On Our Fifth Anniversary My Husband Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 12

On Our Fifth Anniversary My Husband Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 12

I wasn’t surprised to see Ethan.

A few days ago, I’d called Mila and heard his voice on her phone.

I knew he’d find a way to track me down.

“I do,” I answered Liam flatly. “Ex-husband.”

Liam’s shoulders relaxed.

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

He stepped closer, his voice soft.

“Stella. Let’s talk.”

We did have history—years of it.

It deserved a proper ending.

I agreed.

We walked out to the inn’s observation deck.

The night stretched between us like a river.

Ethan broke the silence.

His voice came out rough.

“Stella. I’m sorry.”

I smiled, but it was bitter.

“For which thing?”

—

He faltered.

Then, quietly: “I shouldn’t have let things get so close with Maren. I hurt you. I’m sorry.”

I watched him.

The wind played through his hair, and for a second, I remembered the Ethan who used to keep candy in his pockets for me.

That Ethan was dead.

The man in front of me now had ignored me, betrayed me, crushed my heart into dust.

“Ethan.” My voice came out quiet, carried on the wind.

“Do you know what the most pathetic part is? When my dad died, I told myself I couldn’t blame you. You had your principles. But later I understood. You just wouldn’t break them for me. Maren says one word, and you’d walk through fire.”

His face went pale.

“Your father’s death—I thought about it so many times. I didn’t want another tragedy—that’s why I helped her aunt—”

I shook my head.

“Whatever your reasons, she was more important than me. That’s a fact. You ignored me for her. You turned your back on me, over and over.”

“I never—she was never more important—”

—

“I don’t want your sweet words. I don’t accept your apology. I will never forgive you. And I will never, ever come back. We’ve been over for a long time.”

He stood there, frozen.

Like he’d forgotten how to breathe.

Then a lazy voice broke in.

“Hey.”

Liam leaned against a pillar, hands in his pockets, smiling only at me.

“Didn’t we say we’d get dinner? The restaurant’s gonna close.”

I smiled at him.

“Coming.”

I turned to leave, but Ethan grabbed my wrist.

“Stella. Tell me the truth. How long have you known him? Did you end our marriage—our baby—for him?”

I stopped. Then I turned and looked him straight in the eye.

“You want the truth, Ethan? Here it is. I didn’t leave you for him. I left you for me. I left because I finally realized that I deserved more than being your second choice. I left because I was tired of shrinking myself so you could have everything you wanted while I got nothing.”

I pulled my wrist free.

“The baby? I lost that baby because I was alone. Because I was grieving my father, and you were too busy playing hero for someone else to notice your wife was falling apart. That’s not on Liam. That’s on you.”

His face crumbled. His hand dropped to his side.

“Stella, I didn’t know—”

“That’s exactly the problem. You never knew. You never saw. And you never asked.”

Liam stepped forward and gently placed his hand on my lower back, a quiet reassurance.

“Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s get dinner.”

I nodded and turned away.

Behind me, Ethan’s voice broke through the night, raw and desperate.

“Stella. Please. Just give me one more chance.”

I didn’t look back.

“There are no more chances, Ethan. You used them all.”

And I walked away.