I turned, startled, as he stormed into the room, his eyes darting between the torn fragments in my hands and those already thrown into the waste bin. He lunged forward, grabbing the letter I held and digging through the trash for the others, his face twisted in both disbelief and frustration.
“Why did you destroy them?” he demanded, his voice cracking with emotion as he stared at the shredded papers like they were sacred relics. “Is this because of Carla? Don’t they mean anything to you anymore? I wrote those for us—for our love, our memories, Debbie!”
His fingers trembled as he tried to piece the torn papers together, desperation in every movement. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
“Say something, Debbie!” he yelled, seizing my arms and forcing me to meet his gaze. “Why can’t you just understand? You and your jealousy are ruining everything!”
I stared into his striking blue eyes, my expression calm, my voice composed. “You’ve got it all wrong, Alpha. I’m not jealous,” I said steadily. “The letters were damaged—bookworms had gotten to them. They were full of holes, falling apart. There was nothing left worth saving.”
That was partly true. Some letters were indeed ruined, but the real reason I didn’t preserve them was that I no longer cared to.
He looked again at the torn pieces in his hands, the fury in his expression softening into reluctant acceptance. “You could’ve let me deal with it,” he muttered, dragging a hand through his already messy hair. “I could’ve saved them. Tearing them up... it’s like you’re ripping apart everything we’ve built.”
“Some things can’t be fixed, Darrell,” I responded softly, forcing a faint smile. “Sometimes, you have to release the past to find peace.”
He let out a breath, eyes still lingering on the destroyed letters with lingering regret. “I can write new ones,” he whispered, almost to himself. “I’m sorry if I overreacted. I just thought we’d read them again at our wedding.”
Wedding. The word struck me like a slap. It tasted bitter, like a lie I had once convinced myself was sweet.