Chapter 9
“Say yes! Marry him!”
The crowd around us started to cheer.
If I were still that naive twenty–something, I might have caved under the pressure.
Might’ve let emotions get the best of me–again.
But the woman standing in front of him now is Isabella Garcia,
Wounded and hardened by everything he’s done.
“Honestly, I should’ve cut my losses a long time ago.”
“What kind of idiot would walk straight back into the fire?”
The crowd went silent.
Ryan’s hopeful expression froze on his face.
As I turned to leave, he stumbled to his feet–painfully and urgently.
Still recovering from the crash, he moved with effort.
“Isabella, don’t say that. We’re done with the pain.”
“From now on, it’s only happiness.”
Yeah.
There’s no such thing as cutting your losses in time.
Most people only give up when there’s nothing left to lose.
“No thanks. Whatever your version of happiness is, I’m not signing up for it.”
“Your new woman and your child are probably waiting at home.”
“Mr. Mitchell, please don’t ever come looking for me again.”
The whispers and murmurs from the crowd were deafening.
He didn’t care.
His whole world was standing right in front of him.
“Isabella.”
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He Got His Dream Baby… Just Not With Me
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Chapter 9
He reached for me.
The more desperate he got, the more the blood rushed to his head.
Until everything started to blur.
Just like the day I left.
As consciousness slipped away from him, he collapsed-
Still calling my name.
I turned, saw him lying on the ground,
And sighed.
Eight years of marriage, playing breakup counselor for him through countless relationships.
Even now that we’re divorced…
I still had to help keep him alive.
I pulled out my phone and called 911.
That’s the last good deed I’ll ever do for him.
In the hospital room,
I sat across from him, face unreadable, as he opened his eyes.
When he saw me, his whole face lit up.
“Isabella, I knew you still cared.”
The only reason I stayed was to end things properly.
Because if he found me once, he’d find me again.
And I wanted him out of my life–for good.
“The doctor said it’s a post–concussion symptom.”
“These fainting spells might last a while.”
He tried to speak, but I cut him off.
“Don’t get it twisted. Even if you were a total stranger-”
“I still would’ve called for help if I saw you pass out.”
His eyes dimmed a little, then flickered with hope again.
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He Got His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
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Chapter 9
Maybe because the first person he saw when he woke up was me.
“And besides–you helped me when I was a kid.”
“Consider this us finally even.”
“So I’m asking you–please, stop showing up in my life.”
He opened his mouth again,
But my “Goodbye forever” shut him down.
He tried to get up, but the dizziness hit him hard.
He lost his balance and fell hard to the floor.
All that was left were helpless cries.
But I never turned around.
He could only watch as my back faded from his view.
It was in that moment,
He finally realized…
This time really might be forever.
Tears streamed down his face.
In that cold hospital room that once symbolized hope and family….
He knelt there all alone,
Crying at the door.
I heard his sobs echoing through the hall
As I walked out of the hospital.
That name that haunted my life for twenty years-
Finally erased.
I looked up into the blinding sunlight.
Love may have started in the fall…
But it was ending in the fall, too.
I slid on my sunglasses.
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He Got His Dream Baby… Just Not With Me
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And when I took my first step forward,
I was smiling–finally ready for a brand new life.
On the third day of Ryan’s hospital stay,
I packed my bags again and headed off to the next stop.
The only person who came to check on him was his lawyer.
He brought the divorce papers Ryan had signed,
Along with a finalized asset division agreement.
He handed them to Ryan, who was checking himself out of the hospital alone.
“Mr. Mitchell, the mandatory divorce waiting period is officially over.”
“As of today, your marriage to Ms. Garcia is legally dissolved.”
Ryan stared at the signature on the divorce papers–the one he’d signed himself.
Just a month ago, he was begging me to sign mine.
Now, all that was left in his laugh was hopelessness.
He laughed at himself, thinking he could really have it all.
He laughed at his selfishness,
How it finally left him with nothing but wreckage.
In the end, the only thing he managed to hold on to was regret.
“Give her everything I own except the house I live in.”
He knew I no longer needed his too–late devotion.
The only thing he could offer me now was everything but love.
Meanwhile, on a beach in the Maldives,
I floated on an inflatable lounger, basking in the sun and ocean breeze.
My phone buzzed with a notification-
A massive wire transfer had just hit my account.
Smiling, I locked the screen and tossed the phone into the sea,
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He Got His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
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Chapter 9
The sunlight felt perfect.
I finally got what I deserved.
And just like that,
I let the last piece of the past sink to the bottom of the ocean.
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