I Broke His Heart. He Came Back to Break Mine.

Since I was sixteen, I had one wild, consuming dream. I wanted to own Declan.

He was the poor, aloof scholarship student, a boy made of ice and untouchable pride. I chased him relentlessly for four years, turning the campus upside down, until I finally used a dirty trick to keep him by my side.

But eventually, I was the one who got bored.

I walked away without a second glance, throwing him away along with our shared past.

Five years later, we crossed paths in the corporate world. He was the citys newest billionaire, a ruthless titan of industry. I was a single mother barely scraping by, struggling to put food on the table.

We brushed past each other like strangers.

But that night, his custom luxury car blocked the entrance of my office building.

The window rolled down. His features were sharper now, carved from marble, and his voice was colder than I remembered.

"I need a woman to take care of my needs. Im a busy man. I don't have time for a relationship."

"Ten million. You're mine until I get bored."

The boy who once let me do whatever I wanted was now opening his mouth only to humiliate me.

I should have said no. I should have slapped him across his arrogant face.

Instead, I bit the inside of my cheek, tasting copper, and looked him in the eye.

"Where is the contract?"

He froze. Just for a fraction of a second. Then, a dark, mocking laugh slipped from his lips.

"So the rumors are true. After your family went bankrupt, you really did hit rock bottom."

He reached into the breast pocket of his tailored suit, pulled out a sleek black card, and held it out.

"The deposit. I have a flight tonight for a week-long business trip. My lawyers will contact you."

He turned to roll up the window.

"Wait."

My voice cut through the chilly air. He paused, turning his face slightly. The amber glow of the streetlights flickered in his unfathomable eyes.

I met his gaze head-on. "What's the PIN?"

The storm brewing in his eyes instantly died down, replaced by a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Take a wild guess."

The engine gave a low, predatory growl. The tires hissed against the asphalt, and he was gone, swallowed by the night.

I turned and walked to the glowing ATM on the corner.

I tried a few random combinations. Incorrect PIN.

I only had one attempt left. My freezing fingers hovered over the keypad. Slowly, I typed in a string of numbers.

The date we started our messy, twisted arrangement, exactly eight years ago.

PIN accepted.

The balance flashed on the screen. I stared at the impossibly long string of zeros. It wasn't until the machine beeped and spat the card back out that I realized I had stopped breathing.

My encounter with Declan had cost me too much time. I practically sprinted to Mrs. Higgins' apartment building.

The door cracked open, and a little head poked out. Her big eyes immediately crinkled into sweet half-moons.

"Mommy!"

"I'm so sorry, baby. Mommy is late."

I dropped to my knees and scooped her up, burying my face in her neck, breathing in that warm, powdery scent that only little kids have.

"Mrs. Higgins read me the story about the little pigs! The big bad wolf burned his tail at the end!" She babbled, her tiny hands flying around to animate her story.

The walk home was short. I held her hand, watching the streetlights stretch our shadows, one tall, one impossibly small, across the pavement.

Halfway down the block, she tugged at my fingers. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Mommy, my kindergarten sports day is the day after tomorrow. All the other kids' daddies are coming..."

She looked up at me, the streetlamp catching the absolute innocence in her eyes. "Is my daddy going to come?"

My heart contracted like it had been pierced by a frozen needle. I crouched down and smoothed her soft hair, my throat painfully tight.

"Daddy... he's working overseas, sweetie. He might not make it back in time this year."

"Can you ask him next time? Please?"

A flash of undeniable disappointment crossed her face. But a second later, she nodded vigorously, putting on a brave front like she always did.

I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat and forced a bright, cheerful tone.

"But Mommy has amazing news. Mommy finally has enough money for your surgery. Once it's done, you'll be healthy and can run around just like the other kids. How does that sound?"

Lily's eyes lit up, the sadness instantly washed away.

"Mommy, I want a cupcake." She seized the opportunity, pointing a chubby finger at the glowing window of the corner bakery.

"Alright. Just for today."

