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I want to scream. I want to laugh in disbelief. I want to ask her when exactly she decided we should talk—before or after she spent the night at another man’s place?

But I do none of it. I stay still. Calm. Cold.

“Please,” she whispers, barely audible again.

One by one, the guys stand. None of them say a word as they file out. Thalia gives Sierra a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders, then steps back.

Even Thalia believed in me more than my own wife did. The woman who’s known me her whole life.

Liam and Zayn press kisses to Sierra’s forehead. My brothers pull her into their arms, whispering words I can’t hear. She doesn’t look at any of them. Her eyes never leave mine.

When the door closes behind Kai, Sierra steps forward slowly, then kneels in front of me. Her hands reach out but just short of touching me.

“Nick, I’m sorry.” Her voice trembles. “Nothing happened between me and Colt. He was just… there, when I hit rock bottom.”

She hesitates when she sees the look on my face, her gaze dropping to her hands folded in her lap.

„He told me he’d just found out what his father tried to do. Told me I shouldn’t handle things like that. That I should talk to you.” Her voice cracks. Her eyes stay cast down, soaked in guilt and regret.

And me?

I still haven’t moved. I don’t think I’ve even taken a breath.

“I’m sorry for doubting you, Nick,” her whisper is raw, fragile. Her eyes are wide, glassy like she hasn’t slept, like she hasn’t stopped crying. “Those were the worst hours of my life. I felt like I was losing my mind. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared that you…”

She stops mid-sentence, her voice breaking. Her gaze locked on mine.

I arch an eyebrow—my only reaction since she walked in. She flinches slightly at the movement, but doesn’t look away.

“When Liam told me none of it was true, that you were drugged…”

“Oh,” I cut in, a cold, bitter laugh escaping me as I push myself up from the couch. Every muscle aches with tension as I step back, away from her. “So that’s why you’re here.”

She blinks—startled—rising immediately from her knees.

“You’re here because there’s proof I didn’t fuck another woman? That’s what it took for you to believe me?”

The fury in me crashes forward, overwhelming.

“You didn’t come to me. You didn’t ask if it was true. You didn’t give me a chance to defend myself. You didn’t stop for even a second to think I had a game—that I’d finish it, then come looking for you in a panic because my fucking wife had disappeared.”

I stare down at her. My chest heaves with ragged breaths. She stands frozen, her arms hanging helplessly at her sides.

“You chose to believe a puck-bunny over me. Even after I told you—over and over again—I remember nothing about that fucking night. I swore it to you—while holding you, while making love to you, while fucking you, in texts, on the phone—I’ve told you a thousand times, you’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

I break off, shouting for the first time ever at anyone. The sound of it shatters something deep inside me. Her eyes widen, brimming with tears again. But she says nothing. She takes a hesitant step toward me.

I raise my hand. “Don’t.”

Turning my back on her, I walk over to the low glass coffee table. My hands shake slightly as I pick up the folder Ethan slammed down earlier. I can feel her watching me, unmoving, silent.

“Proof.” My voice is sharp, strained. “This is what you needed to believe I didn’t betray you.”

I take two slow, heavy steps toward her and push the folder gently into her arms. Her fingers close around it instinctively.

I don’t look at her face. I can’t. If I see her crying, I’ll crumble. Instead, I turn to the suitcase I packed earlier, sitting near the front door. The zipper’s slightly open. I close it with finality.

I don’t plan on coming back anytime soon.