Kayla's POV
The weight of my whispered goodbye still hung in the air like smoke that refused to clear. Liam's sharp eyes widened for a split second, then darkened, his lips parting as if to spit out another cruel remark. But I didn't give him the chance.
My trembling hands clutched the handle of my box tighter, and I turned toward the door. Each step felt like I was tearing away chains that had bound me for five years. Chains I once thought were love, but in reality, were shackles of humiliation.
"Kayla!" His voice thundered behind me, sharp and commanding, the same tone he always used when speaking to me as though I was nothing more than a servant.
I froze. My heart raced, but I didn't turn.
"Come back here," he ordered.
Slowly, I turned, tears streaming down my cheeks, but my gaze burned with something I hadn't felt in years - defiance.
"No, Liam. Not this time. You don't get to order me around anymore."
A heavy silence stretched between us, the sound of his ragged breathing filling the office. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes - fear? Anger? Or maybe... desperation. But before I could decipher it, Lyra barged back in, her heels clicking against the marble floor.
"Liam, what is taking so long? The others are waiting-" She stopped when her eyes darted to my suitcase. Her lips curled into a sly smile. "Oh, so it's true. You're finally leaving. About time, don't you think?"
My chest tightened, but I lifted my chin. "Yes, I am. You can have him now, Lyra. That's what you've always wanted, right?"
The smirk on her face told me I had just handed her the victory she had schemed for all these years. But little did she know, this wasn't her victory-it was mine.
I didn't wait for either of them to speak. I walked out of that office, my steps heavy but filled with determination.
The elevator doors closed behind me, and I leaned against the mirrored wall, my reflection staring back at me. I barely recognized the woman in the glass. Puffy eyes, trembling lips, but a flicker of fire in her hazel eyes.
For the first time in years, I felt like I was regaining a piece of myself.
Yet, as my hand drifted down to my stomach, reality crashed back in. The tiny life growing inside me. My baby. Liam's baby.
Would leaving mean raising this child alone? Could I even do it? The thought gnawed at my heart, fear clawing its way up my throat.
The ding of the elevator pulled me from my storm of thoughts. I stepped out into the lobby, wheeling my suitcase toward the exit, when a familiar voice called out.
"Kayla?"
I stopped in my tracks. My head snapped up.
Damien.
He stood there, his white coat still draped over his arm, his eyes filled with worry. I hadn't even realized tears were streaming down my face again until he stepped closer and gently wiped one away with his thumb.
"You look... broken," he said softly. His eyes searched mine, not in the way Liam's cold gaze always judged me, but as though he wanted to piece me back together.
My throat tightened. I wanted to collapse into his arms and tell him everything. About the betrayal, the pain, the child growing inside me. But words wouldn't come.
"Damien, I-"
Before I could finish, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind me. My blood froze.
"Kayla."
It was Liam.
How did he get down so fast?
I turned slowly, my heart pounding. His eyes weren't cold this time. They were wild, almost desperate. The papers were still clutched in his hand, crumpled from the force of his grip.
"You're not going anywhere," he said, his voice low but fierce.
Damien's jaw tightened as he stepped subtly between us. "She has every right to leave, Liam. Don't make this harder for her."
The tension between them crackled like a live wire. Liam's glare shifted from Damien back to me, his chest rising and falling sharply. For a moment, the mighty Liam Reyes looked... afraid.
Why?
And then it hit me. The thought struck like lightning. Could it be that the man who had spent five years humiliating me was suddenly terrified of losing me? Or... was it something else entirely?
I swallowed hard, my hand instinctively brushing against my stomach. If Liam ever found out I was pregnant...
No. I couldn't let him know. Not now. Not ever.
My lips parted, my voice steadier than I felt. "Watch me, Liam. Watch me leave and never come back."
I turned on my heel and walked out into the sunlight, my suitcase trailing behind me, my heart breaking yet strangely lighter.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't walking toward Liam. I was walking away.
But deep down, a chilling certainty gnawed at me-this wasn't the end.
It was only the beginning.