The Summer I Changed | The Summer I Turned Pretty Fanfic

Conrad's POV

Conrad's POV

Sweat slicked my brow as I pulled into the familiar driveway. The old summer house, with its peeling paint and creaky porch, looked like a mirage in the July heat. The ocean breeze, usually a balm to the soul, felt like a tease today. I was here to face Belly, to try to piece together our marriage's shattered fragments. My heart pounded a relentless rhythm in my chest, a drumbeat of anticipation and dread. I left the girls sleeping in my father's apartment, hoping to get here bright and early to talk to Belly.

My stomach lurched as I spotted Jeremiah's car. His fancy car was parked beside the house, its presence a physical manifestation of the dread that was already clawing at my insides. I knew without a doubt what this meant. Belly and Jeremiah. Together. Once a comforting constant, the ocean breeze now felt like a cold slap to the face—every hopeful fiber of my being withered and died in that instant.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. Should I go in? Face them? Or turn tail and pretend this never happened? A million thoughts raced through my mind, each one more painful than the last. The image of Belly and Jeremiah, together in my house, was a dagger twisting in my gut. A part of me wanted to storm in there, to confront them, to demand answers. But another part, the part that desperately clung to the hope of salvaging our family, urged me to turn and run.

This is exactly what Belly wanted when she sent me away, she wanted him. I just didn't think Jeremiah would do it, I thought maybe he was over her. I hoped he was.

I sat in the car, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. A war raged within me. Part of me wanted to flee, to disappear, to pretend none of this was happening. But another part, a stubborn, defiant part, was rooted to the spot. I needed to see this through, to understand the depth of the betrayal. Just as I was about to turn the key in the ignition, I saw Jeremiah emerge from the house. His shirt was half-open, revealing a tanned chest, and his curly blond hair was tousled. He wore that stupid, self-satisfied grin that always irritated me. Then I saw her. Belly. She was standing on the porch, her face flushed with a kind of joy I hadn't seen in years. She leaned up and kissed him before he stepped off the porch, and that's when he saw me.

Jeremiah's face contorted into shock as he caught sight of me. He mumbled something incoherent, his eyes wide with disbelief. Belly's expression shifted from surprise to horror as she realized I was there. Before either of them could react, I jammed the car into gear and peeled out of the driveway. The tires screeched against the asphalt as I sped away, tears blurring my vision. The world seemed to tilt and spin as the weight of betrayal crushed me.

The world was crashing down around me. I felt like a ghost, drifting through a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. I longed to call Mom, to hear her voice, to feel her arms around me. But she was gone, and I was alone, adrift in a sea of pain. How could they do this to me? Belly and Jeremiah, two people who were supposed to be my family, had shattered my world into a million pieces. The salty sea air whipped past the car windows as I sped down the beach highway, my mind a chaotic storm.

I did this. I wanted her to be happy and I knew her happiness was with him.

I wiped the stream of tears pouring down my face, trying to compose myself. My phone vibrated relentlessly, calls flooding in from both of them. We hadn't even finalized the divorce. It hadn't been a week since I left her here to, our sanctuary, my mother's house. The betrayal was a physical weight on my chest, but it was Jeremiah's actions that truly gutted me. How could my own brother, the one person I trusted implicitly, do this? Belly's infidelity was a wound, deep and painful, but Jeremiah's betrayal felt like a betrayal of my soul.

I pulled over to the side of the road, the car crunching onto the soft sand. The ocean stretched out before me, a vast expanse of blue and white. I stared out at the horizon, trying to find answers in the endless expanse. Nothing made sense anymore. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to me. I'd always been the steady one, the rock for everyone else to lean on. Now, I was the one crumbling. I would have to figure this out on my own, like I always had. No one else could understand the depth of this pain, the shattering of trust. I had to be strong, had to pretend everything was fine. But the truth was, nothing would ever be okay again.

I was a fool. A blind, arrogant fool. I'd thought a little distance would clear her head, make her realize how much she needed me. I'd envisioned a reunion filled with apologies and promises, a reaffirmation of our soul-deep connection. Instead, I'd found a betrayal so profound it shook the very foundation of my world. Jeremiah, my brother, the one person I'd always protected, had become my betrayer. The irony was a bitter pill to swallow.

I remembered the summer they'd dated, a fleeting teenage romance that had seemed inconsequential at the time. But now, it felt like a betrayal of a different kind. A breach of trust between brothers. The pain was a physical entity, constricting my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"You'll be okay, Connie." I said to myself. I took several deep breaths before climbing back into my SUV. I had two little girls waiting for me.