CHAPTER 27: CHAPTER 27: THE THINGS I SHOULD HAVE SAID SOONER

POV: Elena

7:10 PM — No More Hiding

I knew when I saw James’s face.

He knew.

Not just suspected. Knew.

I used to think guilt was a whisper — a low voice you could tune out with distraction or denial.

Turns out, it screams. Loudest when you’re in a quiet kitchen and your husband’s staring at you like he doesn’t know who the hell you are anymore.

"Did something happen between you and Aaron?" he asked.

I should have lied.

I should have collapsed into the role I played so well for so long — the devoted wife, the misunderstood stepmother, the steady presence.

Instead, I stood frozen.

And silence — thick, unforgivable silence — answered for me.

7:13 PM — The Sound of Something Breaking

He didn’t yell.

That’s the part I’ll remember until the day I die.

He just... walked out.

Not stormed. Walked. Steady. Controlled.

He closed the door behind him like he was sealing off a crime scene.

I stood there, breath locked in my chest, heartbeat hammering in my ears.

The moment I’d been terrified of for months had finally come.

And I deserved every second of it.

7:40 PM — Flashback: The Real Beginning

The first moment I knew it was more than a mistake?

It was that night we stayed up after the family movie. Everyone else went to bed. Aaron stayed behind to help me clean up.

I dropped a glass.

He knelt down to pick up the pieces with me, our hands brushing. He looked at me — not like a stepson. Not like a kid.

Like a man who saw the parts of me I tried to hide.

And I let him.

That’s when it began. Not physically — not yet. But emotionally?

God help me, I chose that moment.

8:10 PM — Milo Knocks

A soft knock at the door.

"Milo?" I said, wiping my face.

He stepped into the living room, arms crossed, jaw clenched.

"He knows," he said. Not a question. A confirmation.

"I didn’t mean—" I started, but stopped myself.

No one believed that anymore. Not even me.

"I tried to protect him," I said instead. "I tried to end it."

He scoffed. "Yeah. You ’tried.’ And now what? Aaron’s gone, Dad’s losing it, and you’re still here, acting like this was some tragic love story."

His words hit hard because they were true.

"But I did love him," I whispered.

"Then you should’ve walked away," he snapped. "You should’ve left the house. Not slept with him under our roof."

I covered my mouth. I was going to be sick.

Milo took a shaky breath.

"Whatever happens next? You earned it."

9:15 PM — Alone, for Real This Time

I waited in my room for James to come back. He didn’t.

I paced. I sobbed into my pillow. I wrote a letter I didn’t know how to end.

And still — no footsteps on the stairs. No knock on the door.

The family I married into was splintering — and I was the match that lit the fire.

10:30 PM — The Phone Buzzes

My phone buzzed on the nightstand.

I lunged for it, praying it was Aaron.

It wasn’t.

James.

Pack your things.

I want you gone tomorrow morning.

I stared at the screen until it blurred from the tears.

11:00 PM — The Letter I Wrote But Never Sent

I folded the letter I’d started earlier. Tucked it into the drawer beside my bed.

Maybe one day I’ll give it to Aaron. Maybe not.

Here’s what it said:

I didn’t fall in love with you because I was lonely.

I fell in love with you because you reminded me what it felt like to be seen.

And that was the worst, most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to me.

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry I loved you in a world that couldn’t let me.

I’m sorry I loved you at the cost of everything else.

But I’m not sorry I loved you.

📘 End of Chapter 27

💬 YOUR TURN!

She’s out. James made the call.

Milo is done with her.

And she’s holding onto a love that may never be returned.

👇 Tell me — do you think Aaron will come back before she leaves?

❤️ Hit the heart if Elena’s letter absolutely gutted you.

🔔 Follow now — because Chapter 28 is Aaron’s return, and it changes everything.