Chapter 3 usually sharp and focused

The sun rose slowly over the city, casting long shadows through the tall windows of the penthouse. Alesia sat by the window, her hands wrapped around a cup of lukewarm coffee. Her eyes, usually sharp and focused, seemed lost in the distant view. The decision she had made the night before still felt surreal, like a heavy fog clouding her thoughts. She had spent hours tossing and turning in bed, wrestling with the consequences of her choice. But when the dawn broke, there was no turning back.

Today would be the day that everything changed.

She had to confront Kaelan.

The penthouse felt quieter than it had in days. Even the sound of the rain from last night, which had become a distant memory, had disappeared. It was just silence. Cold, oppressive silence.

She heard Kaelan's footsteps approaching before she saw him. She hadn't expected him to be up this early, but there he was, standing in the doorway of the living room, looking worn and defeated. His usual composure was gone, replaced by a heaviness in his eyes that made him seem older, more vulnerable.

"Alesia..." he began, his voice soft and hesitant. "Can we talk?"

She didn't look up at him. She didn't need to. The words had already been said in her mind a thousand times.

"I'm leaving, Kaelan," she said, her voice calm and steady, but her chest tightened with every syllable. "I've thought about it all night, and I can't stay here anymore. Not like this."

For a moment, he said nothing. Alesia could feel his presence behind her, his silent plea for her to turn around, to see the man who had once promised her forever. But she couldn't look at him. Not yet. Not when everything felt so raw, so broken.

"You can't leave," he said after a pause. His voice cracked with emotion. "We can fix this. We'll work through it. I'll make it right. I'll find another way-"

"No, Kaelan," she interrupted, finally turning to face him. "There is no fixing this. You've already made your choice. You've already chosen her. I can't pretend like I'm okay with this anymore. I can't pretend like I'm fine with you making plans for a future with her while I stand by, watching from the sidelines."

His face fell. She saw the guilt in his eyes, the regret that he hadn't been able to stop the hurt he had caused. But it wasn't enough. The damage was done.

"Alesia, please..." He took a step forward, his hand reaching for hers, but she pulled back instinctively.

"No," she whispered, her voice shaky. "Don't touch me. Not anymore."

The words hung heavy between them. Kaelan's face twisted with anguish as he saw the resolve in her eyes. The woman he had married, the woman he had once vowed to love, was standing in front of him, no longer willing to be a pawn in his game.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice almost breaking. "I never wanted to hurt you. I thought... I thought you could handle it. I thought you'd understand that this was for our future. Our family."

"I don't care about your family," Alesia snapped, her anger finally breaking through. "What I care about is being your partner, Kaelan, not your second choice. You didn't even give me a chance to fight for us. You just replaced me. You just... threw me away."

"Please don't say that," he said, his voice pleading, his eyes desperate. "I never meant to hurt you. I love you. I do. But I need a child. My family needs a child, and I thought you understood that."

"I don't care about your family's expectations," she said, her voice growing more forceful. "I care about us. I care about what we had. But you don't love me enough to fight for it, Kaelan. You never did."

The words hit him harder than she had expected. His shoulders sagged as though he had been punched in the chest. Alesia could see it-the moment the realization hit him. He wasn't going to win her back. He wasn't going to convince her to stay. She had made up her mind.

"I'm leaving," she repeated, her voice quieter now, more certain. "And you should think long and hard about whether you want to keep this family. Because what you're doing... it's not just about me. You're about to lose everything. Your marriage, your future, the woman you've spent years building a life with. You're about to lose it all for someone else."

Kaelan stepped back, his face pale. He seemed to deflate before her eyes. "Alesia..."

"I'll pack my things," she said, turning away from him. "I'll be out of here by the end of the day."

She didn't wait for him to respond. She couldn't. She had already given him enough chances to make things right. She had given him her heart, her trust, and in return, he had chosen someone else.

Packing her things felt surreal. Alesia moved through the penthouse, each step heavier than the last. She tried to be methodical, but her hands shook with every item she packed into the suitcase. She had spent years building this life, and now she was walking away from it. Walking away from everything she had known, from the man she thought she would grow old with.

She opened the closet and stared at the rows of designer clothes, the dresses Kaelan had bought her on trips abroad, the ones she had worn on their anniversaries and celebrations. But today, they seemed like nothing more than reminders of the life she was leaving behind.

She could hear Kaelan's footsteps in the hall. He was pacing, no doubt wondering what he had done wrong. But there was no fixing it now. She had given him everything, and he had broken her heart. She couldn't stay and pretend she was fine when all she wanted was to scream.

A knock at the door made her freeze.

"Alesia," Kaelan called softly. "Please... Let's talk."

"I'm done talking," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've said everything I needed to say. It's over."

The door creaked open slightly. She didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice shaking now. "I know I messed up. But please... don't leave. Not like this."

She closed her eyes, her breath catching in her throat. "I'm sorry too. But I can't stay."

When she finally left the penthouse, it was the hardest thing she had ever done. She drove through the rain, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, tears threatening to spill over. She had no destination in mind. All she knew was that she couldn't stay, not in that life, not with Kaelan anymore.

The city blurred around her as she drove, her mind in turmoil. Was she making the right choice? Was walking away the answer?

But deep down, she knew she couldn't let herself be anyone's second choice. She deserved more than that. She deserved a love that was whole, that was hers, and hers alone.

And with that, she drove into the unknown, leaving behind everything she had known, ready to face a new chapter in her life.