Chapter 89

• Days passed in a blur for Damien. Each morning, the rising sun painted the world in hues of orange and gold, a stark contrast to the turmoil swirling in his chest. He found himself distracted, lost in thoughts that echoed Charlotte’s laughter, the warmth of her presence, and the familiar comfort of their intertwined lives. The image of her, now a mother, weighed heavily on him, both a distraction and a source of irritation. It felt so achingly unfair that she seemed to have moved on with an ease he could only envy.
• At work, Damien struggled to focus. The once-familiar hum of the office felt distant and muted, like he was watching his life unfold through a foggy lens. His colleagues' voices blended into a harmonious murmur while his mind raced back to shattered moments. He caught glimpses of the way Charlotte’s eyes sparkled when she talked about her dreams—the adventures they had indulged in, the moments they had shared that had been tinged with unspoken potential. That depth of connection now felt like an aching chasm, an absence that gnawed at him incessantly.
• Every time he saw a mother with her child, a stab of jealousy surged through him. It was irrational, he knew, but emotion rarely bowed to reason. He wondered if Charlotte had found fulfillment in the role of motherhood, with someone who could give her everything he had hesitated to offer. What if her world was blooming with joy while he was stuck in an in-between, caught in the chains of expectation forged by his family? To think of her cradling another man’s child sent a pang of despair racing through him—never mind that he didn’t realize that child was his; it stung to think she had moved on.