Page 32 of The Breaking Point

Not a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Not even when I told him I got promoted. He nodded once and went back outside to play with the boys.

And then there’s Aiden.

God. With Aiden, it was the same ache but better disguised. I just wanted to be the woman he would never leave. So I made myself perfect. Supportive. Sexy. Smart. Always grateful, always giving. I made sure dinner was made, the house was clean, the bills were paid. I learned to fold his T-shirts the way he liked. I stayed quiet when I should’ve spoken up. I stayedloyal.

And he still left me. Maybe not with his feet, but in the worst way. In the way that rewrites your whole history together.

It wasn’t just the cheating. It was the fact that he never told me. That he married me with that lie in his pocket. That he looked me in the eyes on our wedding day and let me promise forever, knowing he’d already betrayed it.

What if I’ve spent my whole life trying to earn love from men who never had it to give?

What if I never stopped being that little girl at the empty dinner table, waiting for someone to notice she’d grown up?

I open my eyes, start the car, and pull out of the hospital parking lot.

Orange Cove is fifteen minutes away. Not a long drive.

But today, I feel every single mile.

Dr. Brett told me I could come in any time. “Just show up,” he’d said. “If I’m here, I’ll find space for you.” I don’t know if he meant it out of genuine compassion or because business is slow. Doesn’t matter. I need someone trained to hold the mess I’m carrying before it smothers me completely.

The parking lot is mostly empty, the sky grey enough to match my mood. I slam the car door shut harder than I mean to and walk through the double glass. A woman at the front desk glances up, her smile soft but rehearsed.

“Hi,” I say, already feeling frayed. “I don’t have an appointment, but Dr. Brett said I could drop in?”

She checks the screen. “He’s with a patient right now, but I can put you in the next available slot.”

“Okay,” I nod, then pause. “Would you mind doing me one more favour?”

Her eyebrows lift slightly.

“That music,” I say, waving toward the ceiling. “The one that’s supposed to be calming? Can you turn it off? Or at least down?”

She blinks, surprised, but then she nods and taps a few buttons on the tablet next to her keyboard. The faint plinking sound of some watered-down instrumental version of Coldplay finally fades.

“Thank you,” I breathe, sinking into one of the chairs. “That thing was driving me insane.”

“You’re not the first to say that,” she says gently, then turns back to her screen.

I sit in the silence, grateful for the quiet.

My hands are shaking, just slightly. Enough that I keep them folded in my lap so I won’t have to see it. I can still hear my father asking me to stay. Still hear Aiden asking me to talk to him, to listen. Still see Alex’s heartbroken face.

I don’t know how to forgive a man who broke my heart before I even knew what a heart really was. Or another who waited until I built my life around him before he shattered it.

I stare at the floor and wait for my name. I don’t know what I’ll say when I walk into that office. Maybe nothing at all.

But at least I’ll be heard.

Chapter 13

I’m sitting across from Dr. Brett, the big leather sofa cool beneath me. He’s already in his chair, calm and waiting. The silence stretches between us, heavy and thick. I can feel it press down on my chest until I finally snap.

“Why won’t you say anything?” I blurt out.

He raises an eyebrow, not taking the bait. “You looked like you needed a minute to gather your thoughts. Would you like to share them?”

“My father had a heart attack. He’s fine.” I pause, swallowing hard. “The last time I came here, the kids were with my parents while Aiden and I were on our trip,” I air-quote trip, “it was supposed to be seven days. So I gave my marriage seven days to either survive or break. I didn’t want to take the uncertainty home to the kids.”

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