"You say you don’t understand what I'm saying or what I'm asking, but you do!" I began with a sniff, my voice trembling. “You absolutely do!" “Renee—” "How do I begin to explain that I went from being so in love and happy for the first time in months after a heart-shattering breakup to discovering that the man I unashamedly fell for in the blink of an eye was married and had a son. This son, who happened to be my ex-boyfriend!" He winced, his face filled with guilt and misery and his shoulders sagged in defeat. “I pleaded with you, Robert. I asked you over and over again. I begged you to speak to me. But you didn't. You didn’t trust me.” “I was… I…” He stammered, his hands clenched at his sides, his head bowed in defeat. "You was what?" "I was waiting for the right time, dammit! “Oh really?” I scoffed incredulously. “Then maybe your wife found the right time? She did an excellent job revealing everything and opening my eyes to the truth. She—” “Amanda is not my wife!” He cut in with a hiss. “She’s my ex-wife. We’ve been separated for over twenty-three years. I divorced her when I caught her cheating. Cheating on our marital bed with my best friend while she was pregnant with our first child. With Dylan!” Robert punctuated his last sentence, pausing with every word and when he finished his outburst, he let out a loud sigh. I gasped in horror. “Fuck!” He cursed and continued, “I’ve gotten so many restraining orders against her, but they don’t work. She keeps coming back into my life in ways I least expect, and every time she does something crazy and stupid.” He scoffed. “You know, Dylan is just like his mother. Every time I think about what he did to you and how similar our situations are, it makes me want to throw up.” I stood dumbfounded, looking at him speechless while his words hit me hard. Amanda had cheated on him in their marital bed, the same way Dylan had cheated on me in our bed in our shared apartment. How cruel. "Is... is Dylan even your son?" I asked, a lump forming in my throat. “I mean... after what happened between you and your ex—” “He is, indeed. Unfortunately for me." Robert cut in, and his face contorted in pain. “After the incident, I had a DNA test done. A part of me wanted the results to come out negative, but well….” “Fuck! Fuck! You’re admitting it now after I’ve read all the garbage in the news and everything… everything is becoming more real now, and..." I paused as a fresh new tear streamed down my cheek. "Renee, please. Just…” He trailed off, his hands stretched as if reaching for me, but I staggered backward. "I had to learn about all this in the most horrible way, which hurts. If you'd told me that you'd been married and had a son, maybe things would’ve been different. I would’ve….” A whimper escaped my lips as the tears streaming down my cheeks increased, but I didn’t try to wipe or stop them. "What hurts the most, Robert was that you kept everything from me despite my constant pleading. Now I'm wondering if you ever truly loved me. Because trusting me with your deepest secrets wouldn't have been so difficult if you had." "No, Renee. Never doubt my feelings for you. Don’t do that.” "Oh really?" "I beg you, please. I love you, and I do trust you. Stop making up theories in your head and..." "And what? This is fucking bullshit! Remember how you didn't defend me when your ex-wife trashed and insulted me in public? You just stood there doing nothing! Do you still have feelings for her? You didn’t refute her claims because you didnt want to tarnish reputation, right?" "Oh my God, Renee. Don't say things like that. You’re the only person who matters to me. The only woman I love.” "You may say that to me with words. But your actions say otherwise." I scoffed. “For God’s sake, stop making things difficult. Allow me to explain." “Explain what? And what am I making difficult?” I yelled half-heartedly. “For fuck’s sake, I'm just telling the truth! The harsh truth! Godammit! I regret ever speaking to you." "Renee. No, no, no..." Robert muttered, with a pain-stricken look, his hand reaching toward me but stopping short before making contact. My body quivered, and I backed away from him as more tears ran uncontrollably down my face, blurring my vision. "I'm just tired of all this. I'm still processing it. I had an affair with both father and son, and now... fuck! I can't take it any longer, and yes, I'm a slut. A whore. Just like the fucking newspapers say. They’ve ruined my reputation and the respectable image I've worked so hard to build. I don’t want you around me any more!." "Stop saying these things, Renee. Please stop it.” Robert begged, but I paid no attention. "I'm completely useless. With absolutely nothing to offer. I’ve never felt more like a failure in my entire life.” "You're not a failure. Why