Page 198 of Broken Destiny

“Do you have it? Have you seen it?” a voice asked.

My entire body went still.

Heat rushed through me, chasing away the cold that had worked its way into my bones. My heart began pounding wildly against my ribs as I slowly turned around.

Caleb stood a metre away.

He still wore his wedding suit. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, and his bow tie hung loosely around his neck, as though he had ripped it free moments earlier.

“What?” I asked, rising slowly to my feet.

He looked at me, his eyes intense and raw.

“My broken heart.”

I sniffled, my breath catching.

“I thought you would be getting ready to leave for your honeymoon by now,” I managed quietly.

“I would be,” he replied, taking another slow step closer. “If I had gotten married.”

The knot in my stomach loosened so suddenly it almost hurt.

Hope flickered painfully through my chest, cautious and fragile, as I searched his face for signs that I had misunderstood him.

But there was no hesitation in his eyes.

No regret.

Only exhaustion… and something deeper that made my pulse stumble wildly.

“Oh,” I whispered shakily.

The wind moved softly around us, carrying the distant sound of water against the dock while my heart pounded hard enough to drown out everything else.

“Caleb…” I breathed carefully, afraid the moment might disappear if I spoke too loudly. “Why didn’t you get married?”

I bit my lip and held my breath, waiting for his answer.

52

CALEB

My entire being shattered all over again when I heard Jiya cry as I walked up the dock.

The sound of her pain sliced straight through my chest. Seeing her again like that filled me with a crushing wave of guilt so heavy it made it hard to breathe.

God, I wish I could go back and change everything.

“Do you not know what happened?” I asked quietly.

Her eyebrows were squished together as she shook her head, clouding her tear-filled eyes.

“Turns out that my fiancée wasn’t in love with me,” I said, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “She wasn’t ready to get married.”

“I’m sorry,” Jiya whispered.

Even after everything I had done to her, there was still kindness in her eyes. Still concern.