I pushed the glass door open. The rich smell of roasted coffee and vanilla butter washed over us. I was leading Lily toward the pastry case when a voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Serena?"

The voice was tentative, probing, but sickeningly familiar.

"It really is you."

My blood ran cold. I turned around in slow motion. When I saw her face, the air left my lungs.

Why did it have to be her?

Audrey.

Her name slammed into my brain. She looked different, yet exactly the same. The awkward, anxious girl from college was gone, replaced by a polished woman in designer clothes and flawless makeup. But the hostility lurking at the bottom of her eyes hadn't changed a bit.

Memories rushed back, dark and overwhelming.

Back then, Declan was a god on campus. Distant, brilliant, and completely broke. His poverty couldn't hide his blinding potential. I chased him for four years. Everyone knew I was crazy about him. But he never gave me the time of day.

Until Audrey, his sweet childhood best friend, reported me for cheating on our final exams just to secure her own academic scholarship. She lied through her teeth.

But she didn't know I had the security footage to prove she framed me.

That was the first time Declan ever came to me willingly.

His usually expressionless face carried a bitter, almost pleading look.

"Serena, drop the charges... I'm begging you. Her mother has a severe heart condition. She won't survive the shock of seeing her daughter expelled."

He paused, lifting his dark, freezing eyes to meet mine. The words were forced out from between his clenched teeth.

"If you let her off the hook this once... name your price. Whatever you want."

And so, I got exactly what I wanted. I got Declan.

But he was always cold to me. He refused the expensive gifts I bought him. He wouldn't let me into his private life. Except for when we were tangled in the sheets, he never truly looked at me.

It wasn't until we broke up, until the ugly truth was dragged into the light, that my stupid, naive brain finally understood.

The only girl he ever loved was Audrey.

For three years, I was the villain. I was the one who took advantage of his desperation. I used the dirtiest trick in the book to steal time that never belonged to me.

"Long time no see."

Audrey's voice yanked me back to the present. Her eyes swept over my cheap, faded coat, then landed on Lily, who was hiding behind my legs.

A flash of shock crossed her face. "Is this..."

Her gaze locked onto Lily's face. My heart plummeted. Acting on pure instinct, I shoved my daughter firmly behind me, shielding her from view.

"My daughter. I'm married." The lie slipped out effortlessly.

Audrey blinked, momentarily stunned. Then, a slow, triumphant smirk spread across her lips.

"No wonder no one could find you for the college reunions. Everyone misses our campus princess, you know."

I offered a stiff, meaningless smile and pulled Lily away, trying to walk around her. "I have to go. See you around."

She stepped sideways, blocking my path again. She pulled out her phone, tapping the screen to bring up a contact code.

"By the way, Declan and I are getting married soon. Let's exchange numbers. I'll make sure to send you an invitation. You absolutely have to come."

A sudden, sharp sting hit the back of my nose. I fought down the suffocating tightness in my chest. The smile I plastered on my face must have looked horrific.

"No need. I... I'll be too busy. Congratulations. Goodbye."

This time, I didn't wait for her to react. I practically carried Lily out the door, throwing myself into the biting night air.

Only then did I realize my palms were coated in ice-cold sweat, and my entire body was shaking.

"Mommy." Lily squeezed my fingers. She looked up, her massive eyes filled with confusion. "Who was that lady? Why did she say she was marrying Daddy?"

I dropped to my knees and crushed her to my chest. I buried my face in her soft shoulder, taking a ragged breath.

"She's not. They just have the same name, baby. Lily, promise Mommy something. You can never, ever tell anyone Daddy's name. Understand?"

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

As desperately as I needed the money, I refused to be the other woman. And worse, if I stayed tangled up with him, he would inevitably find out about Lily.

The very next morning, I walked into Declan's corporate headquarters. I slid the black card into a plain envelope and handed it to the front desk.

"Please give this to Declan."

That evening, the moment I walked out of my office building, a sleek black sedan slid to a stop inches from my legs.

