If Not Mine, Then No One’s

Chapter 5

For several minutes I stood frozen. My eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing, and I fought desperately to hold back my tears. I tried to turn the pain boiling inside me into hatred, but it trembled just beneath the surface.

It was him. The one who had left me with wounds so deep they had scarred my very soul. The one who had walked away without a word, who had not only destroyed me but had etched his presence into my life for years to come. The one who had given me something I never asked for—a permanent mark on my heart.

It was useless. My eyes betrayed me, spilling tears no matter how hard I pressed them back. I turned and ran toward the exit, my breath uneven, Sara calling after me, her footsteps echoing mine.

Every step I took, every breath I exhaled, every memory of him clawed its way back into me. Each tear I shed burned like acid. Seeing him again after all the traces he’d left, after all the wounds I thought had closed, ripped them open as if they’d never healed. He had managed to destroy me again.

This couldn’t be happening. He was supposed to remain nothing but a memory—a mistake I had promised myself I would never repeat, a shadow of the past. Yet here he was, standing in front of me, tearing my life apart once more. My strength faltered. I dropped to my knees, knowing that crying wouldn’t solve anything, but also knowing it was the only way to let out even half of my pain.

I still couldn’t comprehend it. I had just seen him, and he… he wasn’t the same. Tattoos covered his arms now. His hair had grown longer, curling slightly, and he was more handsome than ever. Damn it. My life had been going so well, better than it had in years. Why did I have to see him now? Why did fate have to throw him back at me only to shatter me again?

“Atalanta, what happened? Are you okay?” Sara’s voice was urgent.

“I… I’m fine,” I said through my sobs. “Never been better. I’ve never been happier or better than I am today. Ahh…”

The words broke apart in my throat. My voice cracked as the sobs escaped me. Tears poured out, heavy and unrelenting. The pain inside me was tearing me apart, forcing the grief to spill out of me in sound and salt.