Chapter 6: The Man Who Came Back

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my mother's voice downstairs.

For a second, I forgot everything.

Then I remembered the broken urn, Pepper's smile, Camden's betrayal, and the wedding that no longer existed.

I sat up slowly.

My room felt strangely quiet.

There was no ring on my finger anymore. No wedding dress hanging in the closet. No carefully planned future waiting for me.

Just an empty calendar and a phone filled with messages I didn't want to read.

I reached for it anyway.

Twenty-three missed calls.

Thirty-eight messages.

Most were from Camden.

A few were from my mother.

And several were from mutual friends who suddenly seemed very concerned about my behavior.

I opened the first message from Camden.

"We need to talk."

The next one came immediately after.

"You can't just disappear after what happened yesterday."

Then another.

"Pepper is devastated. She's pregnant, Rowan."

I stared at the screen.

Pregnant.

That word used to have power over me.

It used to make me imagine a nursery. Tiny clothes. A crib beside our bed. Camden holding our child while I stood beside him.

Now it only made me feel tired.

I deleted the messages without replying.

My mother called.

I let it ring.

She called again.

Then again.

Finally, I answered.

"What?"

There was a pause.

My mother's voice was unusually soft.

"Rowan, come downstairs. We need to talk like adults."

I almost laughed.

"About what?"

"About everything."

"Everything was pretty clear yesterday."

"Your grandmother's urn was an accident."

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"Pepper didn't mean to—"

"Mom," I interrupted. "I watched her do it."

Silence.

Then my mother's voice hardened.

"She was upset."

"So was I."

"You have to stop making everything about yourself."

That sentence did it.

I looked around my bedroom.

The photographs. The boxes. The wedding samples I'd once been so excited to choose.

I realized something.

My mother had spent years teaching me that my pain was inconvenient.

Camden had spent years teaching me that someone else's happiness mattered more than mine.

And I had spent years believing them.

Not anymore.

"I'm leaving today," I said.

"What?"

"I'm leaving this house."

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere you can't reach me."

She went silent.

Then she scoffed.

"You're being dramatic."

"Maybe."

"You'll come crawling back when you realize how difficult life is alone."

I smiled despite myself.

"Mom, I've been alone for years. I just finally stopped pretending I wasn't."

I hung up.

For the first time in my life, I didn't feel guilty.

I packed one suitcase.

Clothes. Documents. My grandmother's photographs. The few things my father had left behind. And the small jewelry box that had once held his ring.

The box was empty now.

I didn't care.

Some things were better left empty.

When I stepped downstairs, Pepper was sitting on the couch.

Her cat was curled beside her.

My mother stood behind her, arms crossed.

Pepper looked at my suitcase and immediately frowned.

"You're actually leaving?"

"Yes."

"Because of yesterday?"

"Because of everything."

She rolled her eyes.

"You always make things so dramatic."

I looked at her for a long moment.

There was a time when I would have argued.

I would have demanded an explanation.

I would have asked her why she had taken Camden from me.

Why she had destroyed the urn.

Why she always needed whatever belonged to me.

Instead, I simply said, "Take care of yourself."

Her expression changed.

She seemed almost confused.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

My mother stepped forward.

"Rowan, you're still angry. Don't make a decision you'll regret."

I picked up my suitcase.

"The only decision I regret is staying this long."

I walked toward the door.

Before I could open it, a car pulled into the driveway.

Black sedan.

My heart stopped.

I knew that car.

Camden stepped out.

He slammed the door and looked straight at the house.

My mother immediately moved toward him.

"Camden, please—"

He pushed past her.

His eyes found me.

For the first time since yesterday, his expression wasn't angry.

It was frightened.

"Rowan."

I didn't answer.

He walked closer.

"Why are you leaving?"

"Because I don't live here anymore."

"You can't mean that."

"I do."

He looked at my suitcase.

"You're really ending everything?"

I stared at him.

"You ended everything when you married my stepsister."

"I didn't marry her for love."

A bitter smile touched my lips.

"Does that make it better?"

"You don't understand."

"Then explain it."

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

That silence told me everything.

I turned toward the door.

Camden caught my wrist.

I froze.

"Don't."

He released me immediately.

His face changed when he saw the fear in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I know."

"I made a mistake."

"You made several."

"Rowan, please. Give me a chance to explain."

"You had years to explain."

His jaw tightened.

"Pepper was never supposed to become my wife."

I looked at him.

"But she did."

"The baby changed everything."

"No. Your choices changed everything."

He lowered his voice.

"I thought I could fix it later."

"And when exactly was later? After our wedding? After you had another child with me? After I was expected to smile beside your wife and pretend everything was normal?"

His face went pale.

"I never wanted to hurt you."

"That doesn't matter anymore."

"It should matter."

"It doesn't."

He looked at me like he was seeing a stranger.

Maybe he finally was.

A phone rang.

Pepper's.

She answered quickly.

"Camden?"

Her voice trembled.

He turned toward her automatically.

That one movement was enough.

I smiled faintly.

"See? She still needs you."

"Rowan—"

"Go."

"Please."

"Go take care of the family you chose."

He didn't move.

I opened the door.

Cold air rushed inside.

"Goodbye, Camden."

He stood there for several seconds.

Then he finally walked away.

I watched him cross the driveway.

For years, I'd imagined the moment I'd finally stop loving him.

I thought it would hurt.

Instead, it felt like setting down something heavy I'd been carrying for too long.

My mother came to the doorway.

"Where will you even go?"

I looked at the road ahead.

Then I smiled.

"Somewhere I can start over."

I stepped outside.

This time, I didn't wait for anyone to call me back.

I didn't look behind me.

I didn't wonder whether Camden would regret losing me.

Because for the first time, his regret wasn't my problem.

My future was.

And somewhere across town, the man I had promised to marry was waiting for me.

Beck.

The boy who had never stopped choosing me.

I pulled out my phone and typed three words.

"I'm ready. Come."

His reply appeared almost instantly.

"Always."