Chapter 7
Declan collapsed onto the couch the second he got home.
For the first time, the house felt unbearably empty.
No toys scattered across the floor.
No soft nagging from his wife.
Just silence.
It didn’t feel like home anymore.
Some kinds of happiness are so fragile, they vanish before you even realize they were real.
And by the time you look back, what you once had but didn’t appreciate has already slipped through your fingers like sand.
No matter how hard you try to grab it again, it’s gone.
Just like the day Elodie left eight years ago.
He had gotten himself blackout drunk that night.
The burning in his gut and the throbbing in his head made it feel like his body was caving in on itself.
“Serena, get me a glass of water.”
It was a phrase he’d said countless times after drinking.
Within ten seconds, without fail, a warm glass of water would appear in his hand.
This time, he held his hand out and waited.
And waited.
That comforting warmth never came.
Only then did it hit him-
The woman who used to always be there… wasn’t anymore.
He woke up the next morning to the shrill ring of his phone.
Still half–curled on the couch, body stiff and sore, he stretched his neck and picked it up.
“Mr. Declan, I’m not sensing any sincerity from your side about this partnership.”
“Sorry, but I think we’ll be looking elsewhere.”
Only then did Declan remember.
He had a meeting this morning.
A major investor.
I had stayed up for days crafting that proposal.
Spent hours making sure every detail was perfect.
I drank so much at networking events I ended up in the ER with stomach bleeding.
13:03
Burnt Beauty, Family Beasts
47.2%
Chapter 7
Even on the day I turned in my resignation, I went out of my way to remind Elodie to make sure Declan didn’t miss this meeting
But what did he do?
He was supposed to meet them at 10.
It was already 11:30, and he’d just woken up.
Fuming, he instinctively dialed my number.
Only to be met with a robotic,
“The number you have dialed is no longer in service.”
He let out a bitter laugh.
Without me, his life was falling apart.
“Elodie… where are you right now?”
There was background noise on the line.
Music. Laughter.
“I’m at the mall, remember that purse I wanted? I’m finally buying it.”
“You didn’t come to the parent–kid field day yesterday, remember?”
“You promised you’d buy me that bag to make it up.”
His hand holding the phone went slack.
This had to be a joke.
If I were still around, even if he couldn’t make the meeting,
I would’ve found a way to close the deal.
I always did.
If I were still around…
His hand clenched, and a second later the phone smashed against the floor, breaking into pieces.
Memories came rushing back.
Me, just starting at his company, face glowing with confidence.
Smart. Humble.
No matter the problem, as long as I was there, he never had to worry.
He admired me back then.
Said I reminded him of a book filled with mystery-
You never knew what twist came next, but you couldn’t stop reading.
It all went to hell that night.
To this day, Declan never understood why I lowered myself like that.
Burnt Beauty Family Beasts
47.5
Why I threw away a bright future just to end up in his bed.
All that admiration turned to disgust.
Even when we had to marry because of the pregnancy-
He couldn’t bring himself to treat me kindly.
Hell, half the time he couldn’t even fake respect,
Just indifference.
Cold, tired indifference.
In his eyes, I was the obstacle between him and Elodie.
A thorn in his side.
How immature.
How pathetic.
And now, he finally saw the last page of that book.
But the ending wasn’t about me.
It was about him.
Alone.
Wife gone.
Son gone.
And nobody to blame but himself.
♡ (0)
(0)
