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His Wife, His Mistake
Chapter Twenty: I Never Left You
Word Count: 1000
POV: Arya
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It was late.
The gallery had just closed. Liam was home with Miriam, and the last customer had walked out fifteen minutes ago.
I was tired.
Not from the day — from the weeks.
The pretending. The smiling. The trying.
Trying to forget Damon.
Trying to convince myself Ethan could maybe, someday, fill the space Damon left behind.
And just as I reached for the light switch, I felt it.
That familiar presence.
Like the air shifted.
Thickened.
Then… a voice.
Low. Steady. Breaking.
"You really think I left?"
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I turned sharply.
Damon stood in the doorway, one hand braced against the frame, his eyes locked on mine like he was drowning in the silence between us.
"I—what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice sharp, but my heart pounding.
"I had to," he said. "I couldn't… I can't do this anymore, Arya."
"Do what?"
"Watch you pretend you've moved on when I know you haven't. Watch him—Ethan—stand where I should've been. Watch him make you smile when I've spent years dying to see that smile again."
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My breath caught.
"I didn't ask you to come back."
"I know," he said. "But I never left."
He stepped closer, slow but certain.
"I was there, Arya. Every morning. Even when I stopped knocking, I was still there."
I looked away, my chest tight.
"I gave you space," he continued. "Like you asked. I thought it was what you needed. But watching him with you…"
His jaw clenched.
"That broke me."
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"Damon," I whispered, shaking my head. "You don't get to be angry. You gave up."
"No," he said firmly. "I stepped back. Because for once, I wanted to do it right. To let you choose me without pressure. But now I see it — that was a mistake."
"You don't get to be jealous."
"I'm not jealous," he snapped. "I'm desperate."
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That word stopped me cold.
Desperate.
Not prideful. Not angry.
Desperate.
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"I see you with him," Damon said, softer now. "You laugh. You're calm. You're... safe. And I hate that I couldn't give you that."
"You couldn't," I said, eyes stinging. "You made me cry more than I ever smiled. You made me doubt myself every second. You looked at her the way you used to look at me."
"I know," he said. "And it kills me every day."
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He stepped closer again, just a few feet away now.
"I know I don't deserve you. But I need you to know something before you replace me completely."
"Damon—"
"I never left," he said again, this time firmer. "Not in the way that counts."
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once.
"You think I just disappeared? I've been watching from a distance like a damn ghost, Arya. Watching you move on. Watching Liam grow. Watching another man walk into the life I should've fought harder for."
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He looked at me then, and for the first time in a long time, I saw all of it.
The pain.
The regret.
The love.
"I lost you once," he whispered. "Because I was too blind, too stupid, too selfish. I won't lose you again because I stayed quiet."
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My voice broke. "You did lose me."
"I know," he said. "But I'm still here."
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For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
The only sound was the distant hum of the fridge in the back and the soft tick of the clock on the gallery wall.
He stepped forward again, close now. Close enough to smell the familiar trace of cedar and something distinctly him.
"I saw the daffodils," he said bitterly. "And the tea. And the way he looks at you like he's already won."
I stiffened. "Ethan has been kind. Patient. He's—"
"He's not me," Damon said quietly.
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And I hated that a part of me wanted to agree.
Because Ethan had done nothing wrong. He was steady. Safe. Simple.
But Damon?
Damon was the fire I couldn't put out.
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He took a shaky breath. "Tell me right now that you don't love me anymore, and I'll leave."
My lips trembled.
"Tell me," he repeated. "Say it."
"I…" I swallowed hard. "I can't."
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Tears burned behind my eyes.
"Because I do love you," I said, barely above a whisper. "And I hate that I still do."
His eyes widened. His chest rose sharply.
"But that love doesn't erase what you did," I added quickly. "It doesn't undo the pain. The betrayal. The nights I cried holding our son alone."
"I know," he said. "And I'll never forgive myself for that. But I'll spend every day proving I've changed—if you let me."
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My hands clenched at my sides.
"I don't know if I can let you in again, Damon."
"I'm not asking for everything right now. Just a chance."
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His voice cracked, and he stepped back slightly.
"I don't want to be the man who watches you belong to someone else. Not when I still wake up dreaming of you. Not when Liam is mine, and I've missed years I can't get back."
I blinked at the mention of Liam.
"I want to be there," he said. "Not just as your mistake… but maybe, someday, as your choice."
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Silence.
Heavy.
Breathing.
Real.
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"I never left you," Damon said one last time.
And for the first time, I didn't tell him to go.
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