Chapter 13
Denver had stepped out of the office to clear his head, to drown his guilt in whiskey. Alicia ha haunted his thoughts for days now–her silence, her eyes when she’d last looked at him, he scent that still lingered in their sheets.
He hadn’t meant to walk into the same bar Patricia was in. He hadn’t even known she lied abou being home. But now he stood there, invisible behind the booth, his hands clenched as her words seared into his mind like acid.
The paintings. The stolen credits. The childhood manipulation. The bra,
The divorce.
His vision blurred with rage. He stepped around the booth, eyes locked on Patricia,
She looked up, startled. “Denver?”
He didn’t hesitate. The back of his hand connected with her cheek in a flash. The bar fell silent the sound echoing like a gunshot.
Patricia’s head whipped to the side, a red mark blooming on her face as her wine glass shattered on the floor.
“You lied,” Denver said coldly, his voice like ice cracking over a fire. “You did all of this.”
Patricia blinked, her lips parting in confusion as the color drained from her face. “I–what are you talking about?”
Denver stepped closer, fury trembling beneath the surface of his carefully composed face. “Don” pretend. I heard everything. You ruined her. You broke her down piece by piece, and I stood there like a fool and watched it happen.”
Patricia stood from her seat, her friends long gone silent beside her. “Wait, wait–this is about Alicia?”
He stared at her, jaw tight. “Who else would it be about?”
Her mouth twisted in disbelief. “Denver, she was never meant for this life. She didn’t belong. You know that. She wasn’t like us–she wasn’t strong enough to handle it.”
“You call that strength?” he snapped. “Humiliating her? Undermining her? Taking everything that made her happy and shattering it?”
Patricia’s eyes brimmed with tears, but there was fire in them too. “And what about me, Denver? You think I didn’t suffer? You think it didn’t hurt to watch you, the man I loved, marry someone just because her blood made her an heiress?”
“You had everything!” he barked. “You had the Montero name. The attention. My time–my loyalty. And still, it wasn’t enough for you. You had to destroy her too?”
“I did what I had to do,” she hissed. “Because she was taking everything! My family! My future! You,”
Denver’s eyes darkened. “No. You lost me the moment you made me think she was the villain. You manipulated me.”
She shook her head, pleading. “You said it yourself, Denver. You used to say I was your world. That we would’ve been married if it weren’t for the board, the contract. I was just protecting what
Chapter 13
2:57 pm DDDD
was mine.”
“What was yours?” he echoed, then laughed bitterly. “I was never yours, Patricia, I was a coward. And I let you convince me that loving Alicia was weakness”
The words escaped before he could take them back–and once they were out, there was no denying it anymore.
Patricia’s breath hitched. “You… you love her?”
He looked away, swallowing hard. “I didn’t want to admit it. I thought… I thought I had everything I wanted with you. But when she left… I couldn’t breathe.”
He turned to face her again. “I see her in every room. In every quiet moment. When I eat, when I drive, when I try to sleep. I see her crying, and I remember not doing a damn thing to stop it.”
Patricia stepped forward, desperate now. “Denver, don’t say this. Please–this isn’t you talking You’re just confused. You’re overwhelmed.”
“No,” he said quietly. “For once, I’m not.”
She reached for him, but he stepped back. “Denver, please. We can move past this. We can fix it. You’re just hurt, but in time-”
“In time?” he cut in. “She’s gone, Patricia. Gone. And it’s my fault.”
She shook her head furiously. “She’ll come back. She always does. You said it yourself. She has no one. No money. No power. She needs you.”
“Not anymore,” he whispered. “She found her strength, and she left. And I- I didn’t even say goodbye.”
Patricia dropped her arms, her voice trembling. “So what now? You just throw away everything we have? Everything we could still have?”
He looked at her, eyes hollow. “What do we have, Patricia? Lies? Manipulation? Guilt? That’s not
love.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “So what? You’re just going to walk away? From me? From all of
this?”
Denver hesitated for just a second–then turned his back to her.
‘Denver-!” she called after him, voice cracking.
But he didn’t turn around.
He walked toward the door, each step heavier than the last, the echo of her pleas chasing him ike shadows he no longer wished to carry.
As he reached the threshold, Patricia’s voice broke one final time. “You’ll regret this! You’ll see she won’t forgive you!”
He paused, hand on the door.
And then he was gone.
Patricia collapsed back into the booth, stunned and broken, surrounded by silence that no amount of lies could fill anymore.
Que Mushand Hello Freedom!
