Caleb’s POV
I was running late.
My first actual class at Clae, and I was already rushing across campus like an idiot. I hadn’t meant to sleep in, but my body was still adjusting to normalcy—to a routine, to stability, to not waking up hungover in places I didn’t recognize.
I yanked open the heavy glass doors of the lecture hall, slipping inside as quietly as I could. The place was massive—rows of seats stacked up like an arena, students already flipping through their notebooks, laptops glowing in front of them.
No one paid me any attention as I moved up the steps, scanning for an empty seat.
Then, I saw her.
My whole body went still.
She was sitting near the middle, completely focused on whatever was on her screen. Her long brown hair was pulled over one shoulder, her lips slightly parted as she chewed on the end of her pen—the same damn habit she always had when she was concentrating.
Emma.
The air in my lungs felt too thick, too heavy.
She looked different—more serious, more put together. But still her.
And for a second, it hit me all at once. The months we hadn’t spoken. The nights I spent wishing I could tell her how sorry I was. How much I hated myself for what I’d put her through.
I should’ve turned around. Found another seat. Let her have this life without me barging back in.
But I didn’t.
Instead, my feet moved on their own, bringing me closer, closer—
Then she turned her head.
Our eyes locked.
And just like that, everything froze.
I saw the exact second she recognized me.
Her expression didn’t give much away—just a flicker of surprise, a brief widening of her eyes. Then, just as fast, she schooled her face into something unreadable.
My throat felt dry as hell.
Say something.
But before I could, the professor’s voice boomed from the front of the room.
“Take your seats, everyone. Let’s get started.”
Emma stared at me for another second—then, slowly, turned away.
Like I wasn’t even there.
Like I was just another stranger in the room.
I clenched my jaw, inhaling sharply before forcing myself into the nearest empty seat.
Maybe that’s exactly what I was now.
I tried to focus, I really did. But my eyes kept drifting back to her, as if drawn by some magnetic pull I couldn’t control.
And that’s when I saw it.
The ring.
A simple, silver band on her left hand.
My chest constricted.
No.
I blinked, as if I had seen it wrong. As if, maybe, I was imagining things. But when I looked again, it was still there—resting against her skin, a silent declaration of everything I had lost.
Emma was engaged.
To Logan.
A sharp, bitter taste filled my mouth, burning at the edges of my teeth.
What the hell did I expect? That she’d be waiting for me? That she wouldn’t move on?
She had every right to be happy. To have a future that didn’t involve me and my mistakes, my darkness, my failures.
And yet—
For one single, reckless second—
I wanted to ruin it.
Ruin her marriage.
I Wanna Ruin Our Marriage - next part coming soon