The back window rolled down, revealing Declan's razor-sharp profile.

"Get in."

I planted my feet. Wasn't he supposed to be out of town for a week?

He turned his head. His gaze swept over me, freezing me in place. "Don't make me say it twice."

Defeated, I opened the door and slid into the back seat. Before I even buckled up, the car lurched forward, merging aggressively into the traffic.

"What is the meaning of this?" He flicked the black card between his long fingers, cutting straight to the chase.

I kept my eyes fixed on the blurring city lights outside the window.

"Yesterday... I didn't think things through. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were getting married."

I took a deep breath, fighting to keep my voice steady. "Under the circumstances, our arrangement is inappropriate. We need to call it off."

Silence stretched inside the car. Then, he let out a dark, mocking chuckle.

"So what?"

He leaned in, his eyes sharp as scalpels, carving right through my fake composure. "Whether I marry or not is none of your damn business."

"You want money. I want a warm body and zero emotional baggage. We both get what we want. Isn't this exactly the kind of transactional relationship you excel at, Serena?"

His fingers wrapped around the back of my neck. He didn't squeeze hard, but the sheer dominance of his touch made my breath hitch.

"I think we're a perfect match."

His breath ghosted over my lips. He smelled of crisp winter air and expensive cologne, a scent that haunted my dreams, but right now, it made my blood run cold.

"Physically, at least. And that's all I need."

"I refuse." I jerked my head away, avoiding his piercing stare.

"You don't get to choose..."

Before he could finish, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. His brow furrowed, but his hand remained firmly on my neck.

He answered it. At first, it was just clipped, monosyllabic responses. But within seconds, the temperature in the car plummeted.

He stared at me, a violent storm ripping through his dark eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure?" His voice was terrifyingly hoarse.

Dead silence. Then, a low, hollow laugh scraped its way out of his throat. His fingers, still wrapped around my neck, slowly loosened, slipping away until his hand dropped to his side.

He threw the phone onto the opposite seat.

He turned back to look at me. The last remaining spark of life in his eyes was completely gone.

"You're married?" Every word was dipped in ice. "And you have a kid?"

I didn't say a word.

His lips twitched, and he started to laugh. It started as a silent shake of his shoulders, building into a harsh, broken sound that echoed off the leather interior. A single gleam of moisture caught in the corner of his eye.

"Serena," he said, shaking his head, his voice dripping with exhaustion and self-loathing. "I must be out of my mind... letting you humiliate me a second time."

"Pull over!" he barked at the driver.

The car slammed on the brakes, violently jerking to a stop by the curb.

"Get out."

He stared straight ahead, his jaw locked like granite. "And never let me see your face again."

I pushed the door open into the freezing wind. I slammed it shut behind me. The engine roared, and the car vanished into the dark street, as if it had never been there at all.

Since I had returned the money to Declan, I had to find another way to save up for Lily's surgery. A coworker got me a night shift gig as a bottle girl at a high-end private club.

Later that week, balancing a heavy tray of expensive liquors, I pushed open the heavy mahogany doors of a VIP suite.

The smell of cigar smoke and expensive perfume hit me instantly. I kept my head down, trying to be invisible as I walked toward the glass table.

"Hold on..." a familiar, obnoxious male voice rang out. "Am I hallucinating?"

My steps faltered. I instinctively looked up.

Sprawled on the center leather sofa was Declan. He was swirling amber liquid in a crystal glass, his eyes dark and unfocused in the dim, neon lighting. Sitting right beside him, smiling perfectly, was Audrey.

And the man who had spoken was Blake, Declan's old college roommate.

Blake was already on his feet, circling me like a shark, looking me up and down. The shock on his face quickly warped into cruel excitement.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't Princess Serena!"

"What's the matter? Playing dress-up for the working class?"

I gripped the edges of my serving tray until my knuckles turned white. I kept my mouth shut.

That only made Blake bolder. He turned back to Declan, grinning like a hyena.

