(JARED''S POV)


    After Arielle left, I buried my face in my palms, feeling a tide of frustration and guilt was over me. I couldn''t follow her. At least. I knew I shouldn''t.


    She needed space, and for once, leaving her alone felt like the least I could do after everything I had said.


    I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my breathing, but it didn''t help. The confrontation kept reying in my mind, each detail reminding me how I had mishandled it.


    How could I have let my emotions spiral like that? I had let my anger get the best of me, and now I was left with nothing but a mess of my own making.


    I couldn''t shake the feeling that I''d ruined everything-again. As much as I was frustrated by her reluctance to forgive me, I knew deep down it wasn''t about that. She was just hurt. I had caused her pain, and I should never haveshed out the way I did. I should have been more patient, more understanding.


    I mean, how do I win her back if the impression I always give off is that of a man who can''t keep his emotions in check?


    Sighing again, I looked up and my eyesnded on the first aid box on the floor, and against my will, thoughts of how she carefully tended to my wounds gued me. She had cared enough to bring me here and take care of me when I was a mess, and yet I hadpletely ruined everything.


    "You''re an ungrateful bastard," I groaned to myself.


    I pushed myself to my feet, the weight of the room pressing in on me, and walked out, the sound of my footsteps echoing in the empty space. It felt like a metaphor for my lifetely-empty, silent, and painfully alone. Outside, I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber. The driver would take some time to arrive, but I needed to do something to distract myself from the chaos in my head.


    I paced the length of the driveway, the cold evening air doing nothing to calm my restless thoughts. Finally, the Uber pulled up, and I climbed into the backseat, giving the driver the address to the family mansion.


    The car glided through the streets, and I stared out the window, lost in thought. By the time we arrived, I was no closer to finding answers, but at least the ride had been an escape if only for a moment.


    I paid the driver, thanking him as I stepped out and made my way inside. All I wanted was thefort of my room, a ce where I could shut everything out.


    But as I walked through the foyer, I noticed my mother sitting in the sitting room. It would''ve been rude to just walk past without acknowledging her, so I forced myself to turn in.novelbin


    But the moment I stepped into the room, I froze. She wasn''t alone, with her was Sofia''s mother.


    Why the hell is she here? I thought bitterly. Could today get any worse?


    She seemed surprised to see me, and I could sense the heaviness in the atmosphere.


    I forced myself to keep calm, but it wasn''t easy. The air felt thick with tension as I stopped just inside the doorway, trying not to show how deeply her presence irritated me.


    They seemed to be in a conversation, with Sofia''s mother demanding a mary favor with her usual entitled aura, but halted when they saw me.


    "Jared, you''re home?" Sofia''s mother asked, her voice dripping with feigned warmth.


    The irritation I''d been fighting to hold back finally erupted, but before I could say anything, my gaze drifted to the couch in the corner of the room. My eyes dropped to the figure seated there, and my heart skipped. Sofia?


    She looked... different. Fragile. Frail,


    in a way I''d never imagined her. Her skin was nearly ashen, and her face usually full of fire and confidence, was now etched with sadness. Her eyes those bright, piercing eyes that had always held so much life-were now sunken and hollow, devoid of their usual spark.


    It was as if the woman I once knew had vanished, leaving only the remnants behind.


    Arielle''s words shed in my mind; herment about my rtionship with Sofia. A bitter sigh escaped me. Speak of the devil.


    I looked away quickly, only to find Mrs. Gold''s eyes fixed on me with an intensity that was hard to ignore. Her smile was gone, reced with something far colder, something usatory. Nodding curtly, I responded, "Yeah I am. Hi, mom, hi Mrs Gold."


    Mrs. Gold''s eyes narrowed. "It''s good you''re home, Jared. Your mother and I were just discussing Sofia. She''s been in a really awful cetely. Did your mother not tell you?"


    I nced at my mother, but she avoided my gaze, looking suddenly ufortable.


    "No, she didn''t," I said, my voice t despite the knot tightening in my stomach. "I''m sure she''s just been busy and was nning to fill me in soon."


    "Oh, is that so?" Mrs. Gold''s voice


    had a bite to it now, her brow


    arching in a way that made my insides churn. "I''m sure she wasn''t too ''busy'' to mention that the


    ident Sofia was in had somesting effects on her."


    "Lasting effects?" I asked, a wave of confusion washing over me. I flicked a nce back at Sofia, but she didn''t meet my eyes.


    She was looking down at herp, her hands folded tightly in herp like she was bracing herself for something.


    Then, she lifted her eyes to mine, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I saw something there. Something raw. And when she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, it hit me like a blow to the chest. "I... I can''t have children, Jared," she said, her words barely audible, but they cut through the air like ss.


    The room seemed to freeze. I blinked, trying to process what she''d just said.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I have fertility damage from myst miscarriage. After the car ident, the doctors ran some tests, and because I was on my period at the time, they found out... that I''m actually infertile. I can never have


    children again, Jared."


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