Chapter Seventy-Six: The Reality That Unraveled Slowly

Chloe

She hesitated, fingers tapping lightly against her lap.

"Kevin was amazing at first," she admitted. "Gentle, patient—he took care of me in ways I didn't even realize I needed. He knew I didn't know how to cook, that I was stubborn, that I liked doing things my way."

Kian nodded slightly, not interrupting, just listening.

She exhaled slowly, staring out the window.

"He was independent, but he struggled with consistency. He quit jobs often, saying he wanted better opportunities—but they never came. And in the end, I was the one holding everything together."

Kian's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, but his voice remained calm.

"So you carried the weight alone."

Chloe swallowed. "Yeah. And maybe I was silently quitting too. Watching things stay the same, waiting for them to change, knowing deep down they wouldn't."

She glanced at Kian briefly, catching the flicker of something in his gaze.

Then—her voice softened.

"But Kevin was a good father to Carter."

Kian didn't react.

Didn't speak.

Just watched the road, his silence stretching.

Chloe continued anyway.

"Whatever flaws he had as a husband, he never let them affect Carter. He loved him deeply. He was present. He made sure Carter never felt abandoned, never lacked affection."

Kian inhaled slowly, deliberately.

Then—he asked the question he had been waiting to voice.

"And then?"

Chloe exhaled, her voice steady.

"Then he cheated."

And just like that—the quiet shattered.