Chapter 8
I didn’t reach for the card on the table.
Just gave a faint smile.
“It’s not right to take what’s not mine.”
“I’m only taking what belongs to me.”
The lawyer looked uncomfortable and hesitated before speaking.
“Mr. Ryan Mitchell was in a terrible car accident.”
“Even during treatment, he never stopped trying to find Ms. Isabella.”
“Not even for a minute.”
“If Ms. Isabella is still willing to give him another chance, I truly believe-”
I didn’t let him finish.
He’s already had eight chances.
Time doesn’t wait for people who stand still.
It doesn’t slow down for anyone.
And chances aren’t meant for people who don’t care.
What kind of security could a stranger’s promise possibly give me?
Even if Ryan were standing right in front of me right now…
I wouldn’t believe a single word he said.
People don’t change their nature.
He was born a flirt–it’s just not in him to love one woman for life.
And I won’t keep torturing myself just to make it easier for him.
“Ryan Mitchell always said he wanted a child.”
“Well, now he has one. So he should give that child a real family.”
“Me stepping out of the picture is better for everyone.”
With that, I stood up.
12:32
He Got His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
77 89%
Chapter 8
My eyes instinctively flicked to the card on the table.
God knows how many breakup cards she’s handed out like this.
Even if it wasn’t meant as one, it still felt like a slap in the face.
“As for child support?”
“Let’s just call it a wedding gift for him and his baby mama.”
“Ryan Mitchell can handle his own breakups from now on.”
“Good luck to him finding someone new.”
Yes, I was saying all this for Ryan to hear.
I knew the lawyer hadn’t actually hung up the phone.
Ryan was on the other end, clutching his phone, listening to the voice he’d been desperate to hear.
And with every word, hope drained from his eyes.
One sentence at a time, I tore down the walls he’d just barely started to rebuild.
And all he could do was sit on the edge of that collapse,
Forced to swallow the consequences of what he’d done.
Hearing my voice didn’t soothe the ache–it only drove him further into madness.
Because now, he knew I wasn’t coming back.
He knew this time, he’d hurt me too deeply.
It wasn’t just the woman who reminded him of me–Emily-
Or the child he’d longed for.
They were both the sharpest thorns between us.
So in the city where his lawyer found me,
Ryan searched for five days and five nights before tracking down where I was staying.
Maybe it was on purpose, maybe it was fate.
But outside my building, there was a ginkgo tree.
Just like the one from all those years ago.
It was late fall, and golden leaves blanketed the ground.
12:32
He Got His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
81.5%
Chapter 8
He brought my favorite cake.
My favorite flowers.
Just like the day he confessed his love.
“Isabella.”
He stepped out from behind the tree as I approached.
But that line-“You were the joy of my youth.”
Could never turn back time and make “You were the boy I loved” true again.
“Twelve years ago, I proposed under this very tree.”
“Twelve years later, I’m here again–asking you to marry me.”
Marry me.
I almost laughed.
So, he did finally understand–we were divorced.
Eight times over.
I held onto our good memories for eight years.
And in the end, I got served with divorce papers for the ninth time.
Those memories made me a joke.
They were the root of every kind of pain I now despise.
“Isabella, would you give me one more chance?”
He got down on one knee, holding out the bouquet.
His eyes were soft, full of longing, thinking this was romantic.
A crowd started to gather around us.
It was those eyes that once pulled me in so deeply.
And the man who later blocked me on everything….
Was the same man who once lit up my whole world.
12:32
