Page 104 of Unfaithful

He just stared at me. Silent. Unmoved.

Then, slowly, he shook his head.

And I knew there was no hope for me left.

Elena was gone. Leo had won. I lost Cole.

I lost everything.

And I was going to prison.

*** *** ***

COLE

I sat on the park bench, elbows resting on my knees, watching as Elena wobbled through the grass. Her tiny legs moved in awkward, unsteady steps, arms stretched out for balance. Every time she teetered too far to one side, Nancy was right there, ready to catch her if she fell.

Elena.

Leo's daughter.

And damn if she didn't look just like him.

Same blond curls, same sharp features. Even the way she scrunched her nose when she focused too hard—it was all him. Like a miniature version of a man who had become my good friend, stumbling her way across the playground.

A warm breeze drifted through the park, carrying the scent of fresh-cut grass and the distant laughter of kids playing on the swings. The sun hung low in the sky, casting everything in a soft, golden light.

I exhaled slowly, leaning back against the bench.

"She's getting big," I said, watching as she plopped onto the grass with a soft thud.

Instead of crying, she blinked in surprise, then let out a deep belly laugh. It was the sound that made people turn their heads, unable to resist smiling along with her.

Leo chuckled beside me. "Yeah." He glanced over at me. "Crazy how fast it happens."

I nodded, my eyes still on her.

I wouldn't know.

The thought hit like a slow, twisting blade—cutting deep, even though I should've been used to it by now. Time moved forward, whether or not I was ready for it.

And every day, regret haunted me. By the loss of the two most important people in my world. Sara and Elena.

The trial was over. The dust had settled.

But I was still standing in the wreckage, left behind, watching from outside as my daughter built a life without me.

And as for Sara...

I had lost them both.

I told myself this was what she wanted, that she was better off without me. And maybe she was. Because I watched her take her life back, piece by piece, and she was thriving.

She had thrown herself into her work, running her company with sharpness and confidence. She learned quickly, navigating projects and contracts with ruthless determination, leaving no room for doubt. Whatever obstacles came her way, she met them head-on, no longer the woman who once stood in my shadow.

She had rebuilt.

She had won her battles.

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