95. I'm Never Going Back

“I can’t go anywhere with you, Ivan,” I said, my voice breaking as tears mixed with the rain streaming down my face. “I don’t want to see you anymore.” My words were final, but the pain behind them was raw and deep. “And don’t come near Kelly or me. You’ve hurt us enough. Go back to your selfish mother and marry whoever she wants you to marry.”

Ivan’s face crumbled, his eyes filling with desperation. “I can’t live without you,” he sobbed, stepping closer, but I instinctively moved away. “You and Kelly are all I have. Please don’t do this. I swear, I’ll make it right this time.”

Promises. Empty words that meant nothing anymore. How many had I heard from him over the past few months? But something in his eyes, the way his voice cracked with emotion, made me almost want to believe him. Yet I was too tired, too broken, to keep holding on to that hope.

“I don’t care,” I said, my body trembling with exhaustion. “If you were serious about making things right, you would’ve answered my calls.