Page 62 of Shattered

“Weeks.” He laughed, bitter. “So while I was trying to fix what I destroyed, you were falling for someone else.”

“I wasn’t planning it, Jake. I wasn’t looking for it.”

“But you found it anyway. How convenient that your brother’s best friend was right there ready to catch you.”

The comment was meant to sting. It did, a little. “Axel isn’t convenient. He was patient.”

“Patient.” Jake repeated the word like it tasted wrong. “Is that what we’re calling it? Waiting in the wings while I made mistakes so he could swoop in?”

“You can interpret that however you wish.”

“It’s not fair to me, to us!” His voice rose enough that people at nearby tables looked over. He lowered it with visible effort. “We had five years together, Delia. Five years. And you’re moving on this fast?”

“You moved on before our wedding.”

Jake went pale. “I didn’t?—”

“I know Jennifer lied. I know you believed her. But you still chose her version of events over trusting me.” I took a breath. “Maybe Axel was always supposed to be where I ended up. Maybe you were just the detour I needed to figure that out.”

The comment was cruel. I knew it was cruel even as I said it. But it was also true, and I was done protecting people from truths that hurt.

Jake stood. His espresso was still full. “I hope he makes you happy.”

“Thank you,” I said

“I mean it. I hope he never disappoints you the way I did. I hope he’s everything you think he is.” He grabbed his coat. “Goodbye, Delia.”

I watched him leave. He walked out of the coffee shop and all I felt was relief more than guilt. Relief that I’d finally made a choice.

That I was done being the girl who stayed because leaving was scary.

I paid for both coffees and left.

That evening, I stood outside Axel’s building trying to remember how to breathe.

His apartment was in Midtown. Glass and steel and the kind of building that had a doorman who looked at me like he was deciding whether to call security.

“I’m here to see Axel Irving,” I said.

“Is he expecting you?”

“No. But tell him it’s Delia.”

The doorman made a call. His eyebrows rose slightly at whatever Axel said. “He’ll be right down.”

“I can just go up?—”

“He’s coming down.”

Two minutes later, the elevator doors opened. Axel stepped out looking surprised, cautious—and like he’d run down thirty flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator.

“Delia. Is everything okay?”

“I talked to Jake. It’s over. I’m done being scared of choosing you.”

Something in his expression changed. Went soft and intense at the same time. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” I moved closer. The doorman was definitely watching but I didn’t care. “I realized a lot of things after you left.”