Page 126 of The Wreckage Of Us
"You-----you have a child?" I say shakily
His eyes snaps to me and it widens.
“Britt—” Ace’s voice was sharp now, panicked. He fumbled to end the call. “I… I didn’t know you didn’t know.”
I took a shaky step back, shaking my head. “A daughter?” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper. “You have a child with her?”
“Brittany, listen to me—”
“How old?” I snapped, my arms crossing like a shield across my chest. My fingers dug into my skin. “How old is she?”
Ace flinched. “She’s four.”
Four
My chest caved in, all the air sucked out.
“Four?” My laugh was bitter, hollow. “So, what — all this time, yelling and telling me you loved me, she had your child… you already…”
“It’s not like that,” Ace said quickly, standing now, hands outstretched like he was approaching a wounded animal. “Britt, Sierra and I were done before Karla was born. I didn’t even know Sierra was pregnant until after. It was a drunken mistake!”
The world was tilting. My throat burned, my eyes stung.
“You had a whole child, Ace. A whole child, and you never told me.” My voice cracked, trembling on the edge of rage and heartbreak. “And you come here — waltzing back into my life, acting like you still havesome claim on me — and you never thought I deserved to know?”
His jaw clenched, his voice tight. “I wanted to tell you. But you wouldn’t even look at me. You blocked me from every corner of your life. What was I supposed to do — throw it at you over text?”
I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth. “You don’t get to turn this on me. You don’t get to make this my fault.”
“I’m not,” he whispered, stepping closer. His eyes were raw, desperate. “I’m not, Britt. But you have to understand — Ellie’s my daughter. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me, even if she came out of the biggest mess of my life.”
I let out a strangled, choked laugh, the tears spilling over now, hot and angry. “You were my best thing once.”
The words sliced between us, sharp and unplanned, hanging heavy in the golden light.
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. His shoulders sagged, his eyes shuttered, his hands dropping to his sides in defeat.
I wiped at my face, swallowing down the sob threatening to break free. “I can’t do this, Ace.”
“Britt—”
“I can’t.” My voice was firm now, steadier than I felt. “You should go. You have a daughter waiting for you. And I need… I need air.”
He took a small step forward. “Please. Don’t shut me out again. Let me explain.”
But I was already backing away, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. “Go home, Ace.”
And for the first time in a long time, he listened.
I watched his car disappear down the road, the sunset casting long shadows over the pavement, and felt the last piece of my heart splinter quietly in the fading light.
Chapter 50
Ace
I couldn’t feel my legs anymore.
I stumbled out of Brittany’s building, the door slamming behind me like the final nail in my coffin. The cold air slapped my face, but I barely registered it. My chest was tight, like a steel band was crushing my ribs. I gasped, dragging in shaky breaths, but the pain didn’t ease. My heart wasn’t just broken—it was obliterated, shattered beyond repair.
