PART 5- CHAPTER 190
LUKE
I blinked, once, twice, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Jess stood there, framed in the doorway, looking at me like I was the last person she ever expected to see. My brain couldn’t keep up, couldn’t grasp the fact that she was here- standing in my doorway, looking at me with those wide, shocked
eyes.
It was like time had slowed for a second, and all I could think about was how she looked. The way she’d always looked, really. Her face was the same, familiar and warm, stirring memories I’d tried hard to bury.
And then my eyes drifted down, and I froze.
She was wearing that blue dress, the one that always drove me crazy. I could still remember the last time she wore it. We’d gotten caught in the rain that night, drenched through by the time we made it back to my place. I’d peeled that dress off her soaked body, my hands trembling with every second, every kiss. We’d made love twice, surrounded by the sound of rain against the window, tangled up in each other until both of us passed out from exhaustion.
But then my gaze shifted lower, and the memory shattered. There, stretching from her knee to her ankle, was a scar–angry and pink against her skin. Bryan had done that to her, and every time I looked at it, it felt like another reminder of how I’d failed her. If I’d been there, if I’d kept my head on straight… if I’d done
PAS CHAPTER 190
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something right, he wouldn’t have hurt her. That scar was as much my fault as it was his.
“Jess…” I finally managed, my voice rough and barely above a whisper, like I was afraid saying her name too loud would make her disappear. She whispered my name back, and it felt like a punch to the gut.
I wanted to reach out, to pull her close and tell her everything I hadn’t been able to say. But I couldn’t move; I was rooted to the spot, paralyzed by the intensity of seeing her here, now. It felt like I was in a dream, and I was scared that if I so much as breathed, I’d wake up alone.
And then Francesca’s voice cut through the moment like a knife. “Earth to whoever the fuck you are…” she said, her words laced with irritation as she stepped between us, blocking Jess from view. It took me a second to process what was happening, to tear my gaze from Jess and look at Francesca, who was glaring at her like she was an intruder.
Francesca folded her arms, her eyebrow arching as she addressed Jess directly. “Why are you staring at my fiancé?” she asked, her voice sharp and possessive.
Fiancé. The word echoed, loud and jarring, in the silence. I saw Jess’s face pale, and my own stomach twisted as her eyes flickered to me, full of disbelief.
“Fiancé?” she repeated her voice barely a whisper. I could see the shock in her expression, and I had to swallow the sudden lump in my throat. I wanted to say something, anything to explain. But the words wouldn’t come.
Francesca’s smile widened, all teeth. “Yeah, fiancé,” she said,
PART 5- CHAPTER 190
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practically spitting the word out. “What, he didn’t tell you?”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. My mind was spinning, still caught between Jess and Francesca, the weight of all the things I’d left unsaid pressing down on me like an anchor.
“Luke… is she–you two are-” Jess stumbled, her voice.
breaking. And it felt like a knife twisting in my chest to see her look at me like that, so lost and hurt. I wanted to tell her the truth, to just reach out and pull her close, to tell her that it wasn’t what she thought. But I was too damn stunned, too damn torn apart by seeing her here, in front of me.
“Well,” Francesca cut in, her voice dripping with satisfaction, “technically, I’m more than his fiancée.” She placed her hand on her stomach, shooting Jess a triumphant look. “Luke here is my baby daddy.“.
Jess’s face went slack, the color draining as she stepped back. I watched the words sink in, watched her expression turn from shock to hurt, and it felt like a punch to my own gut. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t true. Wanted to tell her she was wrong. But I just stood there, frozen, my throat tight and every word I’d rehearsed a thousand times now evaporated.
“Luke?” she whispered, her voice breaking, her eyes glistening with tears. I wanted to reach out, to say something, anything to make this moment stop unraveling. But I couldn’t get a damn word out.
I watched as she stumbled back, her gaze flickering between me and Francesca, and I felt fucking helpless – no pathetic.
She turned and bolted down the hall, and all I could do
was
PART 5- CHAPTER 190
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watch her leave. She didn’t even look back.
The elevator doors slid shut, taking her away from me, and I just stood there, feeling like my world had just shattered into a
million pieces. And it was all my fault.
