He Forgot The Pad That Saved My Dignity And I Used It To End Us Chapter 09

He Forgot The Pad That Saved My Dignity And I Used It To End Us Chapter 09

A few more days passed. 

I was at home making dinner. 

A pot of pasta simmered on the stove when my 

phone suddenly lit up. 

Unknown Number. 

I ignored it. 

Five seconds later, the screen lit up again. 

Same number. 

I turned off the burner 

After a brief hesitation, I answered. 

“Selena.” 

Killian. 

His voice sounded different this time. 

The arrogance was gone. 

So was the desperation. 

Only exhaustion remained. 

“I’ll only take a minute,” he said quietly. “After that, 

you can hang up.” 

I said nothing. 

He took my silence as permission to continue. 

“I handled things with Hazel.” 

I waited. 

“I made everything clear. I told her not to contact 

you again. Not to come looking for you.” 

He paused. 

“I know she already did.” 

“And?” I asked. 

“There is no and.” 

Another pause. 

“I know you don’t care anymore.” 

His voice was low. 

“I just thought you should know.” 

“Okay.” 

“Selena.” 

“Yeah?” 

His breathing faltered. 

“The night your grandfather passed away… I…” 

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” 

I lifted the pasta from the boiling water and 

drained it into a bowl. 

“You made your choice.” 

On the other end of the line, silence stretched 

between us. 

Then came a broken whisper. 

“I’m sorry.” 

His voice cracked. 

“I’m so sorry.” 

A long moment passed. 

“I know when you used to talk to your grandfather, 

you’d mention our wedding plans.” 

His breathing grew uneven. 

“He asked about me.” 

A sob slipped through. 

“And you always told him I treated you well.” 

I stood quietly by the kitchen counter. 

“My grandfather asked me the same thing on the 

day he died.” 

The crying stopped. 

Killian waited. 

I stared out the window. 

“And I told him you treated me well.” 

The silence lasted less than a second. 

Then came the sound of a man completely falling 

apart. 

A raw, shattered sob echoed through the phone. 

“You lied for me…” 

His voice dissolved into tears. 

“You didn’t want him worrying before he passed.” 

Another sob. 

“In front of a dying man…” 

His words broke apart. 

“You covered up the biggest lie of my life.” 

I closed my eyes. 

“I didn’t deserve that.” 

His voice shook violently. 

“I didn’t deserve you saying that.” 

A dull thud echoed through the call. 

As if he’d slammed his fist into the ground. 

“I don’t even deserve the chance to apologize to 

him.” 

Another hit. 

“I never even got to see him one last time.” 

“Time’s up, Killian.” 

My voice remained calm. 

“I know you’ll never forgive me!” 

The words rushed out. 

“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness!” 

He sounded terrified that I would hang up. 

“But can I at least stay somewhere you can’t see 

me?” 

His breathing grew ragged. 

“I won’t bother you.” 

“I won’t contact you.” 

“I just… I just want to know you’re alive.” 

Another shaky breath. 

“That you’re okay.” 

“Killian.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you know what my grandfather left me?” 

He didn’t answer. 

I could only hear him breathing. 

“My inheritance was three thousand two hundred 

dollars.” 

I leaned against the counter. 

“Some of it was loose change.” 

Pennies. 

Nickels. 

Dimes. 

“Some of the bills were so old and wrinkled they 

looked like they’d been folded a thousand times.” 

I swallowed. 

“He spent six months fighting lung cancer.” 

The kitchen felt unbearably quiet. 

“He was in so much pain he couldn’t sleep through 

the night.” 

My grip tightened around the phone. 

“But he refused treatment.” 

I closed my eyes. 

“He was afraid of becoming a burden to me.” 

My voice softened. 

“So he endured it.” 

“Every day.” 

“Just to hold on long enough to see me one last time.” 

Another heavy impact sounded through the 

phone. 

Harder than before. 

Then came a strangled growl. 

The kind that came from someone drowning in 

guilt. 

“Selena…” 

His voice cracked. 

“I deserve to rot.” 

A ragged breath. 

“The cruelest thing I’ve ever done in my life…” 

Another breath. 

“…was making you carry all of that alone.” 

After that, there was nothing but his breathing. 

Heavy. 

Broken. 

Like he no longer had the strength to cry. 

“I’m hanging up now.” 

My voice was gentle. 

“Selena!” 

The desperation returned instantly. 

“Please…” 

“Stop calling from different numbers.” 

I ended the call. 

Then I added that number to the blacklist, too. 

By then, the pasta had gone cold. 

I reheated it. 

Carried the bowl to the window. 

And ate dinner slowly beneath the moonlight. 

The moon was full that night. 

My grandfather used to tell me that was where my 

name came from. 

He said he named me Selena because the night he 

first held me in his arms, he looked up at the full 

moon hanging over the Texas wilderness. 

And he never forgot it. 

He used to smile and say: 

“Look at that moon.” 

“It’s bright enough to guide every lost traveler 

home.” 

“It lights up the whole world.” 

His voice echoed in my memory. 

“But it never needs anyone else to light the way for 

it.” 

When I finished eating, I washed the dishes. 

Wiped down the kitchen. 

Then I picked up my phone one last time. 

I deleted the record of Killian’s final number. 

And from that day forward, his name disappeared 

from my world forever.