Jay didn't give up.
Even after seeing him with his wife and daughter, even after her body ached and her heart begged her to stop, she kept searching. Every street, every town, every hint of a home where he might be… she followed.
And then, finally, she found it.
A house tucked into a quiet lane, sun spilling across its walls. She peered through the window, heart pounding in her chest so violently it felt like it might burst.
Inside, a scene unfolded that tore through her soul.
Keifer was there — smiling. Laughing. Holding his daughter close. Laughing so loudly, a sound she had never heard when it had been just the two of them. His eyes sparkled with warmth and light, a light she realized he had never let her see.
Around him, the house was filled with noise: voices of family, laughter, the clatter of daily life. The chaos of a joint family, a warmth and love that surrounded him, engulfing him.
Jay's hands trembled. Her lips parted as if to call out to him, but no sound came.
He didn't even notice her.
She saw him tickle his daughter, making her giggle uncontrollably. She saw his wife lean into him, resting her head on his shoulder as they laughed together. And that laugh… that deep, booming laugh that had never been for her, filled the room completely.
Jay felt her chest tighten, a piercing ache spreading through her entire body.
This… this is the man I loved.
This… is the life I lost.
Her knees gave way, and she sank to the ground outside the window, pressed against the cool wall. Her fingers dug into the concrete as tears blurred her vision.
She had spent months, years in her heart, believing that Keifer was hers. Believing that every fight, every moment of stubbornness, could be undone.
But watching him now, laughing louder than he ever had with her, holding someone else's hand, sharing joy she had never been able to draw from him…
Jay realized the unbearable truth:
He was happy. Without her.
And she was not part of that happiness.
She had chased him, screamed for him, begged silently… and still, she had arrived too late.
Alone. Empty.