Chapter 3

Declan's face, usually a mask of controlled composure, was a canvas of shock. His jaw hung slightly open, his eyes wide and unseeing. He simply stared at me, unblinking, as if the words I'd just spoken were an impossible, alien sound. The silence was deafening, punctuated only by my own ragged breathing.

Then, his phone buzzed, a jarring intrusion. He glanced at it, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. Kisha's name flashed across the screen. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, his gaze still on me, before his professional instincts took over. "It's... a work emergency," he mumbled, already turning away, his attention divided.

"I need to go," he said, not to me, but to the empty air between us. He was already halfway out the door, responding to Kisha, to the urgent demands of the firm, to anything but the crumbling ruins of our relationship. "We'll talk about this later, Cayla. This is not the time for a tantrum." And then he was gone, a phantom of his usual self, leaving me standing alone amidst the debris.

A tantrum. That's what he called it. Ten years of my life, my love, my sacrifice, reduced to a childish outburst. It was a familiar pattern. My feelings, my needs, always secondary to his grand designs, his professional crises, his fragile ego. I watched the door close behind him, a bitter taste in my mouth. He had chosen work over me, yet again. And for the first time, it didn't hurt. It just cemented what I already knew. His priorities were clear.

I turned away from the empty doorway, the cold reality settling in. I had no home. The condo was being sold. My family, well, they weren't exactly a refuge. But for now, they were my only option. A place to land, however temporarily, before Detroit.

The familiar suburban house loomed, a monument to my past. I pushed open the front door, the scent of stale cooking and lingering anxiety immediately assaulting my senses. "Cayla? Is that you, darling?" My mother's voice, saccharine sweet, drifted from the living room. She appeared, a forced smile plastered on her face, her eyes already scanning for signs of Declan's influence.

"Mom," I greeted, my voice flat. I saw Artis, my younger brother, sprawled on the couch, glued to his phone. He barely grunted in acknowledgment. My father, a stern, imposing figure, looked up from his newspaper, his gaze sharp and assessing.

"What a surprise! Are you alone? Where's Declan?" My mother's questions tumbled out, each one laced with a desperate hope.

"He's not here," I stated, my voice steady. "And he won't be coming. Our engagement is off."

The air in the room thickened. My mother's smile faltered, then dissolved into a horrified gasp. My father's newspaper rustled as he slammed it onto the coffee table. "What did you say?" His voice was a low growl, laced with incredulity and simmering rage.

"I said, the engagement is off," I repeated, my voice unwavering.

"Are you out of your mind, Cayla?" My father roared, his face turning an alarming shade of red. He pushed himself up from the armchair, his movements jerky and aggressive. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Declan Sharp! The wealthiest, most influential man in the city! You just threw that all away?" He lunged forward, his hand raised, striking the antique vase on the side table. It shattered, porcelain shards scattering across the polished floor.

A sharp, searing pain shot up my arm as a piece of glass embedded itself just below my elbow. I gasped, clutching my arm, blood already blooming through my sleeve. My father didn't even notice. He was too consumed by his own fury.

"You selfish ingrate!" Artis sneered from the couch, finally tearing his eyes from his phone. "Do you know how much money we were counting on from your wedding? The investments, the connections? Now what, Cayla? You've ruined everything!" He stood up, his posture slumped, a sneer twisting his lips. "What's he going to do? Find some other high-society girl? Like Kisha Fleming? She's way hotter and smarter than you anyway."

"Kisha Fleming?" My mother whimpered, her eyes wide with fear and disappointment. "Is this about that little intern? Oh, Cayla, you can't let some flighty girl steal your man! Declan loves you!"

"He never loved me," I said, my voice barely a whisper, the pain in my arm a dull counterpoint to the sharper ache in my chest. "He never did."

"Don't give me that sob story!" Artis yelled, stepping closer, his face contorted in a sneer. "You're just jealous! You had it all, Cayla! A rich fiancé, a fancy apartment, and you were supposed to take care of us! Now what? You're going to cut off our allowance? How do you expect me to pay for my new car? Or Mom's spa treatments? You're ruining our lives!"

My parents nodded in agreement, their faces contorted with self-pity and entitlement. Their eyes, once filled with a fleeting, conditional warmth when Declan was in the picture, now held only accusation and greed. It was clear. They didn't see me as their daughter, their sister. I was an investment, a meal ticket, a conveniently placed pawn in their shallow game of social climbing.

A chilling realization washed over me. All those years, all the money I'd sent, the bills I'd paid, the favors I'd done – it was never about love. It was always about what I could provide. They didn't care about my happiness, my broken heart, or the actual injury bleeding on my arm. They only cared about Declan's wealth, and their access to it through me.

The pain in my arm throbbed, a physical manifestation of the emotional wounds they inflicted. I looked at my family, my supposed safe haven, and saw only predators. There was no shelter here. Only more heartache.

"I'm leaving," I announced, my voice firm, despite the tremor in my hands.

"Leaving?" My mother shrieked. "Where would you go, you ungrateful child? You have nowhere!"

"Anywhere but here," I replied, turning on my heel. I walked out, not looking back, their venomous shouts echoing behind me. "Come back, Cayla! You owe us! You always owe us!"

I closed the door behind me, shutting out their hateful voices, their endless demands. The desert wind whipped around me, chilling me to the bone. I was truly alone now. And I had no idea where I was going to sleep tonight.