Chapter 2 - Walking Away
Caleb tried to brush off the situation, telling her they should go home and talk about it. “Home?” Nia repeated, the word feeling entirely foreign. “You mean the house where I was lying in bed while you were holding her?” Caleb's jaw tightened, insisting it wasn't what she thought. Nia looked at him for several long seconds before slowly removing the wedding ring from her finger. Caleb's expression changed, genuine fear finally breaking through his facade as she placed the ring in her palm and told him she thought he had made a choice.
Neither Caleb nor Sloan answered, and that silence gave Nia the final answer she needed. She looked directly at her husband and demanded her clothes, announcing she was leaving. Caleb protested that she wasn't in a condition to make decisions, to which she coolly replied, “And you're in a condition to make them for me?” He had no answer. After a nurse eventually brought her belongings, Caleb tried several more times to stop her, but she refused. Before walking away, she gave him one final warning: “Do not follow me.” She left not because she was strong, nor because she wasn't heartbroken, but because she finally understood that staying would hurt far more.