"Dec, look at this! It's Serena! The girl who chased you till the whole campus knew about it, and then dumped you like trash! What a small, pathetic world!"

Another guy I vaguely recognized chimed in from the corner. "No kidding! Man, Dec was wrecked for months after that. Princess Serena really has no heart."

Declan said absolutely nothing. He just stared at me, his eyes pitch black.

Audrey leaned forward, playing the peacemaker.

"Come on, guys, let it go. That was ancient history. She's married now. I heard her kid is already walking. Life... clearly hasn't been easy for her."

Her eyes flicked over my cheap velvet uniform, the condescension dripping from every syllable.

Blake jumped right back in, playing the generous patron.

"Hey, Serena... working here means you get a commission for every bottle we pop, right?"

He grabbed a half-empty bottle of premium whiskey from the table, snatched an oversized glass, and poured it to the brim. He shoved it across the table toward me.

"Tell you what. For old times' sake. You down this entire glass, right now, and I'll put this entire table's tab under your name. That's a massive tip. Fair enough?"

The sheer humiliation felt like hands wrapping around my throat. I opened my mouth to tell him I was just a server, not a drinking companion.

"Get out."

Declan's voice cut through the room. It wasn't loud, but it instantly slaughtered the laughter and chatter.

He leaned back into the leather cushions, not even bothering to look at me.

"Send someone else."

One of the guys, clearly a few drinks deep, chuckled nervously. "Dec, why so tense? Afraid her little bastard kid is yours?"

Declan's eyes snapped up, lethal and terrifying.

My heart leaped into my throat.

But a second later, Declan let out a low, dismissive scoff.

"Impossible." His gaze drifted over me like I was garbage on the sidewalk. "I just don't want to look at her."

I practically fled the room. Once I reached the hallway, I collapsed against the cold wall, my knees shaking so violently I could barely stand.

Thank God. He didn't suspect a thing.

But why?

Blake said I broke his heart. He said Declan was a wreck after I left. Declan didn't deny it.

But that made no sense. He hated me. He only tolerated me because of our twisted deal. Right?

My mind violently rewound to five years ago. His birthday.

I had found out his roommates were taking him to a cheap diner near campus. I bought an expensive, custom-made gift and planned to sneak in to surprise him.

I was standing right outside the private room, hand on the doorknob, when I heard Blake's voice through the thin wood.

"Dec, seriously, what's your game plan? We're graduating soon. You're not actually going to string this rich girl along forever, are you?"

Then Audrey spoke up, her voice dripping with fake concern.

"Declan, Serena... she's not like us. The way she treats you, it's like you're just a toy she has to own. She doesn't respect you. You can't actually be thinking about marrying her."

My breath caught. I waited, desperate for him to defend me. To tell them they were wrong.

Instead, I heard his voice. Cold, bored, and irritated.

"You're overthinking it. It's just a transaction. Marriage was never on the table."

Someone else laughed. "Exactly! Everyone knows Dec only agreed to her demands to protect Audrey. When has Dec ever even smiled at her? He probably feels sick every time he looks at her!"

A chorus of knowing chuckles echoed through the room.

My fingers clamped onto the doorknob. I bit my lower lip so hard it bled, fighting back the hot tears stinging my eyes.

It wasn't true! They didn't know anything!

He was the one who took his jacket off in the library and draped it over me when I fell asleep. He was the one who shoved my freezing hands into his coat pockets while walking me back to my dorm in the snow. He was the one who whispered sweet things against my lips, coaxing me when I was too shy in bed.

Was all of that just in my head? Was I totally delusional?

I took a deep breath, trying to glue my shattered pride back together. I was just about to push the door open.

Then Audrey laughed. A sweet, clear sound that pierced straight through the door.

"Alright, enough of this depressing talk. Declan, remember our promise? We're going abroad together for grad school. The university just confirmed our fully-funded spots. Our real future starts now."

I froze.

In his grand master plan for the future, there was no room for Serena. There never was.

