Page 5 of Soaring and Steadfast

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” His voice felt heavy with meaning, thick with something unspoken.

He turned, shaking his pen. “Can someone get me an ink pen? I think this one dried up.” He lifted his stein again, voice lifting in celebration. “And another beer to celebrate my bro!—and can someone get me a trash can?”

Because yeah, if he was a betting man, he wouldn’t last another hour.

But deep in his soul, past the haze of alcohol and the raucous laughter of his brothers, he felt it—something real had happened here tonight.

And it left him hollow and full, all at once.

CHAPTER THREE

LILA

Oh gosh, what have I done?

Lila curled into herself under the scalding spray of the shower, her body trembling as silent sobs tore through her. The water lashed against her skin, but it couldn’t cleanse her, couldn’t scrub away the filth clinging to her soul. She didn’t want to face it—any of it.The past few hours felt like a fever dream, a reckless, booze-soaked haze of bad decisions and self-destruction.

She’d gotten obliterated in some rundown dive bar, thrown herself at a man—Stephanie’s husband—and somehow ended up in a stranger’s hotel room. And Natalie? She’d left with someone else, disappearing into the night without a second thought.

So why not Lila?

She had nothing left to lose. The bitter truth clawed at her insides, hollowing her out. She was unraveling, coming apart at the seams, and leaving wreckage in her wake like some natural disaster. No amount of alcohol, no fleeting touches, or meaningless encounters could fix her. If anything, they made her feel worse.

Cheap.

Disposable.

Broken.

The divorce should have been her rock bottom, but deep down, she knew she’d been sinking long before Kyle. He wasn’t the cause—just another symptom of her own tragic choices.

At first, he had been different. Charming. Thoughtful. The man she thought would love her forever. But forever had been a lie. The second their rushed marriage turned into reality, the mask had slipped. And the first time he raised his hand to her? The police let it slide. Nothing had happened, they said.

The second time, he ripped the phone from the wall, his rage twisting into something monstrous.

The third time.

The fourth.

The fifth.

She gagged, choking on bile as the memories crashed over her. Kyle had lost control that night, and she—she had lost everything. You don’t nearly kill the mother of your child without it changing something fundamental inside of you. She had watched a man unravel before her eyes, watched the demon inside of him take over, and she had paid the steep price.

Her babyhad paid the price.

A sharp, animalistic sob tore from her throat. She clapped a hand over her mouth, suffocating it before it could echo in the tiny bathroom. Her ribs ached with the force of holding it all in.

She had been running ever since. Running from the past. From herself. From the truth that no one had ever stayed. No one had everchosenher.

And now? She was stuck in a cycle, an endless, vicious loop of bad choices and empty nights, spiraling further and further down, with no one left to catch her.

She wrapped her arms around herself, rocking slightly as she slid down into the tub. The cold porcelain against her spinegrounded her, but it didn’t stop the terror from creeping in, thick and suffocating. She didn’t even know the man in the other room. Didn’t know if she was safe, if he would wake up angry or violent or worse.

If she called the police, would they dismiss her again? If she made a sound, would he?—

No.

Lila squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to stay small, to stay invisible. If she just stayed here, if she waited it out, maybe he’d leave. Maybe she could piece herself back together, crawl out of this mess, and start over.

---