Page 3 of My Only

“Nah, man,” he tried. “You didn’t let me finish?—”

“Were you or were you not out with her, Hassani?” I exhaled.

“I… I was, but, baby, not for?—”

“I want…” The words were right there, caught in my throat, suffocating me as I tried to hold them back. I shook my head, squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the tears well behind them. The words burned as I tried to swallow them down.

“A,” Hassani started, “Baby, I?—”

“I want a divorce.”

Hassani staggered back as if I had physically struck him. His hand fisted at his chest, right over his heart.

If the house had been silent before, the silence doubled now. My words carried weight, crashing to the floor between us, cracking the stone beneath our feet, breaking something between us, too.

“Ayla,” he said, stepping toward me. I held up a hand, stopping him.

I had thought about it before but never actually said the words out loud. Never thought I’d ever have to.

But I’d had enough.

My resolve was clear, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was carrying a heavy anvil on my heart.

I wanted out of this… out of these feelings, away from these doubts.

And I wanted out now.

I stood from my seat.

“A. Boogie,” Hassani whispered, his voice breaking.

That almost made me falter. Almost.

But I kept moving, my steps quick, determined.

He reached for me as I passed, but I slapped his hand away.

“Fuck, Ayla, come on, don’t do this right now.”

I turned back, my lips trembling as I fought like hell to hold in the cry threatening to burst through.

“I’ve been losing you for months, Hassani.” I inhaled shakily. “But tonight?” I met his gaze, my voice barely above a whisper. “You lost me.”

The pressure in my throat made it impossible to breathe as I walked toward the guest bedroom.

“Ayla, please?—”

His voice shattered behind me as I stepped inside and slammed the door shut.

PART I

THE BLUEPRINT

The original plan. The beginning… when the vision is first imagined…

CHAPTER 1

THEN – MID-SPRING 2017… SIX YEARS EARLIER

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