Chapter 41

Aiden

Valerie stared at me with her cold eyes.

"Explain yourself," Val's voice sliced through the heavy silence like a knife, her demand hanging in the air between us like an accusation. It was the moment I had been dreading, the moment where I would have to lay bare the darkest corners of my soul and face the consequences of my actions.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders, preparing myself for the inevitable fallout. This was the hardest part, the moment where I would tear away any remnants of affection she still held for me by revealing the truth.

"Laura chose Drew over me that day," I began, the words heavy with the weight of regret. "I knew that there wasn't any hope left for me and her. I wanted to drown in my pain and sorrow... that was when I saw you."

I paused, the memory of that fateful night crashing over me like a tidal wave. Val, so much like Laura yet undeniably herself, had been a beacon of light in the darkness of my despair. But in my twisted, alcohol-fuele