David's Pov

Three months.

I tilted my cognac to my lips and drank, enjoying the pacifying feeling of it burning through my blood and once again ridding me of my last shred of sanity.

The skies were black, soaked in dark ink, dotted with countless small stars twinkling and squinting. Underneath me was Manhattan's nightlife; the heavy traffic, cars honking, men swearing, lights twinkling, people moving, talking, laughing, hailing taxis—bright, happy, alive—the opposite of how I felt inside; Angry, bitter, hollow, weak, empty.

I lifted the glass to my lips and let the final drops slide into my mouth.

Today made it exactly three months since Dawn walked out of my life without looking back and If misfortune had a face, it would sure as hell be identical to mine.

I massaged my temple as I dragged my sorry self away from the window for a change of scenery and to refill my glass.

It was impossible not to miss her, and having to live without her turned me into this version of myself that I didn't understand. I never knew true infatuation until her. I never truly understood what it was to crave someone with your body and soul, so much that going without touching, kissing, or holding them completely ripped you apart.

I guess this was what love was. Even if you wanted to move on from the pain and hurt, you couldn't. It kept you stuck, it ate you up and let the pain sink deep into your bones with no way of getting it out.

I reached for my half-empty bottle. It was funny how I'd drank so much but remembered drinking nothing. I was just about to pour myself a tall glass when my phone beeped. I reached into my pocket, hope rising as I longed to see Dawn's name flash on the screen. But, of course, it wasn't; she was gone.

Tanner on the other hand became a thorn in my fucking flesh that just wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried.

"What?" I asked, not bothering to hide my irritation.

"Where are you?"

"Work."

"It's late, why the hell are you still at work?"

When I didn't answer his question, he groaned. "Know what, I'm coming up." A car door slammed. He was already here. God, why wouldn't he just understand that I was tired and wanted to be alone?

Everyone was disturbing—my mother, Tanner, Luke, Stella— they were all up in my business, suffocating me with the care I didn't ask for. My wife left me but they treated me like she'd passed away and I was broken.

I scowled at my phone when he hung up and poured myself a glass. I wasn't fortunate enough to drink it before he barged into my office like an over-entitled bulldog.

"Where's your secretary?"

He was dressed casually today in grey pants and a white shirt.

"Gave her the rest of the week off," I stated, walking back to the window with the bottle and glass in my hand. She'd asked for it and I understood why. I was difficult and snapped at everyone and they all wanted to keep their distance.

He walked up to me. "Well, why are you still in the office, it's late."

"My new business plan needs revision," I said, taking a swing of my glass.

"You can do it at home." Tanner, countered, snatching it from my hand and drinking everything.

I glowered at him and snatched my empty glass back. "I prefer to work here."

"You haven't been home in months."

I poured myself another glass and twirled it in my hand. "Do I have to?"

I didn't want to go back there. I couldn't stand the sight, I couldn't risk smelling her and feeling her presence. So for the past three months, I settled for an apartment room in Soho. I had only a bed and two chairs, just as pathetic as empty as me.

"Well remember your son, the one you've refused to visit? he's getting discharged tomorrow and he needs a stable home to return to so you need to clear out.

I released a weary groan and walked away from him. "Have Stella hold on to him for a while. They can stay in one of my houses downtown."

"Do you fucking hear yourself right now?"

I shook my head and expelled a breath. The last thing I wanted was for Alex to see me this way. I was a mess, angry most of the time. I couldn't concentrate. My whole world was falling about day by day because the key to my sanity was gone. I didn't want him to see this side of me, I didn't want him to see the dull emptiness inside me.

"Look Tanner, I've been really busy and I'm still busy."

He scoffed. "Busy locking yourself in your office like a psychopathic vampire."

"You don't know fucking shit about what I'm going through." I bit, turning around to look at him.

"Yeah maybe I don't but I know your kid is starting to ask questions no one has the answers to. You've consecutively canceled on seeing him and I think it's high time you stopped treating that boy like he's the reason why Dawn left because he's not. Dawn left because you made bad fucking decisions. You fucked shit up."

He gave me a look that was somehow furious and sympathetic all at the same time.

"At first, I thought you just needed space and time to process everything but now I don't think that's it. You better suck it up and man the fuck up because If Dawn does decide to come back, she sure as hell isn't gonna like the new drunkie."

My lips pinched. "Dawn's not coming back, she's moved on."

"Last I checked, she hasn't filed for divorce yet, she's legally still your wife. That means there's hope, it means she might actually forgive your sick ass but you have to clean up and focus on what's in front of you which is Alex."

I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face. This was all so fucking frustrating.

"Pack up." Tanner continued, tapping my back. "We're going to your place tonight. I'll call cleaning services to get it ready for Alex's arrival because there's no way in hell he's staying anywhere but with you."

I groaned. "Fine. Got it."

Dawn's POV

"What the hell is in this thing?" Becky grimaced, helping me place the boxes amid the others on the living room floor of the new apartment I secured in one of Manhattan's suburbs known for its white sand and beautiful oasis.

It was pretty isolated and away from everyone. I didn't mind. It was necessary if I wanted to lower my chances of running into David or any of his companions again.

The last time had been at an ice cream shop in Queens. I didn't know he visited there and I was thankful I had Paula with me. He didn't approach me but I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to. God, he looked so torn, utterly broken, his eyes really dark and gloomy, gazing at me with so much anguish.

