Kenzie’s voice wavered. She tried to cover it, but Clarkson heard it anyway.
“Kenzie,” he said gently, “did someone hurt you?”
Aside from her foster mother, no one had ever asked her that before.
The moment he did, something in her chest finally loosened.
She wiped her eyes and forced a small smile. “I’m fine,” she said. “I just figured some things out. About people. About life.”
After a brief pause, she added quietly, “Clarkson… maybe I should’ve gone with you back then.”
Before the Lundbergs found her, she’d grown up in the countryside. Clarkson had been there through all of it.
Calling them childhood sweethearts wouldn’t be wrong.
He’d liked her for as long as he could remember.
Back then, Kenzie was still young. Her world was school and simple routines. Then, at fifteen, she was taken back to the Lundbergs, and just like that, they lost each other.
Later, Colton filled every corner of her heart.
On her wedding day, Clarkson had pushed his way backstage, his eyes red when he looked at her.
“Kenzie,” he asked softly, “are you sure you’ll be happy marrying him?”
She answered honestly.
“I don’t know if I’ll be happy forever. But right now, I love him.”
The word love made his eyes burn even redder.
He left without causing a scene. But before he did, he gave her a way out.
“Kenzie, I like you,” he said. “But liking someone doesn’t mean keeping them. So I’ll let you go.”
“If one day you realize you don’t love Colton anymore, or if he treats you badly, come find me. I’ll take you away.”
She never imagined those words would come back to her years later.
Clarkson was sharp. He could hear the unfairness in what she wasn’t saying.
“Kenzie,” he said firmly, “wait for me. I’ll come to New York. I’ll take you away.”
“The Kenzie who used to smile like so brightly shouldn’t be living this way.”
She smiled, and this time it didn’t hurt.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll wait.”
After the call ended, she stayed in the conference room for a long time before finally stepping out.
And just her luck, she ran straight into Colton and Kinsey.
When Colton saw her swollen, reddened eyes, concern never crossed his face. His first reaction was suspicion.
“You followed me here?” he said coldly. “Kenzie, this clingy act of yours is getting disgusting.”
The words landed hard.
When she was giving birth, he’d walked away from the operating room. And in the week after, he never showed up once.
If he had cared enough to actually look at her, he would’ve noticed there was no love left in her eyes.
But she didn’t love him anymore. And once that was gone, she stopped caring, too.
Including how much her words might hurt.
Kenzie straightened her back and pointed straight at Kinsey.
“What about her?” she asked flatly.
Even after being caught, there wasn’t a trace of guilt on his face. If anything, he looked self-righteous.
“Since you’ve already seen it, I won’t bother hiding it. Just like you see, we’re together now. Me and Kinsey.”
Kenzie let out a short, humorless laugh.
This was the first time she’d ever seen someone talk about cheating like it was something to be proud of.
“Colton,” she said calmly, “aren’t you afraid I’ll divorce you?”
He shot her a look full of disdain.
“Oh, Kenzie. Don’t threaten me with divorce.”
“We have a child,” he snapped back. “Do you really want the baby growing up in a broken family?”
“You had a miserable childhood yourself,” he added coldly. “You really want to make our kid live through that, too?”
He was certain she wouldn’t dare leave him. To him, this was just empty talk.
Kenzie stared at him. The light in her eyes dimmed, little by little.
That idiot had no idea. Their child was already gone.
The moment he chose to abandon her in the operating room, the baby died because no one was there to sign the damn consent form in time.
Across from them, Kobe cut in, his voice sharp and scolding.
“Kenzie, can you stop being so dramatic? In relationships, the one who isn’t loved is the third wheel. Colton already gave you the title of Mrs. Parkhouse, didn’t he? Do you really think you deserve his heart, too?”
Kendrick stood beside him and added calmly, “Kenzie, Colton doesn’t love you. You’ve known that for a long time. Since you knew, why are you making such a big deal out of it now?”
She was the one who’d been hurt. She was the one who lost her child.
And yet everyone acted like she had no right to be upset. No right to feel wronged.
At that moment, she finally understood that family love, romantic love… All of it was bullshit.
Kenzie took a slow breath. Then she reached into her bag and pulled out the divorce papers.
“Fine,” she said evenly. “I won’t make a fuss. I won’t be dramatic anymore.”
“All I need you to do....” she continued, holding out the papers, “is sign this agreement.”
