Chapter 4: The Beginning of the End

Next time I come back here, things will be different.

I stared out the window as the city shrank below me. I promised myself—I’d return stronger. I’d make them all regret the day they turned their backs on me.

I won’t be your husband anymore, and you won’t be my wife.

The words echoed in my mind, a vow I intended to keep. I was done being anyone’s fool.

Ten years together—all over now.

A decade of love, sacrifice, and betrayal—gone in an instant. But maybe, just maybe, I could finally start living for myself.

Tyler wasn’t hurt at all, but Jessica still couldn’t relax.

I heard later that Tyler walked away without a scratch. Jessica, though, hovered over him like a mother hen, fussing over every imaginary bruise.

A crowd gathered around Tyler’s hospital bed, checking on him again and again. Friends, family, even strangers—everyone wanted to make sure Tyler was okay. No one asked about me.

“Tyler, are you sure you’re alright?”

Jessica’s voice was soft, worried. She held his hand, her eyes full of concern. I wondered if she’d ever looked at me that way.

Jessica kept turning his hand over, worried she’d missed some injury. She examined every inch of his skin, refusing to let go. It was almost comical, if it hadn’t hurt so much.

“Really, I’m fine. You all should go check on Zach.”

Tyler’s words were half-hearted, his gaze fixed on Jessica. No one moved.

Only then did Jessica remember that I’d also been taken to the hospital. She glanced up, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. “Alright, I’ll go see him.”

But I knew she wouldn’t. Not really. Not in any way that mattered.