Page 53 of Due Process
Tears gathered in his eyes as he shook his head in denial. “I’m sorry you saw that. Fuck, I’m so sorry.”
“You’re only sorry you got caught.”
I let him cry, providing no comfort or fake, soothing words. I had none to give.
He sniffled. “Maybe it was blind hope or straight foolishness, but I thought that if I finally saw you in person, maybe I could convince you. But now I truly know how thoughtless I’ve been.”
He straightened, wiping a hand over his messy face, his voice distraught and breaking. “But I’ll always regret it if I never asked. So that’s what I’m going to do—be selfish one last time… Is there ever a chance for us, Stells? To find our way back to each other? To try again? Is thereanypiece of you that could warm to me? Forgive me?”
I tilted my head, giving him my truth. “I think you already know, Felix. To say yes would go against my very nature. The answer is no.”
His gaze drank me in as if savouring the last remaining remnants of us. “I’ll love you forever, Stella Foster,” he said in goodbye.
“If that’s the type of love you give, I don’t want it.”
Felix gave a sad smile, infused with heartbreak. “Yet, it belongs to you all the same. Find happiness, Stells.”
I nodded, turning from my lost love, my former life partner.
As I drove away from the place I had once considered a home and sanctuary, tears ran unchecked down my cheeks, cleansing the way for a brighter future.
I was finally free.
Chapter 30
FELIX
I sat in my home office, staring down at the manila folder on my desk as if it were going to attack me.
I had PTSD or something, the shade and colour sending me spiralling back to that boardroom—a time and place I desperately wanted to forget.
Yet, that fucking A4 piece of paper had taunted me for two days straight. And since the boys had returned to their mother, I knew I couldn’t distract myself any longer.
I opened one side, tentatively slipping the documents free. A familiar chill penetrated inward, causing my eyes to close on the impactful text, desperately hoping they would just disappear.
My divorce was settled. Stella was no longer mine.
I leant back, my palms digging into my eye sockets, trying to prevent the torrent of tears trying to break through.
The end was inevitable. But that didn’t stop my heart from aching for her, forever missing my wife—ex-wife.
Six months of mediation had brought us to that conclusion.
Due to my circumstances, Stella received primary care of Eli and Phoenix. However, they came over most weekends, and stayed whenever they requested.
Michael was currently negotiating on my behalf to alter the specific conditions of my sentence, so I could be granted to drop off and pick up the boys from school.
I had been trying hard, choosing to pour everything into my sons. I wanted to be better than my parents, better than my previous self.
My kids deserved all of me, and that was what they got. If only I’d come to the realisation sooner.
I managed to keep the house, thanks to my father, who stepped up and offered to pay Stella her share. That had been another surprise and gift that I’d gladly taken. Dad was trying to make amends the only way he knew how—through financial means. But that was the stepping stone for us to reconnect and possibly create something more meaningful.
I had insisted on paying him back, and accepted a job at his company, although the debt would probably take the remainder of my lifespan to clear. It was a fall from grace, going from CEO of a multi-million-dollar company to entry level administrative work. But I had no complaints, knowing I was luckier than most. I wasn’t about to let the opportunity go to waste.
Despite my new reconnection with my father, there were appropriate boundaries set in place, as I was especially protective of Eli and Phoenix. I’d also never do anything to jeopardise Stella’s trust again. She had been gracious throughout the betrayal and the aftermath that followed, so the least she deserved was full transparency.
Surprisingly, Dad understood. As age and time caught up with him, he soon realised that he’d end up alone. So, that was howthe most stubborn man I’d ever known surprised me, proving that change was never too late.
