Page 164 of Broken Destiny

I leaned my head back against the cool tile and exhaled slowly, the breath leaving me in a long, tired sigh.

Deep down, I knew she wouldn’t change after we were married.

It wasn’t fair to expect her to suddenly want the same things I did—children, stability, slowing down the partying and constant nights out. But it also wasn’t fair that I would have to give up the life I wanted in return.

I sighed again, heavier this time.

Compromise was part of marriage... even a loveless one.

And that was exactly what mine was going to be.

45

JIYA

Vancouver’s lights shimmered against the dark water while soft rain misted the streets, blurring everything into ribbons of gold and silver as Harper drove me back to the hotel.

He kept the radio low, occasionally glancing in my direction, but I barely noticed.

My mind remained fixed on Caleb—on the tension in his eyes during dinner, on the way he had left so suddenly, and on everything I still hadn’t managed to say.

I had wanted to talk to him, but our evening was cut short because of his upset stomach.

Sitting in the car beside Harper, I messaged Caleb several times. I told him I needed to talk. That it was important. That I would wait for his call or message the entire night if that was what it took.

One tick.

I refreshed the screen.

Still one tick.

The messages were not delivered to him on WhatsApp.

My scalp prickled.

I switched to regular text messages, hoping those would go through instead.

They didn’t.

I tried calling him.

His phone was off.

Dejected, I leaned my head against the window.

The world outside moved forward as if nothing had changed, while inside me, everything felt suspended—waiting, aching, uncertain.

I had wanted to tell him everything—the secret that had been buried for almost four years, throbbing inside me like an open wound every time I thought about him.

But I didn’t get the chance.

His wedding was on Sunday.

I still had Saturday.

One day.

One final window before everything closed forever.