Chapter 12
798 Words
Lanesra woke up with a lingering ache in her chest. The meeting with Kade had reopened wounds she had tried so hard to mend on her own. But last night had given her something else—hope. Fragile, uncertain hope. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep her going.
Eli had been the happiest she’d seen him in months after seeing Kade again. The little boy had practically skipped through the apartment the night before, humming to himself as he talked about all the things he wanted to do with Kade again. His excitement only deepened the pressure in her heart. What if things didn’t work out? What if she and Kade couldn’t find their way back to each other? What would that mean for Eli?
She was still lost in thought when a knock at the door startled her. She hurried to answer it, her pulse quickening when she saw Kade standing on the other side. He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes and his jaw set tightly as if he had barely slept.
“Can I come in?” he asked, his voice rough.
Lanesra hesitated for only a moment before stepping aside to let him in. “Of course.”
Kade walked past her, running a hand through his hair. He exhaled sharply before turning to face her. “I needed to see you. To talk.”
She nodded, leading him to the living room. “I’m listening.”
He hesitated, then sat down on the couch, rubbing his hands together. “Yesterday, when we talked at the park… it reminded me how much I miss this. Us.” His gaze met hers, intense and searching. “But I’m scared, Lanesra. I don’t know how to move past everything.”
Lanesra swallowed hard, sitting beside him but leaving just enough space to keep her emotions in check. “I’m scared too. But I know that I want to try. Not just for Eli. For us.”
Kade leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “There’s something I need to say… something I didn’t get the chance to tell you before.”
Her stomach twisted at his tone. “What is it?”
He looked up at her, raw emotion in his eyes. “I wasn’t perfect in all of this either. The reason Erin came back into my life… it wasn’t entirely her doing.”
Lanesra’s breath caught. “What do you mean?”
Kade exhaled, his jaw tightening. “I reached out to her before she came back into our lives.”
Lanesra’s heart pounded in her ears. “You… what?”
“I didn’t know what I was doing at the time,” he admitted. “We were in a bad place, Lanesra. I felt like I was losing you, and I was desperate to hold on to something—anything. Erin was a mistake. I never wanted her back in my life, but I let my own doubts and fears push me in the wrong direction.”
Tears burned at the back of Lanesra’s eyes. “So you’re saying… you invited her back?”
“I never meant to,” Kade said quickly. “I never wanted her back in my life. But I reached out, and that was enough for her to take advantage of the situation. I see that now.”
Lanesra turned away, running a hand through her hair as her emotions threatened to spiral out of control. “All this time, I blamed myself. I thought she was the one who forced her way in. And now you’re telling me that you gave her an opening?”
Kade’s face twisted with regret. “I hate that I did that. If I could take it back, I would. But, Lanesra, I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
She let out a shaky breath, torn between the love she still had for him and the pain of this new revelation. “I don’t know how to process this, Kade.”
“I don’t expect you to just forgive me overnight,” he said, his voice thick with desperation. “But I need you to know the truth. I need you to know that I never stopped loving you.”
Lanesra wiped at her damp cheeks, her emotions swirling in a storm of anger, hurt, and longing. Could they truly move past everything? Could she trust him again after this?
“I need time,” she whispered.
Kade reached for her hand, his fingers brushing against hers. “Take all the time you need. I’ll wait.”
She didn’t know what the future held for them, but as she looked into his eyes, she knew one thing for certain—this wasn’t over. Not yet.
- Writer
