Derek's POV
The silence that followed my outburst felt suffocating, but the damage was already carved into the air between us.
I had been driven past my breaking point, forced to speak truths that should have remained buried in the darker corners of my mind. Words that no rational man would ever allow to escape his lips.
None of this chaos would have erupted if Bella had simply accepted my proposal, if she had agreed to let me be part of my child's life. The blame would inevitably land squarely on my shoulders because I was the fool who had spoken those poisonous words aloud. Yet even now, with everything crumbling around us, the desperate need to be with her still clawed at my chest.
My father's breathing grew labored as he processed what he had heard. "What did you just say?" His voice cracked with the weight of disbelief.
