Chapter 84
Irene’s POV
I woke this morning with a mind filled with worry and a weary heart. I was coated in hot sweats, panting like a dog as if I had just run a marathon. But the truth was, I had experienced my nightmare again. The same haunting dream that had plagued me for weeks–the one where Eva and Damien were intimately together, wrapped up in each other’s arms in ways that tore me apart. I woke from it gasping, the images still burned into my mind, raw and painful.
And the worst part? I had left. I had walked away from Damien, from our life together, without a word. It felt like I had delivered Eva straight into his arms.
The room was dark and still, save for the soft breathing of Delores and Charlie, who were fast asleep beside me. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table–it was barely 4:30 in the morning. The sky outside was still pitch–black, but I knew sleep wouldn’t come again. Not with these thoughts swirling in my mind.
1 sat up slowly, careful not to wake them, and slipped out of bed. The cold floor sent a chill up my spine as I padded quietly across the room, heading toward the small window overlooking the empty street below. The quiet was unsettling, and my mind raced.
Why did I leave?
The question hit me with full force as I leaned my head against the cool glass. Leaving had felt like my only option at the time. Damien had refused to believe me, refused to see Eva for what she really was. I was desperate to protect Charlie, to escape the toxic grip Eva had on our lives. But now that I was out, it felt like I had given Eva exactly what she wanted.
I was filled with dread. What if I had handed Damien over to her on a silver platter by leaving? What if, even as I stood here agonizing over my decision, Eva was worming her way deeper into Damien’s heart, whispering lies, making him doubt everything we had?
Tears welled up in my eyes, but 1 blinked them away. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to feel this helpless.
1 wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold it together, but my mind wouldn’t stop tormenting me with endless scenarios. What if Damien already believed her? What if they were together now, closer than ever, and I was too late?
The images from my nightmare came rushing back–Damien’s hands–on Eva, their faces close, intimate. My chest tightened at the thought, and I could feel my heartbeat quicken, each pulse a reminder of how much I had lost, how much I still had to lose.
I should have stayed. The thought struck me hard. I should have fought harder. But I couldn’t. How could I fight when Damien wouldn’t even listen to me? When I tried to warn him, to show him who Eva
losing my mind. Like I was the one making things up, seeing things that weren’t thelly was, he looked at me like I was
A quier sob escaped my lips, and I covered my mouth with my hand, choking back the sound. I didn’t want to wake Delores or Charlie. They didn’t deserve to see me like this, so broken, so afraid.
I don’t know how long I stood there, staring out into the empty street, letting my fears and regrets wash over me. Time seemed to blur as I tried to make sense of everything. I kept going back to the last conversation I’d had with Damien before I left, his confused expression when I begged him to kick Eva out of the house.
“This isn’t you, Irene,” he had said to me, his voice filled with concern, but not the kind of concern I needed. He hadn’t understood the desperation in my words, the terror that Eva would destroy everything we had built. He thought I was overreacting, maybe even losing control. And that hurt more than anything.
“Because how could be no se
How could he not see that everything I did was to
to protect us, to keep our family safe?
I closed my eyes, resting my forehead against the window, as I took a deep breath. I had been so sure of my decision when I packed my bags, taking Charlie and leaving without a word. But how, alone in the dark, miles away from Damien, all I felt was regret
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Chapter 84
I had abandoned him to that woman, that snake, and I couldn’t shake the guilt that gnawed at my insides. What if leaving was the biggest mistake of my life?
A soft sound behind me made me turn. Delores shifted in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent before settling back down. She had been my rock through all of this, supporting me even when I wasn’t sure of myself. But now, even with her by my side. I felt more alone than ever.
I knew what Delores would say if she were awake. She’d tell me did the right thing by leaving, that Damien would come to his senses eventually. But would he? What if I had just handed him over to Eva on a silver platter? What if my leaving only made it easier for her to manipulate him!
My chest tightened with anxiety, and I hugged myself tighter. I couldn’t shake the image of Damien and Eva together. The thought of them laughing, sharing momenis, and growing closer in my absence made my stomach churn, I was a fool to
leave.
iz fool at that
A big
I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to will the thoughts away, but they persisted, scratching hard at my mind. Every scenario that played out in my head ended the same way–with Darnien choosing her, with Eva winning.
And then there was Charlie. I had taken him with me because I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him in that house with Eva lurking in the shadows. But what kind of life was this for him? Moving from place to place, hiding from the truth because I couldn’t face it?
The guilt weighed heavily on me. I was supposed to protect him, to give him stability. Instead, I had uprooted him from his home, tom him away from his father that he hadn’t known was his father, and thrown us both into a whirlwind of uncertainty
In
Was I really doing the right thing?
Or was I just running away, too scared to face the truth?
A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I plopped down into the chair by the window. My body felt heavy, as though the weight of my decisions had finally caught up to me. I rubbed my tired eyes, trying to make sense of everything. but the more I thought about it, the more lost I felt.
“What do I do now? The question hung in the air, unanswered.
The day would come soon enough, and I would have to figure out my next move. But for now, all I could do was sit in the morning silence, wrapped in my own doubts and fears, wondering if I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.
Should I go back to Damien?
should I go back to the lif
te life I had run away?
The thought lingered, hovering at the edge of my mind. Part of the wanted to go back, to fight for what was ours, to prove to Damien that I was right about Eva. But another part of me wondered if it was even worth it
the part that was so exhausted from all the pain and heartache,
going back change anything? Or had I already lost him to her?
didn’t know the answer. And that scared me more than anything.
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Chapter 85
