Derek's Pov
I stood there, silently watching Bella walk away from me, her steps echoing the shattering of my heart. I longed to reach out, to hold her hand and promise that everything would be alright as long as we were together. But reality was harsh; I couldn't stop her this time. Our families had inflicted wounds too deep, wounds that made happiness together an impossibility. I couldn't forgive them for what they had done to my parents, and I was certain Bella felt the same way about what my parents had done to her mother.
For a fleeting moment, Bella paused, and a desperate part of me wished she'd turn back, tell me she didn't want to leave, that she was ready to work things out and stay. But I knew deep down that I was merely clinging to a delusion.
"Aren't you coming along with us
