Chapter Sixty-Five: The Night That Won’t Let Him Rest
The drive back to Terrence Ashford's estate was a blur.
By the time Kian stepped inside, his breathing was uneven, his pulse thrumming beneath his skin, his mind clouded with too much—too much pain, too much jealousy, too much unresolved emotion.
Straight to his room.
The door slammed shut.
Darkness settled around him—no lights, no movement, just silence pressing in.
And Kevin's voice—it still lingered.
That damn video call.
Not for Chloe.
Not for him.
But for Carter.
Her son.
The undeniable proof of everything she built without him.
It wasn't anger he felt.
It was something worse.
Something heavy.
Something suffocating.
Because Kevin had shared a life with her.
Because Kevin was connected to Carter—forever, undeniably, permanently.
And Kian?
Kian was nothing more than a collision from the past.
His fingers curled against his sheets, his breathing uneven.
And then—the familiar battle.
Sleep never came easily.
Not for six years.
Not since that night.
Not since Chloe begged him to let her go.
Not since he let her—only to follow her thirty minutes later, desperate, unwilling to truly lose her.
The rain had been unforgiving.
The roads slick.
The storm relentless.
Kian hadn't cared.
Had only wanted to see her, reach her, keep her, maybe even go with her.
But the accident happened before he ever made it to the airport.
The impact was brutal.
Metal twisting.
Glass shattering.
Pain flaring through his body.
And yet—only her name passed through his lips.
Lorence had been the one to save him.
Had pulled him from the wreckage.
Had kept him breathing when Kian himself wasn't sure if he wanted to anymore.
Chloe never knew.
Never knew the price he paid chasing after her.
Never knew how the accident left scars beyond the physical.
Never knew how every night since, sleep had been impossible.
Not because of hatred.
Not because of resentment.
But because Kian loved her too damn much to ever truly let go.
Now, lying in bed, staring into the dark, he knew tonight would be just like every other night.
The memories would come.
The storm inside him would rage.
And Chloe's name—it would linger. Always.