Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rowan Vale 37

Chapter 37 

Shepard stood with one hand in his trouser pocket, his expression cool and his eyes narrowed. He watched in silence, his lips a tight line. 

Briana helped Leonard into the car, shut the door, and waved. “Goodbye, Mr. Dean. Henry, please make sure he gets back to the hotel safely?” 

“Of course,” Henry replied. “You should head home and get some rest, too.” 

As the car pulled away, Briana felt a sudden lightness, as if a weight had been lifted. “Olivia, thank you,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Really, if it weren’t for you—” 

“Come on, we’re best friends. Cut the formal stuff,” Olivia interrupted, her voice cheerful and teasing. “I’ve been bursting to tell you, but I wanted it to be a proper surprise. Pretty great, huh? Bet you never saw that coming.” 

Briana nodded. 

“So, tell me everything,” Olivia pressed, her curiosity getting the better of her. “What’s going on Shepard? Did you two have a fight?” 

“We’re divorced,” Briana stated plainly. 

Olivia’s eyes went wide. “What? Who ended it? You or him?” 

“I did,” Briana said. 

with you 

and 

“You?” Olivia grabbed Briana’s shoulders, looking her over in disbelief. “What happened? You were head over heels for him, would have done anything for him. You always said he was the only man you’d ever marry. And you were the one who filed?” 

“He doesn’t love me,” Briana said with a quiet smile. “And he never will. I see no point in wasting my life on a husband whose heart belongs to someone else.” 

Finally, she could admit it. It took real courage to accept she hadn’t been loved. For so long, she’d refused to see it. She kept telling herself that if she just tried harder, if she stayed a little longer, he’d finally notice her and feel differently. 

But she was wrong. She finally understood Shepard could be cruel, but he saved it all for her. 

Olivia let out a long sigh. “I tried to warn you back then, but you wouldn’t hear it. What else could I do? I still stood by you as your bridesmaid. 

“Honestly, at the wedding, seeing Shepard’s stone–cold expression, I was this close to throwing the ring at him for you. But you were so head–over–heels and so completely sure. 

“I kept quiet. I thought, you two had grown up together. Over ten years of history. Maybe he’d come around after you were married.” 

“That’s all in the past now” Briana renlied “The 

use revisit it Olivia I’m only twenty–seven. It’s not 

Chapter 37 

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too late to start over, is it?” 

“Of course it’s not too late,” Olivia exclaimed. “Who needs to be ‘Mrs. Carter‘ when you can be the boss?” 

Briana was about to reply when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shepard walking directly toward her. Just my luck. Why does he have to show up here?‘ 

Just then, Olivia’s phone rang. She quickly stepped away to answer it. 

Shepard stood in front of Briana, dressed in a gray suit, a careless smirk on his lips. “So your big career move just means cozying up to some sugar daddy for resources, is that it?” 

Typical Shepard. He always knew how to get under her skin. He must have seen her helping Leonard into the 

car. 

Briana simply smiled, not bothering to explain. Instead, she shot back, “Yeah, well, I’d rather have a sixty- year–old sugar daddy than crawl back to you, my ex–husband.” 

Shepard’s face iced over instantly. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp and threatening as he stepped closer. “Playing the same old games? Can’t go a day without stirring up trouble, can you?” 

Briana was forced to retreat a step, but she held her ground. “That’s my business. It has nothing to do with you,” she fired back. “Who do you think you are, acting like you have any say over me?” 

“Just watch me,” Shepard said, his voice low and dangerous. 

‘He could be her grandfather,‘ Shepard thought, taking in Leonard’s gray hair and wrinkled hands. ‘Yet there she was, letting him hold her hand without pulling away. Smiling up at him like he’d made her whole day. 

‘This is too much. Hell, she hasn’t looked at me that way in years. But for some guy in his sixties? She’s practically glowing!‘ 

Briana frowned, convinced he was completely out of line. 

Shepard closed the distance, his voice icy. “Just how low are you willing to go for my 

attention?” 

“Shepard,” Briana shot back, her voice sharp, “the lowest point of my life was marrying you.” 

She’d gambled everything back then, hoping he’d finally see her love and all she’d sacrificed. In the end, she lost utterly. 

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Briana said, her back now against the wall. “Everything I do now is for me, not you.” 

It was almost laughable, really. When she gave him everything, he couldn’t have cared less. Now that she was finally living for herself, he was suddenly chasing her. How ridiculous. 

“Seriously, back off,” Briana said, her tone firm as he continued to loom over her. “This is a public place. Give me some space.” She pressed a hand firmly against his chest, trying to push him away. 

Shepard didn’t budge. Instead, he leaned in even closer, his body warm and solid against her, and the edge of his suit jacket brushing her wrist. “Just how many guys are you stringing along?” 

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Henry alone had been enough to drive him crazy. Then Eric started acting all possessive. And now, out of nowhere, some old man shows up. ‘What is her game? Is she really that much of a player?‘ he wondered. 

Briana lifted her chin, her words crisp and clear. “None. Of. Your. Business.” 

She planted both hands on his chest and shoved, twisting to leave. But Shepard’s hand shot out, clamping 

around her wrist. 

At that moment, a car pulled up right beside them. Shepard yanked her by the arm, swung the car door open, and practically threw her inside. 

Briana fell awkwardly into the back seat. Before she could even sit up straight, the car started moving. 

Shepard settled in next to her, legs crossed with that usual air of command. “Take us back to Carter Estate,” he ordered. 

“Yes, Mr. Carter,” the driver replied. 

Olivia came back from her call, turned around, and blinked in confusion. “Wait, where’d Briana go? Did she just leave?” She was left standing in the wind, bewildered, muttering, “Seriously, not even a goodbye?” 

Briana scrambled up, jaw clenched. “What the hell are you doing, Shepard? I’m not going back with you.” 

“You really think I want to take you home?” Shepard shot back, his voice icy. 

“Then let me out of the car,” Briana snapped. 

Shepard’s face was unreadable. “Grandma Evelyn wants to see you.” 

Briana froze, her hand hovering over the car door. 

“You know what to do. I don’t need to teach you,” Shepard said, leaning back and closing his eyes. “Be smart.” 

He rested there, eyes shut, as the passing streetlights washed over his sharp, angular features–the strong line of his nose, the thin, well–defined curve of his lips. 

She had looked at that face for seventeen years and never grown tired of it. She had watched him grow from a boy into this man, relentlessly ambitious, always clawing his way to the top. 

All those years, she had been in the background, quietly supporting him, handling a million little things for him, day after day. But in his eyes, none of it had ever mattered. 

***** 

The Carter Estate’s living room was brightly lit. 

Briana walked in and realized it wasn’t just Evelyn waiting for her. Her own grandma, Wrenley, was there too.