Sudden icy chills slithered down my spine. I shook my head to rid the thought out of my mind. Albeit now that I was twenty-two weeks in with a visible bump, running into him was a high risk I wasn't willing to take.

"It's so freaking heavy," Becky grumbled, dropping another box and wiping a strand of blonde hair off her sweaty forehead.

I grinned at her. For these past months, she'd been my absolute rock and source of strength. Being pregnant with a broken heart was awful. The first week, I was completely consumed by grief. I couldn't eat, sleep, think or do anything but Becky was there by my side. She let me live rent-free in her apartment, consoled me, and even filled the fridge with all my weird food cravings.

The front door opened and we both spun around to see Paula walking in with a cardboard box in her hand. She placed it on my new brown couch and took her large dark sunglasses off. "Dawn are you sure you like it here? I just saw a man meowing at people from behind the fence."

I laughed softly. "That's probably my neighbor from upstairs, Pete."

She frowned. "I don't like him."

"I'll be fine," I assured with a smile.

Telling Paula some parts of what happened was the hardest and It took a lot of convincing for her not to storm into David's house and cause a scene. I didn't want any confrontation. As much as I loathed him, I didn't want to see him physically hurt. Knowing he suffered emotionally was enough reward for me. Thus, when I found out that the transplant for his son was a success, I was glad.

Attempting to change the conversion,  I opened the box and poked my head in. "What's in it?"

"Maternity clothes." She answered. "I brought as much as I could find so you don't have to spend much on getting them," She retrieved a white paper bag from inside the box and handed it to me. "Cantaloupes are from mum, she wants you to eat all of them and be as healthy as you can be. She says she'll visit soon."

I sighed. "She already calls almost every day. I think that's enough."

"She's not going to give it a rest until your baby is out and safe."

I narrowed my eyes. I just recently told my mum about my pregnancy and since then, she'd been sending me fruits and pastries every day and also checking up on me to make sure I ate, rested, and didn't think too much about my situation. Of course, persuading her to keep the news to herself was another hassle because she'd wanted to rat it out to Amanda but I wasn't ready to face David yet. I needed to get my life in order first. I knew I was no better than him for keeping his child away from him but it was something I had to do.

"Townley's wife came over to the hospital today, turns out she's pregnant too." Paula started, helping me unpack. "Have you heard anything from him about the divorce case?"

I shook my head. I always tried to brush the subject off and not bring it up because I wasn't financially and emotionally ready for a divorce and going to Townley that day had been a decision made out of anger and confusion and the need to hurt David back.

"He says since I'm pregnant, the court is not going to allow the divorce to go through until after my baby is born. So I have to wait."

"Well, it's not that bad. In fourteen  more weeks, your baby will be out and you can finally leave that lying scumbag." She snorted. "God, I would love to at least punch him in the face once."

"I think he's suffering enough tho." Becky chirped walking out of the kitchen. "The other day I saw him with his stepmom and he looked miserable. Amanda even reached out to me. She told me you've been ignoring her like a plague."

I exhaled heavily. It was true, Amanda had tried reaching out a couple of times but I didn't want to talk to her or anyone on David's side. She was his mother. I knew she would want to convince me to forgive his past, I knew she would tell me how this wasn't his fault. I knew she would tell me to try to work things out with him and I didn't want to hear it.

"If she thinks my sister is coming back to that family then she needs a wake-up call," Paula interjected. "They don't deserve her, they've never had."

"I know but it's still Dawn's choice. I mean I get it, David is a jackass and he's a liar but we can't deny the fact that he did love her."

Paula glowered at her. "Which side are you on?"

"Dawn's, of course." She sent me a lopsided smile. "I support any decision she takes. I'm just saying that second chances do exist and it's her choice if she's willing to give it or not. We've all lied and kept secrets at one point in our lives. I mean she's been lying about her pregnancy and keeping it a secret from him even before the separation." She shrugged. "Just saying."

A laming pain stung me at her words. I opened my mouth to argue but the words were stuck in my throat. It stung because it was true. She was right. I lied too and I was no worse than him but I still couldn't give him a second chance. I didn't have it in my heart the strength to be hurt by him again. I wasn't ready to digest how screwed his life had become. I didn't want to be entangled in it.

My hand crept around to my stomach like I needed to protect this baby from this situation.

He didn't care about us, he'd made his choice right from the beginning and when it was my turn to do the same, I'd made the decision to walk away from the person I love.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions banked and at bay because I could feel tears creeping up my lungs. God, I felt suffocated. I needed a distraction. I picked up one of the boxes that needed to go to my car. "You guys, I'll take this down."

"I'll help." Becky offered, standing up but I held up my right hand, stopping her. "I need the air. It's not heavy."

"Let her." Paula supported, giving Becky the see what you caused look.

"Alright fine." She pulled back in surrender.

"I'll be back shortly," I assured with unwelcome tears pricking my eyes as held the box close to my stomach.

Paula noticed. Her eyes softened. She was going to say something but I didn't wait for it. I turned around quickly and walked to the door, and as soon as I stepped out, I succumbed to grief, sobbing, my mind plagued by only one question.

Why?

The only man I'd ever loved. The only man I'd ever given my all to. The only man I'd ever given my body, heart, and soul to. Why did he hurt me?