Chapter 5 I Love You

Chapter 4: I Love You

Minutes turned into hours.

At some point, exhaustion had won, and Lara had dozed off on the couch. But the sharp ringing of the doorbell stirred her awake.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she shot up, blinking away the drowsiness. The room was dark, save for the dim glow of the TV screen.

She glanced at the clock. 2:13 AM.

Who could be visiting this late?

With a deep sigh, she pushed herself off the couch and made her way to the door. The doorbell rang again, more insistent this time. Her brows knitted together she hesitated for a moment. Peeking through the peephole, she was met with a familiar face.

Izek?

Without wasting another second, she unlocked the door and swung it open. Her eyes widened at the sight before her.

There, standing under the dim glow of the porch light, was Izek-one of Lucas's close friends. And beside him, slumped against his shoulder, was Lucas himself. Disheveled. Drunk. Completely wasted.

Lara's stomach twisted at the sight.

"Hey," Izek greeted, offering an awkward smile. "Care to help?"

Lara's gaze dropped to Lucas, and her heart clenched. His normally crisp shirt was wrinkled, the top buttons undone. His usually sharp eyes were half-lidded, unfocused. His face was flushed from alcohol.

"What happened? Why is he like this?" she asked, stepping forward to help support Lucas's weight as they guided him inside.

Izek exhaled sharply. "I don't think it's my story to tell. I'm sorry, Nics." he said grimly, his expression dark.

That didn't sit well with her.

As they settled Lucas onto the couch, she stole a glance at Izek and noticed the tension in his jaw. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and Lara didn't miss the frustration simmering in his eyes as he glared at Lucas.

"He's my friend, but right now, I really want to beat the shit out of him," Izek muttered under his breath. "What an asshole."

Lara's brows furrowed. "What happened?" she pressed, her voice laced with both confusion and concern.

Izek exhaled sharply and shook his head. "Forget it." he ran a hand through his hair, his anger momentarily giving way to something softer when he met her gaze. "You're too good for him, you know that?"

Lara's blinked, taken aback.

"What?"

"Never mind," he muttered with a sigh. "Anyway, I should go. You don't need to take care of him, just leave him be. He deserves it."

Lara opened her mouth to respond, but Izek had already patted her shoulder lightly. "You don't have to see me off. Just lock the door."

And with that, he walked out, leaving her alone with the drunken mess that was her husband.

Lara's gaze slowly dropped to Lucas, sprawled out on the couch, his chest rising and falling with slow, uneven breaths.

A whirlwind of emotions crashed through her-anger, worry, disappointment.

She clenched her fists.

What the hell happened tonight?

He had been out drinking while she sat here, waiting, worrying.

And for what?

Her chest tightened painfully. She wanted to shake him awake, demand an explanation, yell at him for making her feel like this.

But even if she asked, would he answer?

Would he even care?

She let out a bitter laugh, tilting her head back as frustration bubbled within her.

Of course not.

Lucas had never cared before. Why would he start now?

With a heavy sigh, she turned away, intending to leave him there for the night. She refused to stay here, hovering over him like a fool. But just as she took a step away-

A hand shot out, weakly wrapping around her wrist.

Lara froze.

"Don't go..."

Lucas's voice was slurred, barely above a whisper, but it sent a jolt through her body.

Her heart pounded as she turned back to face him. His grip on her wrist was weak yet desperate, his half-lidded eyes searching for something-someone.

"Don't go..." he murmured again, voice thick with emotion. "Please... don't leave me."

Lara's breath hitched.

What is this? What's happening?

Her pulse raced. For so long, she had longed to hear those words from him, to hear him ask her to stay. And now, he was finally saying them.

Her chest tightened, a fragile hope blooming within her.

She immediately knelt in front of him, her hands shaking as she reached for his. "Lucas," she whispered, her voice breaking.

His eyes fluttered open slightly, and his fingers brushed against her cheek. The gentleness of his touch sent shivers down her spine.

"I won't leave," she promised, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm here."

Lucas let out a shaky breath. His grip on her hand tightened.

"I can't live without you..." His voice cracked. "I... I love you... Please don't leave me..."

Lara's heart stopped.

Her lips parted in shock as his words echoed in her mind.

He... loves me?

A sob built in her throat, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions crashing over her. She didn't care if he was drunk. She didn't care if it was the alcohol talking. She knew it was pathetic but it didn't matter.

Because for three years, she had been waiting.

Waiting for him to look at her.

Waiting for him to want her.

Waiting for him to love her back.

And right now, at this moment, he was telling her what she had always wanted to hear.

He loves me. Lucas loves me.

Tears welled in Lara's eyes as she reached out, her fingers trembling as they cupped his face.

"I love-"

"Riah..."

The name was a whisper.

But it might as well have been a scream.

Lara froze.

Her heart, which had been hammering in her chest just moments ago, suddenly felt like it had stopped altogether.

No... she must have misheard.

She had to be wrong.

But then-

"Riah..."

He said it again.

And this time, it shattered her.

The name hung between them, thick and suffocating, crushing the fragile hope she had clung to.

Her fingers trembled against his skin.

It wasn't her name.

It wasn't her he was thinking about.

A cold, suffocating weight pressed down on her chest as realization slammed into her like a tidal wave.

Lucas's grip on her wrist tightened, his drunken, unfocused eyes gazing at her-no, past her. Through her. He wasn't seeing her at all.

"Riah..." he murmured again, his voice raw, filled with longing and pain.

Then, in a voice so broken it made her breath hitch-

"I love you... I love you so much... please don't leave me..."

Lara felt like she was drowning.

A sharp, searing pain shot through her chest as she stared at the man she loved, the man she had given everything to only to hear another woman's name fall from his lips.

This whole time...

He wasn't talking to her.

Her vision blurred with fresh tears. A hollow laugh bubbled up her throat. It broke past her lips-shaky, broken, filled with agony.

How pathetic.

She had been a fool.

A complete, hopeless fool.

For three years, she had waited. Longed. Wished.

For three years, she had told herself that if she just stayed, if she just loved him enough, one day, he would look at her the way she looked at him.

One day, he would want her.

One day, he would love her.

But now she knew the truth.

Lucas wasn't hers. He never was.

And he never would be.

Her hands trembled as she wrenched herself free, as if his very touch burned her. She stumbled back, her knees giving out beneath her, hitting the floor in a heap of grief.

Lucas, oblivious, reached out-searching for someone who wasn't there. Someone who wasn't her.

Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, silent and unrelenting, as she stared at him. The man she had love with all her heart.

Lucas, the husband who had never truly been hers.

Lucas, the man who, even in his most vulnerable state, wasn't calling for her.

Her name had never been the one he whispered in the dark.

Her love had never been the one he needed.

And it never would be.

A fresh wave of agony crashed over her, raw and unyielding, as the finality of it all sank in.

Hope so fragile, so desperate, had been the only thing keeping her standing.

But now?

Now it was dead.

Life had never felt crueler than it did in that moment.