Chapter 14: The news

Ever since I slammed the door on Kaleth's face two weeks ago, he never came back. I had expected him to return, maybe to explain, or to try again. But he just gave up—again. The same way he did six years ago.

“Celine!” Someone screamed my name, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Turning around, I saw Cleo sprinting toward me, her heavy breathing betraying how hard she had been running.

“What is it?”

“You need to see this!” Cleo said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me toward the sofa. She snatched the remote and turned on the TV, switching to a channel already in the middle of an interview.

“So, tell me, Mr. Kaleth Anderson, your fans really want to know—when will you finally be getting married?”

There he was. Kaleth. He smiled faintly, the same half-smile that used to make my heart skip a beat.

“I will be getting married in the next month,” he replied smoothly.

“Wow, congratulations! But who is the lucky lady?”

“Well,” he said, a hint of hesitation in his tone before he smiled again, “I will be getting married to Miss Emma Drew.”

The interviewer clapped her hands, clearly thrilled with the announcement. “Oh my God! Who could’ve imagined you’d be getting married to a model after your last incident with one?”

Kaleth chuckled softly, his voice steady. “Well, I guess people change.”

“Emma Drew, please! Could you come out here so that we can see your lovely face!”

I froze, my breath catching in my chest as Emma walked onto the screen, smiling and radiant.

Six years ago, I might have guessed something was wrong when Kaleth and I broke up, but now, watching this, I was sure of it. Kaleth couldn’t really be marrying his worst enemy in the world—or had he truly fallen for her? The Kaleth I knew would never love someone like Emma. But as he said, people change.

“I need to take a walk,” I said abruptly, standing up.

“Celine, it’s a quarter past seven,” Cleo reminded me, concern in her voice.

“I’ll be fine,” I replied, already heading toward the door. “Watch the kids for me, okay?”

As I walked down the dimly lit streets, the cool night air nipped at my skin. The streetlights flickered as though mirroring the turbulence in my heart.

The words from the interview kept replaying in my mind.

“Well, I will be getting married to Miss Emma Drew.”

Why did it bother me so much? I didn’t love him anymore—at least, that’s what I told myself every day. But here I was, trying to process the fact that he had moved on so completely.

Why did I feel so broken all over again?

He left me. I should hate him. But my heart couldn’t comply. I loved him too much back then, and I couldn’t deny that some part of me still did.

“You have two beautiful daughters,” I whispered to myself, trying to remind my heart of my blessings. “That’s more than enough.”

But the thought didn’t silence the storm inside me. My daughters—they needed a father. And Kaleth could have been that for them if he had stayed.

Memories of our breakup flooded my mind.

He left me when I needed him the most. But was it really his fault? Could I blame someone for not wanting to take responsibility for something he never planned?

Then there was the humiliation. The way he stood in front of the entire school and accused me of fabricating the story of my rape—just to get attention. I tried to convince myself that he didn’t mean it, that it was the pressure talking. But those words had scarred me deeply.

“Kaleth, why did you do this to me? Why did you leave me shattered?” I whispered to the darkness, tears rolling down my cheeks.

“I never meant to hurt you,” a voice replied softly.

Startled, I looked up, my heart leaping into my throat. There he was—Kaleth. His blue eyes, the ones I had fallen for so many years ago, stared down at me. But something had changed. They had lost their glow.

“Kaleth?” I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, Celine,” he said, stepping closer. His presence was overwhelming, bringing with it a flood of emotions I wasn’t prepared to face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice sharper this time.

“I needed to see you,” he admitted, his tone calm but filled with something I couldn’t quite place. “I couldn’t leave things the way they were.”

I laughed bitterly, crossing my arms. “Oh, really? Took you six years to figure that out?”

“Celine, please. Just hear me out,” he pleaded.

“Why should I? You left me, Kaleth. You left me to face everything alone. And now, you’re marrying Emma Drew? What kind of sick joke is this?”

“It’s not what you think,” he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Emma and I... it’s complicated.”

“Complicated? That’s all you’ve got?” I snapped. “After everything you put me through, you don’t get to stand here and say it’s complicated.”

“I know I hurt you,” he said, his voice breaking. “And I will never forgive myself for that. But I swear, Celine, I never stopped loving you.”

His words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

“You don’t get to say that,” I said, my voice trembling. “You don’t get to come back here and say you still love me when you abandoned me and our daughters.”

Kaleth’s eyes widened. “Daughters?” he echoed, his voice barely audible.

“Yes, Kaleth. Daughters. Katherine and Catherina. They’re six years old now. And they’ve grown up without a father because you decided you couldn’t handle being in their lives.”

He looked as though the wind had been knocked out of him. “I... I didn’t know,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Of course, you didn’t,” I said, my anger rising. “You left without a second thought. You never cared enough to check.”

“Celine, I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice filled with genuine regret. “I made a mistake. A terrible mistake. But I want to make it right.”

I shook my head, stepping back. “You can’t just walk back into our lives and expect everything to be okay. It doesn’t work like that, Kaleth.”

“I know,” he said. “But please, let me try. Let me prove to you and to our daughters that I can be the man you need me to be.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. Could I trust him again? Did I even want to?

“I need time,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Take all the time you need,” he said. “I’ll wait. For as long as it takes.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the dark.

As I walked back home, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. My heart was at war with itself, torn between the love I still felt for Kaleth and the pain he had caused me.

When I got home, I found my daughters waiting for me.

“Mommy, why are you sad?” Catherina asked, her big green eyes full of concern.

I knelt down and pulled both of them into a hug, holding them close.

“I’m okay, my loves,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’m just tired.”

“Mommy, we love you,” Katherine said, wrapping her small arms around my neck.

“I love you too,” I said, my heart swelling with gratitude.

No matter what happened with Kaleth, I had my daughters. And that was enough. For now.