, electrifying


    and terrifying all at once. “So you’re giving up. You’re not giving him a chance to exin?”


    “There’s nothing to exin,” I say, stifling a scoff as I stare out the window at the passing scenery. “He


    meddled in my life. He lied.”


    “You’re making a mistake, Abby. A huge mistake.”


    “And what?” I ask. “You’re the authority in my life now? You’ve been gone, remember?”


    “Yes, and maybe that was a mistake too. But I can’t be a part of this. I can’t be a part of a life where we


    make decisions that break us, that shatter the bonds meant to sustain us.”


    “So what are you saying?”


    “I’m saying goodbye, Abby. Again.”


    And just like that, she’s gone. The sensations, the heightened awareness, all of it fades away like a


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    dream upon waking.


    I’m left sitting there, hollow, like a vital piece of me has been carved out, leaving only an empty cavity.