I looked down at the perfectly wrapped box in my hands. I didn't kick the door in. I didn't scream or cry. I just turned around, walked to the trash can at the end of the alley, and dropped it in.

On my walk home, my phone rang. It was my uncle.

In the span of five minutes, my entire universe collapsed.

My father's company had gone under. Massive, insurmountable debt. Unable to face the shame, my parents had chosen the most permanent way out.

They left me a mountain of debt, a shattered life, and... a tiny, quiet heartbeat inside me that I hadn't even discovered yet.

It was only after the funerals that I found out I was pregnant.

Desperate, terrified, and totally alone, I gambled everything and went to find Declan.

"Declan, will you marry me?"

He stared at me, completely blindsided. It took him several seconds to recover. When he did, his brow furrowed, and his eyes filled with absolute disgust.

"What kind of sick game are you playing now, Serena?"

One sentence. One effortless, devastating sentence. It extinguished the very last pathetic ember of hope in my chest.

To him, the very idea of marrying me was an insult. A joke.

There was never any hope for us to be anything more than a dirty secret. Not in the past. Not then. And certainly not in the future.

Dead inside, I nodded. I didn't say another word. I just turned around and walked away.

I stayed away for five years. I only came back to this city because it had the best pediatric surgical ward for Lily. I never expected to run into him on day one.

Later that same night, the doorbell buzzed relentlessly.

I knew exactly who it was, but I had to open it before he woke the neighborsor worse, woke Lily.

The second the lock clicked, the door flew open. Declan shoved his way inside, reeking of expensive bourbon. He slammed me backward against the entryway cabinet.

Before I could even gasp, his arms wrapped around me. The smell of alcohol, the cold night air, and his agonizingly familiar scent swallowed me whole.

"Declan, what the hell are you doing?!" I shoved my hands against his chest. Through his crisp dress shirt, his heartbeat was racing, burning against my palms. "I am a married woman!"

He snapped his head up. His eyes were totally bloodshot, but there was a terrifying clarity in them.

"You married a man who lets you live in this dump?" His gaze practically scorched my skin. "A man who lets you work in a sleazy club just to be humiliated by trash?"

I turned my face away, pushing against him with everything I had. "That is none of your business."

He didn't move an inch.

"How the hell is it not my business?" He pinned my wrists to the wall. His eyes were rimmed with angry red. "Did you forget we never actually broke up, Serena? You still belong to me!"

I froze.

Using my moment of shock, he framed my face with his large hands and crashed his lips onto mine. He kissed me with savage, desperate hunger, murmuring against my lips.

"Divorce him."

"I know your kid is sick. I know you need cash." He rested his forehead against mine, his breath ragged and hot. "Come back to me. I'll give you a blank check. Whatever you want."

The kid.

It was like a bucket of ice water to the face. My heart stuttered.

He ran a background check on Lily! What else did he find? Did he see

Raw panic eclipsed my anger. I violently shoved him back.

My hand cracked across his face. The sound echoed like a gunshot in the tiny hallway.

"Declan," I gasped, my whole body trembling. "You are out of your mind."

His head was turned to the side from the force of the slap. Slowly, he let out a dark, hollow laugh.

"Yeah." He looked back at me, his eyes dead. "I'm out of my mind. I've been out of my mind for eight years."

"That's why I kept breaking every rule I had for you. That's why I tore the world apart looking for you when you vanished. That's why" He choked on the words, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"I was finally ready to let you go, Serena. Why did you have to come back? Why are you destroying me all over again?"

He looked at me with a pain so deep it made my stomach twist. "You ran away with him. Why would he let you live like this?"

I stared at him, completely lost. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He didn't answer. He just pushed past me, stumbling slightly as he walked deeper into the apartment.

He was walking straight toward the half-open door at the end of the hall.

Lily's room.

If he opened that door... If he saw her little face. Her eyes, her jawline, the tiny crease between her brows when she slepta perfect carbon copy of his own...

He would figure it all out.

My heart completely stopped beating.