Wish you were mine

60. Too Late

(Hey my lovely readers,

Sorry for the late update. Please bear with me for a few days until I find a balance between my college work and everything else. Until then, updates may be irregular. And i know this chapter barely gave you guys any thrill but the next one will be interesting and in few more chapter all secrets will be revealed.

Last update for this year. See you guys in next year

Happy new year ❤️)

PENELOPE

Crying never solved anything.

I learned that the hard way.

I cried for months once-until my eyes burned, until my throat went raw, until sleep became nothing but exhaustion disguised as rest. I cried hoping the truth would change if I hurt enough. I cried wishing Sean would come back and tell me it was all a lie. A misunderstanding. A nightmare I would wake up from.

But nothing changed.

It never does.

Tears don't rewrite betrayals.

They don't unbreak promises.

They don't undo kneeling men or exchanged rings or stolen futures.

I dragged a shaky breath into my lungs and turned my face toward the window.
The evening sky stretched endlessly before me, painted in bruised shades of lavender and burnt orange-as if even the sun was bleeding quietly before disappearing. It was beautiful in a way that hurt. The kind of beauty that exists only to remind you that the world keeps moving even when you are stuck in the wreckage of yourself.

People say sunsets are peaceful.
To me, they always feel like endings.

My phone vibrated on the bed.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

I didn't need to look to know who it was.

Sophie.

I glanced at the screen anyway. Her name glowed softly, insistently, like a lifeline I no longer had the strength to grab. Missed calls stacked one after another-twenty, maybe more. Messages I hadn't opened. Worry I didn't have the energy to explain.

Since yesterday-since Sean's confession, or manipulation dressed as truth-I had cut myself off from the world.

No calls.

No messages.

No explanations.

I didn't want comfort.

I didn't want questions.

And I definitely didn't want to hear anyone tell me he didn't mean it.

It was only a matter of time before Sophie stopped calling and came storming in instead. She always did. She was fire where I was ash. Protective. Fierce. Unapologetic.

But tonight... I couldn't be her responsibility.

I silenced the phone and set it face down.

Then I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself, curling inward like I was trying to disappear into my own bones. I buried my face between my knees, breathing in fabric and quiet, shutting the world out inch by inch.

I had never felt lonelier.

Not when I was surrounded by people.

Not when I was married.