are you saying that?" He asked, and he went down on his knees before I could respond. "What are you...?" "I'm not concerned with what the media says. I'm already working to reduce the hearsay. I'm doing everything I can. I swear." "It's not about swearing, Robert." "I know, but still... I sincerely apologize for everything I've done. For not talking to you. For not telling you about my past and keeping things hidden. The thing with Dylan, I'll fix it, don't worry. Just forgive me. Please. I'm truly sorry, and..." "Sorry won't fix anything, Robert. Can’t you see that!” I half yelled while wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hands. "I want you to do something for me. There's just one thing you can do for me now." “What’s that?” He quickly replied, eyes perking up. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just tell me.” “Leave!” I demanded softly, my voice breaking as a sob threatened to escape. “Leave now.” “What…?” His face twisted in confusion and disbelief. "No, Renee. Don't push me away." "I can't stand having you around me right now. Seeing you breaks my heart and triggers painful memories. I…” I trailed off as my voice faded into a whisper. Dragging my gaze away from him, I walked to the door, intent on showing him the way out. I couldn’t bear to see the pain in his eyes. “Just leave." I muttered softly as I swung open the door and stood by the side, waiting for him to get up and comply with my request. “Don’t do this, Renee.” “Just fucking get up and use the door, will you?” I said again, sniffing back angry tears. Goddamn. After what seemed like an eternity, he slowly hauled himself off the floor. As he began to walk toward me, his eyes hollow and face ashen white, my heart constricted yet again. He stopped in front of me and his mouth moved silently in a wordless plea.His eyes were glued to mine. "You’re asking me to leave, Renee. But how does this affect our relationship? Are we done?" 'Are we done? How did this affect our relationship?' I repeated his questions in my head and told myself we no longer had a relationship. It all ended the night of the masked ball party when I discovered the horrifying truth about Robert and myself. The most horrible truth in all my twenty-three years of existence. “I… I’m sorry, but we no longer have a relationship." My breath shook as I stammered out my response. Robert averted his gaze, his lips trembling. I saw tears rolling down his cheek for a split second, but then he was furiously wiping at his face with the back of his palm. He was in a lot of pain. His whole body shook, and I couldn't bear to think of what was running through his mind. It hurt me to see him like this. But this was for the best. I was doing the right thing and I was going to stick to my word. Even though I knew it was killing me deep inside. "So this is it?" He asked, his voice faint, his gaze averted. "Yes. I suppose so.” "Do you think, after everything I've done, I'll accept that this relationship is over? After everything I've given up? After falling helplessly in love with you and giving you my all? You've broken the core of my soul and made me feel things I never thought I'd feel again….” "Robert, leave. Please.” I begged, but he ignored me, continuing without stopping, his words sounding like poison. Bittersweet poison. "You must be delusional if you think I'll let you go after swearing you're my forever and the bane of my existence.” He growled, whipping his face toward me and giving me a dark look that had me shivering. "I'm not a man who backs down easily, Renee. You, of all people, should know that. I won't accept no from you. We're not done yet. This isn't the end!" “Yes, it is!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, eyes closed in despair and when I opened them, he was already gone. He wasn't in front of me anymore. He was no longer in sight. Just gone. Like he'd never been here in the first place. And now I was alone... “Renee…” I turned to see Nicole approaching me as the bedroom door creaked open. “What have I done?” “You did what was right.” “Did I? I… I told him we were done, but he refused to accept it. Nicole, I said some horrible things. Still he…” I choked up, my eyes watering and my nose running. My throat tightened, and I couldn't speak anymore. Instead, I started to sob uncontrollably. "Oh, sweetie, come here." She urged, reaching and pulling me into a hug I desperately needed. “Don’t say anything. If you want to cry, let it all out. I'm not going to stop you. I'm here for you." "Oh, Nicole..." I whimpered, burying my face in her arms. Rocking me back and forth as we collapsed to the floor, she kept rubbing circles on my back and whispering her magic words in my ear. "Everything will be fine, Renee. Everything will be alright. I promise you.”