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Chapter_9
Alyssa’s fingers tightened around the phone, her mind swirling with a cocktail of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. The anger was undeniable, but beneath it, a deeper, quieter pain lingered, gnawing at her insides. Every word that had come from Jasper’s lips earlier echoed in her mind like a cruel reminder of everything she had lost—and everything she would never regain. She pressed her forehead against the cool wall, willing herself to breathe, to find some semblance of peace in the chaos of her thoughts.
“How did it all go so wrong?” The question echoed endlessly, but there were no answers that would make sense. She had loved him—she had given him everything. And yet, it had never been enough.
She thought back to the years they had spent together, the promises made in quiet moments, the love that had once felt so pure and real. How foolish she had been to believe it would last forever. “The love I had for you for thirteen years,” she thought bitterly, “It was a mistake, a delusion. Why didn’t I see it?”
Her heart ached, but she refused to let herself succumb to the weakness of tears. No, she was stronger than this. She had to be. Her hand trembled as she wiped away the moisture gathering at the corner of her eyes, but her resolve remained firm.
Alyssa’s mind flashed to the phone call. The possessiveness in Jasper’s voice had cut through her like a blade. “I don’t care who you’re with now,” he had said, but she could hear the thinly veiled jealousy beneath his words. She couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the irony. “Now you care? After all these years of treating me like I didn’t exist, now you want answers?”
She could still feel the sting of his words about her dignity, his attempt to manipulate her into submission. He had no right to lecture her about respect. After everything he had done—after the years of betrayal and silence—he had the audacity to act as if she owed him anything.
She clenched her fist, feeling the rage boil within her again. “Why didn’t I see it sooner?” She had sacrificed too much for him. She had endured so much pain, so much heartbreak. And for what? So he could continue living his life as if she were nothing but a footnote in his past?
But even as she steeled herself, she couldn’t push away the deep-seated hurt. The love she had once felt for him still lingered, tangled in the ruins of her broken heart. It was like a wound that wouldn’t heal—one that she had to live with every day.
She exhaled sharply, trying to push those thoughts away. “No more. I won’t let him have that power over me. Not anymore.” She was done. She was done with the past. She was done with him. The person she had been in that marriage was dead, and now she had to rise from the ashes, stronger than before.
Alyssa wiped her eyes again, determined to focus on the future. The phone call had been the last straw, and from this moment on, she would no longer let him drag her back into the misery he had caused. She had her brothers, she had a new life waiting for her, and nothing—nothing—was worth sacrificing her peace for. Not even Jasper.
And with that, she turned away from the past, stepping into a future that was hers to shape. As painful as it was, she would rebuild herself from the ground up. She would be the woman who would no longer be defined by a man who had abandoned her. She would be the woman who took control of her life, and Jasper would never have the power to break her again.
Her heart was bruised, but not broken. And that, at least, was enough to start over.