Chapter 11

"Skylar, I know you're just trying to get back at me by being with him. This isn't real!"

"We've been together for nine years. You can't just forget that."

I laughed coldly.

"Nine years? You really think that's worth hanging onto?"

"I moved on in six months. I have a husband, a family, and a child now."

"And you? You've always been alone—no parents, no home. What family do you even have?"

There was a time I felt sorry for Carter, losing his parents young and building his business from scratch. That pity had kept me by his side through everything.

But looking back, it was all one-sided. My loyalty had only ever pushed me forward, never him.

He shook his head, almost crazed, stumbling toward me.

"No, Skylar. You're my family. We'll get married. I bought the wedding dress you loved so much."

"Give it to Brielle. You two are perfect for each other."

Carter always thought I couldn't live without him.

He believed I had invested too many years in him to leave, that the sunk cost would keep me tied down.

Even when I caught him and Brielle being openly affectionate, I had to pretend not to notice—because otherwise, I'd be the unreasonable, jealous girlfriend.

Every time I tried to leave, all he had to do was gesture, and I'd crawl back.

His friends joked I was like his loyal dog, unable to leave no matter how he treated me.

But that version of me was gone.

Now, I found even looking at him disgusting.

"Skylar! I mean it this time—I really want to marry you!"

"I've planned everything—the dress, the ring, the venue. Let me make it up to you for all the times I messed up!"

"Our nine years can't be erased by a few months with this guy!"

Hayden and I ignored him completely.

"Sweetheart," Hayden said lightly, "how about yam and pork ribs soup tonight?"

"Sounds perfect," I replied.

Hayden and I moved shortly after, making it impossible for Carter to find us.

He still tried, though, calling from different numbers, sending texts, and even transferring money to my account, as if it could buy my forgiveness.

I accepted every cent without hesitation.

"Consider it compensation for nine years of emotional damage."

His messages became more frantic:

"Skylar, I can't live without you."

"Our nine years are part of my soul. I'm in so much pain."

"Please get rid of his child and come back to me. I don't care about anything else—I just want you back."

I handed my phone to Hayden.

"Can you get me a new phone? This one keeps getting calls from trash."

He chuckled, "Sure thing."

With a new phone, peace returned.

When our daughter was born, she was perfect—a little bundle of joy.

On the day we left the hospital, I heard the news: Carter's company had gone bankrupt.

He lost everything and was wandering the city, muttering my name and begging for forgiveness.

Brielle's situation was just as sad.

When she realized Carter was a lost cause, she quickly latched onto another "good buddy." When Brielle realized Carter was hopeless, she quickly turned her attention to another "good friend."

But her usual tactics backfired. She got involved with a married man, and his furious wife almost killed her.

It turned out the man was just a kept husband. When the affair came to light, his rich wife kicked him out.

"Go live with your ‘friends,' but don't ever come near me again!"

Furious and humiliated, he took his anger out on Brielle, slashing her face with a knife and ruining her looks forever.

He was arrested, and Brielle became an outcast, forced to live with her scars.

Meanwhile, Carter lost his grip on reality, wandering the streets like a ghost.

Neither of them had a home—neither ever would.

It was true what they say: karma always finds a way.

I knew those parts of my life were over, swallowed by time, never to come back.

With Hayden by my side and our beautiful daughter, the future lay ahead.

It would be a long, happy journey.

— The End