Page 188 of Broken Destiny

My eyes travelled slowly from the floor… to the pew… to the altar…

And then to Caleb.

Our eyes locked.

The connection struck me like lightning.

The music faded into the background.

The church disappeared.

For one suspended moment, it felt as though it was only him and me standing across the distance that separated us.

I couldn’t look away.

I wanted to.

But I couldn’t.

His gaze held mine with an intensity that made it feel as though he could see straight into my soul—into every regret, every memory, every piece of love I still carried for him.

Two large tears rolled slowly down my cheeks.

And in that moment, I knew.

I would never survive if I had to watch him marry someone else.

When Tatiana passed by with her parents walking her down the aisle, I forced myself to look away from Caleb, breaking the connection that had held me in place.

My heart twisted sharply in my chest, the loss sudden and absolute.

Then I turned and walked hurriedly toward the exit.

Out of the church.

Out of the ceremony.

Out of his life… again!

50

CALEB

Watching Jiya walk out of the church killed me.

What undid me completely was the sight of tears in her eyes that I had seen for the first time, and it crushed me in a way nothing else ever had.

Jiya never cried—not when we were dating, not when we had fought, not even when Emma had gotten hurt. But today she had looked at me with tears streaming silently down her cheeks, and the heartbreak in her eyes felt sharp enough to cut straight through my chest.

I stood frozen near the altar, unable to look anywhere else.

Before she walked away, I had been waiting for her to look at me, to say something, to give me any sign that this was not truly the end of us.

Then I saw it.

And I wished it was anything but tears in her eyes.

She still loved me.