He Never Ran Out of Words—Just for Me Chapter 07
Right then, Julian arrived, pulling his car up a short distance away.
He took in the situation but didn’t push his way over. Instead, he just asked softly, “Ms. Wright, do you need help?”
Garrett followed my gaze, his face darkening instantly. “Who is he?”
“Hannah, is he the reason you won’t forgive me?”
“He has nothing to do with this,” I said, meeting Garrett’s eyes.
“I’m just done looking back. My heart is dead.”
“Back then, I revolved my entire world around you and abandoned my dreams. You took it completely for granted.”
“You never cared. All I got from you was silence, short answers, and pure neglect.”
“When my fever spiked to 104°F, you were busy helping Vivian get through her crisis.”
“When I was trapped by a dangerous crowd in that Cajun Crawfish Boil joint and screamed for you to save me, you shielded her and walked away first.”
“A lifetime of accumulated neglect and being abandoned in a life—or—death situation—you don’t get to erase that with a few desperate words.”
“I was stupid back then, but I can change!” Garrett pleaded frantically.
“I know now that you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Hannah. Just give me one more chance. Just one!”
He was clearly still in love with Vivian, yet he craved the comfort of my devotion.
He didn’t get to have it both ways.
“I gave you seven years of chances.”
I turned on my heel.
“Garrett, we don’t belong in the same world anymore.”
“Go settle your debts with her, and I’ll protect my dreams. We are done.”
Julian stepped out of the car, offering a gentle reminder. “We should get going.”
“You have to coordinate the fittings with the models tomorrow morning. We can’t afford to fall behind.”
I nodded, walking alongside him toward the car.
Behind us, Garrett’s voice broke into a heavy sob.
“Hannah! I really am sorry!”
“How could you just stop loving me out of nowhere? I don’t understand!”
His ragged weeping echoed down the street.
I didn’t look back, and I didn’t answer.
A man like him would never understand that walking away isn’t a split-second decision.
It’s the weight of a thousand disappointments. It’s surviving one abandonment too many.
Everything that needed to be said had already been made clear.
As the car pulled away, I glanced at the rearview mirror. Garrett stood entirely alone under the harsh glare of the streetlight.
He looked like a lost child.
But I felt no pity. Only the sweet, weightless rush of absolute relief.
Julian glanced over at me. “Are you okay?”
I let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh. “That’s my soon-to-be ex-husband.”
“You probably won’t believe me, but we were together for seven years, and he used to act like speaking a full sentence to me was a chore.”
He didn’t pry into my past.
He just offered a quiet reassurance. “A man who doesn’t know your worth isn’t worth a backward glance. Cutting him loose was the right call.”
I nodded gently. “Yeah. And it’s not too late to start over.”