Chapter 10
Gary froze as my words hit him, the weight of their meaning sinking in. His grip tightened on me for a moment, as if trying to hold on to the last shred of something he had lost. But then, slowly, he let go, as if the words had cut deeper than anything physical ever could.
His face was a mixture of shock, confusion, and regret. “Mary… please,” he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. “I love you. I swear, I never meant to hurt you. Everything I did… I did it for you, for us… but I was weak, and I failed you. Please don’t leave me.”
I looked at him, the man I had once trusted, once loved deeply. But now, there was nothing left to save. The love I had for him had been suffocated by lies, betrayal, and pain. And the person standing before me was not the man I once knew, but someone who had shattered everything
Chapter 10
between us.
“I don’t know if I can ever love you again,” I said, my voice steady but full of sorrow. “I can’t keep living in the past, in what we used to be. The person you see in front of you now is someone who has learned to survive without you.”
Gary stood there, motionless, his face pale as realization struck him. He had lost me- completely.
Gary’s shoulders slumped as my words hit him, each one like a hammer driving the final nails into the coffin of our love. His gaze flickered between disbelief and sorrow, the weight of my rejection settling heavily on him. I could see the anguish in his eyes, but it no longer moved me the way it once had. The person standing before me–once the love of my life–was now a stranger who had crossed a line I could never let him undo.
“Mary…” His voice cracked, full of desperation, but I knew there was no
90% 14:48
2/5
Chapter 10
turning back. “I swear, I would give up everything–everything–to make things right. Please don’t do this.”
But the truth was, the damage had already been done. His words, and his actions, had
created a gap between us that no amount of pleading could bridge. The person I had been before, the person who would have forgiven him, was no longer here.
I shook my head, steadying myself against the growing emptiness in my chest. “You can’t change the past, Gary. I loved you… but I can’t keep pretending that it wasn’t broken.”
I turned away, feeling the distance between us grew with each step. The door that had once opened so easily to him was now closed, and no matter how much he
begged, there was no way back. “Go back, Gary. It’s over.”
Seeing Gary, covered in blood and barely able to hold himself up, I felt a pang of something–maybe pity, or perhaps the last
90% 14:48
3/5
Chapter 10
remnants of what we once had. He reached out, his voice weak, calling my name. “Mary, please… don’t leave me… not like
this.”
I stopped for a moment, my heart heavy with memories of our past—both the good and the painful. But I had come too far, and endured too much to go back. The man who once promised me forever had broken that promise, and no amount of blood or tears could undo the hurt.
“Gary, you threw everything away for someone else,” I said, my voice steady despite the ache in my chest. “You can’t
expect me to save you now.”
He looked at me with such desperation that it almost broke me. “I was wrong… I never stopped loving you.”
I shook my head, the tears threatening to fall. “Loving me wasn’t enough, Gary. You hurt me too much.”
He collapsed, tears flooding his face, but I
90% 14:48
4/5
Chapter 10
knew there was nothing left to save. With a final glance, I turned and walked away. I had found peace in my own life, and no one–no matter how much they begged- could take that from me.
6/5
