Chapter One
The Last Fight
Anna never imagined love could turn into something so bitter.
She stood in the middle of their dimly lit living room, arms wrapped tightly around herself as if that could hold her together. The walls around them felt smaller, suffocating. Once, this house had been a place of love, of whispered secrets and laughter that lingered long after the moment passed. Now, it was nothing but a battlefield.
Noah leaned against the kitchen counter, his hands gripping the edge so hard his knuckles turned white. He wouldn’t look at her. He hadn’t since she walked in, eyes blazing with the truth she could no longer ignore.
"Say something," Anna demanded, her voice thick with emotion. "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me that I didn’t just hear you admit to it."
He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his already disheveled hair. "Anna, it’s not what you think"
"Not what I think?" She let out a sharp, bitter laugh, her body shaking. "Then tell me, Noah. What is it? Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like what it is—a betrayal."
Still, he said nothing.
Anna took a step forward, her heart hammering against her ribs. "How long?"
Noah’s jaw clenched. "Anna"
"How. Long?" she snapped, her voice cracking.
Silence.
That was the answer.
A wave of nausea hit her, and she took a shaky breath, willing herself not to break.
"Was it just once?" Her voice was quieter now, more fragile. "Or was it a lie every time you came home late? Every time you told me you loved me while you were with her in your mind?"
He finally looked at her then, his blue eyes clouded with something she couldn’t place—guilt, regret, anger. Maybe all three. But it wasn’t enough.
"Anna," he said, his voice low, pleading. "We weren’t… happy. You know that."
Her breath hitched. "And that gave you the right to cheat?"
"You shut me out," he shot back, frustration seeping into his tone. "You stopped looking at me like I mattered. You buried yourself in work, in your own world, and I—I felt like I didn’t exist anymore."
She blinked, stunned at the way he twisted it. "So now it’s my fault?"
"That’s not what I’m saying." He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I made a mistake. A huge one. But don’t act like we haven’t been falling apart for years."
Anna swallowed the lump in her throat, her fingers digging into her arms. "If you were unhappy, you should have told me. We could’ve fought for this. We could’ve tried."
Noah let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Fought for what, Anna? We’ve been fighting for years, and all it’s done is tear us apart."
Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Then why didn’t you just leave me, Noah? Why did you have to destroy everything first?"
He hesitated, and for a moment, she saw it. The man she fell in love with. The man who once swore he’d never hurt her. But that man was gone, buried under the weight of his choices.
"I don’t know," he admitted, voice hoarse.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away furiously.
"Was she worth it?" she whispered. "Was she worth losing me?"
His silence was louder than any answer he could have given.
Anna inhaled sharply, straightening her spine. "I loved you, Noah. More than anything. But love isn’t enough when you don’t even respect me."
Noah’s jaw tightened, his hands twitching like he wanted to reach for her. But he didn’t.
It was too late for that.
She turned toward the door, her entire body trembling.
"Anna… please," Noah’s voice was barely above a whisper.
She paused, just for a second. A part of her wanted to turn back, to believe that maybe there was still something left to save.
But then she remembered the sleepless nights. The gut-wrenching feeling of knowing something was wrong. The hollow excuses.
She walked out without another word.
And this time, she wasn’t coming back.
