My Mother and Husband Both Chose Her Over Me Chapter 14
“Nell, I never married her,” Adrian said from across the table, his eyes red.
“So?”
“I couldn’t give your place to anyone else.”
I said nothing.
He covered the back of my hand with his. “The house is exactly as you left it.
“I miss you.”
“Every day has been unbearable. Whenever I close my eyes, I see you crying.”
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.
“Come home, and I promise no one will ever hurt you again.”
I withdrew my hand. “I recovered only after I left all of you.
“Why would I go back?”
He swallowed. “I…”
“I have my own business and my own life. I can protect myself now.
“Why would I return to you for protection?”
“Nell…”
“I used to want you and the others to protect me. Having you in my life only made it harder.”
His eyes filled. “It would be different now.”
“There is no now for us.”
I stood. He rose in alarm.
“You truly won’t come back?”
I left without answering.
The story of Serena’s bullying kept spreading across social media and local news.
As one of her former victims, I was finally able to sit before a camera and describe what had happened in my own words.
I knew the statute of limitations and lack of preserved evidence made criminal charges unlikely.
If the courts could not hold het accountable, I would expose the truth myself.
Adrian continued sending messages. I ignored every one.
When he found me again, he looked even worse than before. “I’m not asking you to forgive me.”
“She’s barely eaten or slept since your story went public,” he said. “Yesterday, she lost the second baby.”
I lifted my eyes. “So?”
“Please let this go, just this once.”
After everything, he had still come to plead for Serena.
I smiled. “She isn’t losing sleep because she regrets what she did.
“She’s suffering because people finally condemn her for it.”
“She simply can’t bear being treated the way she treated me.”
Adrian swallowed. “I promise this is the last time I’ll ask.”
I stood. “And I promise this is the last time you’ll see me.’
Not long afterward, news spread that Serena had jumped from a building. She survived, but her injuries left her dependent on others.
Some people accused me of driving her to it. Others said she had brought it upon herself.
Whatever they believed, I felt no guilt.
Their arguments could not erase the years she had spent watching me suffer, or the choices she had continued making as an adult.
At last, I understood how Serena had once watched me cry without feeling anything at all.
