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His Wife, His Mistake
Chapter Four: The Love That Faded
POV: Damon
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The first week after Arya left, I didn't notice she was gone.
I came home late like usual. Set my keys on the table. Walked past the dining room. Ate takeout in silence.
It wasn't until I opened the bedroom closet and saw half of it empty — her side, her shoes, her scarves — that something tugged in my chest.
Still, I didn't panic.
I assumed she was at a hotel, maybe taking a break. Maybe tired of me, tired of the silence. I didn't blame her.
I told myself she'd come back.
She always did.
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The second week, I went to her favorite café.
They said she hadn't been by.
I called her phone. Straight to voicemail.
I checked her socials. Nothing new.
I told myself she was angry. That I deserved it.
But something cold and heavy started to settle in my chest — a strange weight that didn't have a name.
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The third week, my lover moved in.
Sophia.
The woman who had always been there on the side. Beautiful. Polished. Passionate. A sharp contrast to Arya's quiet grace.
At first, Sophia filled the silence Arya left behind.
She laughed too loudly. Drank too much wine. Tossed her heels across my floor like she belonged there.
For a while, I let her.
For a while, I pretended she could replace what I lost.
But pretending doesn't last forever.
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The fourth week, I woke up to find Sophia trying on one of Arya's robes.
It didn't fit her. Not just in size — but in presence.
She wore it like a stranger breaking into a memory.
I didn't say anything. But I couldn't look at her the same way after that.
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Months passed.
Sophia began complaining more. That I was distracted. Cold. That I didn't touch her the way I used to.
She wasn't wrong.
I couldn't tell her that I kept seeing Arya everywhere — in the kitchen at night, curled up on the couch with a book, standing by the window with that faraway look in her eyes.
The absence grew louder than her presence.
Even in a room filled with luxury, I felt the void Arya left behind.
The way she folded my shirts. The way she whispered goodnight. The way she looked at me like I was still a man worth something.
Sophia looked at me like I was an achievement.
Arya looked at me like I was home.
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One night, Sophia asked me, "Do you love me?"
I didn't answer.
She packed her bags the next morning.
I didn't ask her to stay.
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The truth?
I didn't stop loving Arya.
I just stopped showing it.
And when she left, I didn't chase her — because I thought I had time.
Because I thought love meant she'd stay even when I was cold, distant, and undeserving.
But love doesn't wait forever.
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For four years, I built empires.
Closed deals.
Dated women who never stayed.
And every year, every month, every sleepless night — I thought about her.
About the moment she finally gave up on me.
About what she saw in me that made her walk away without a word.
About the child we never had… or so I thought.
I never imagined she'd leave me with more than a memory.
I never imagined she'd carry my child.
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Seeing her at the art fair broke something inside me.
It wasn't just the shock of seeing her after all these years.
It was the little boy holding her hand.
With my eyes. My jaw. My hair.
My son.
I had a son.
And she had walked away from me, carrying that truth — because I gave her no reason to stay.
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Now, I sit in my penthouse — a glass palace filled with everything money can buy — and I stare at a photo I took of her years ago.
She's smiling. A real smile. One of those rare, soft ones that made time stop.
That smile hasn't touched her face in a long time.
And it's my fault.
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I tried to move on. I tried to love someone else.
But love doesn't work that way.
Not when your soul is tied to someone who no longer looks back.
I lost her the moment I stopped listening.
The moment I let someone else take my place while I pretended I had more important things to do.
And now, I have a son who doesn't know me.
A woman who no longer trusts me.
And a heart full of regrets I can't undo.
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But I won't lose them again.
Not this time.
I don't care what it takes.
She can hate me.
She can push me away.
But I will not let another man raise my son.
And I will not let the woman I love walk away again — not without a fight.
Because if there's anything these four years have taught me…
It's that losing Arya was the worst mistake of my life.