Chapter 10: The Life I Built Without Them

By the tenth month in London, I had stopped checking my phone for Hudson's name.

At first, every vibration made my heart jump.

Then the calls became less frequent.

The messages changed from anger to apologies, from apologies to explanations, and finally to silence.

I never answered any of them.

I had learned something painful but simple.

Someone who truly loved me would never need to lose me before realizing my worth.

My new job had gone better than I expected.

The overseas transfer became permanent, and within months, I was leading the same kind of projects I'd once been terrified of losing.

I rented a small apartment overlooking a quiet street and filled it with plants, books, and things I had chosen purely because I liked them.

No one told me I was boring.

No one laughed when I said something hurt me.

No one called me dramatic for wanting to be respected.

For the first time in years, peace felt normal.

Then, one rainy afternoon, my assistant knocked on my office door.

"Briar, there's someone downstairs asking to see you."

I barely looked up from my laptop.

"Who?"

She hesitated.

"Hudson Shaw."

My fingers stopped moving.

For several seconds, the office around me seemed completely silent.

Then I closed my laptop.

"Tell him I'm unavailable."

She nodded and left.

Five minutes later, my phone rang.

I stared at the unfamiliar number until it stopped.

Then a message appeared.

[Please. Just give me ten minutes.]

Another followed.

[I know I don't deserve it. But I need to tell you the truth.]

I almost deleted the messages.

Instead, I replied with three words.

[You have five.]

Hudson appeared at the café across from my office exactly ten minutes later.

He looked nothing like the man who had walked out of our home months ago.

His suit was wrinkled. His eyes were hollow. His shoulders seemed heavier.

He stood when he saw me.

"Briar."

I sat across from him.

"Say what you came to say."

He swallowed hard.

"Tatum confessed."

I felt nothing.

He continued.

"The private messages were fabricated. She created fake accounts, edited screenshots, and paid people to spread them. She wanted everyone to believe you had attacked her."

"I know."

His expression twisted with pain.

"You knew?"

"I figured it out before I left."

Hudson lowered his eyes.

"Your parents know too."

I gave a quiet laugh.

"And?"

"They've been trying to contact you."

"I'm not interested."

His hands tightened around the coffee cup.

"Tatum wasn't pregnant either."

That finally made me look at him.

"I know."

"She told me she loved me. She said if I married you, she'd never have a chance."

His voice cracked.

"I believed her. I believed every excuse because believing her was easier than admitting I'd spent years taking you for granted."

I stared at him quietly.

He reached into his coat and placed an envelope on the table.

"This is yours."

I didn't touch it.

"What is it?"

"The ring."

I shook my head.

"Keep it."

His eyes reddened.

"Briar, please."

"Hudson, I don't hate you anymore."

He froze.

"That's the problem."

I stood.

"I don't love you either."

For the first time, he had nothing to say.

I walked away without looking back.

Outside, London was washed in rain.

But unlike that morning at the airport, I wasn't standing there abandoned, waiting for someone to come back for me.

I had already chosen myself.

And this time, I wasn't going anywhere.