CHAPTER 7: Trainwreck
The days for Noelle began to blur into a new routine. Adrian would come home late and sometimes just before dawn, and slip into bed beside her stirring her from a restless, shallow sleep. The mattress would shift under his weight, and she'd catch the faintest scent of that same unfamiliar cologne that wasn't his. Her heart would twist painfully in those moments, but she would rather shut her eyes tight and feign sleep knowing that she couldn't confront the ache blooming in her chest.
Other nights, he wouldn't come home at all. Noelle would sit by the window in their dimly lit living room with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.
There were times that she would stare into the wall. And sometimes her eyes would trace the empty streets, waiting for the sound of his car pulling into the driveway. But the hours would only tick by, and the silence of the house would grow heavier, suffocating her. She would finally retreat to their bed, only to lie there, staring at the ceiling while her mind conjures cruel scenarios of where he might be and who he might be with.
The bitterness began to creep in like ivy wrapping around her heart, squeezing the life out of the love she had once held so deeply for him. Adrian had been her everything, her safe harbor in a stormy world. Now, it felt like a distant memory of something beautiful that was slipping through her fingers.
And she couldn't stop the question that gnawed at her day after day.
'What's the point of staying in a relationship that feels like it's falling apart? '
She hated herself for even thinking it. She hated the bitterness, the doubt, and the jealousy that had wormed its way into her heart. She wanted to believe in Adrian, to trust him, but the changes in him were undeniable. The distance, the late nights, the secrecy. It all pointed to something she didn't want to admit, something that made her chest ache with every passing day.
Their wedding was just two days away. Two days, and yet Adrian hadn't mentioned it. Not even a single word about the ceremony, the plans, or their future together. The invitations had been sent, the venue reserved. The dress was already carefully hung in her closet. But none of it mattered if Adrian didn't care.
He was busy. Too busy. Too distracted.
Noelle couldn't fathom what had consumed him so completely. He had always been ambitious, always throwing himself into his work, but this felt different. This felt personal. And no matter how hard she tried to brush it off, the fear she had tried so desperately to suppress whispered cruelly in her mind.
'What if it's Bianca?'
The thought of Bianca made Noelle's stomach churn with anger and despair. The stunning actress who had once been Adrian's world. The woman he had loved with a passion that Noelle could only dream of. What if they'd rekindled what they had? What if she was the reason for his absence, for the growing distance between them?
She hated herself for thinking it. She hated how insecure she felt, how small. But she couldn't ignore the gnawing doubts. She clenched her fist with her nails digging into her palms as tears stung her eyes. 'What am I doing here?' she thought bitterly. 'What am I even fighting for anymore?'
Noelle let out a shaky breath. Her gaze lingered on the engagement ring on her finger. The diamond caught the faint glow of the streetlights outside. It had once been a symbol of their love, their promise to build a future together. Now, it felt like a weight, a reminder of a dream that seemed further out of reach.
She sighed deeply and closing her eyes for a moment, trying to steady herself against the growing ache in her chest. How long had she been standing there on the city sidewalk, lost in her thoughts? The world moved around her with strangers rushing past, cars honking in the distance, but Noelle felt detached as though she were stuck in a bubble of despair that no one else could see.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. She shook her head, mocking her own foolishness. How could she have let things get to this point? How could she still cling to hope when every sign pointed to heartbreak?
And then, as her eyes fluttered open again, the sight before her shattered her completely.
Displayed on a high rise building was a massive digital billboard. Noelle's breath caught in her throat and her legs suddenly felt too weak to hold her up. Her eyes burned as they were fixated on the image, unable to look away no matter how much she wanted to.
Bianca and Adrian.
They were on the billboard together, locked in an intimate pose that oozed chemistry and passion. Bianca's stunning features were tilted toward Adrian. Her hand rested lightly on his chest as if she belonged there. And Adrian... His amber eyes, the ones Noelle had once believed were only for her, gazed back at Bianca with a tenderness that made her stomach twist painfully.
The caption beneath the image read, "The Reunited Lovers—A Romance to Remember", a tagline for their upcoming movie where they starred as the main characters and, apparently, as the ideal couple.
Noelle's heart clenched. How could she not have noticed this? How had she not seen the signs? Was this why Adrian had been so distant? Had he been playing a role offscreen as well as on?
Her mind raced, piecing together every late night, every missed call, every excuse. It all pointed to the same devastating conclusion. Bianca wasn't just a co-star. She was a threat. Maybe she had always been the one Adrian truly wanted.
The laughter that spilled from Noelle's lips sounded bitter and broken, mingling with the tears that blurred her vision. She hugged herself tightly, as though trying to hold the pieces of her heart together.
She wanted to hate him. She wanted to hate Bianca. But more than anything, she hated the part of herself that still wanted to believe in Adrian. That part of her that still wanted to hear an explanation, still wished for reassurance that this was all just a misunderstanding.
But as she stood there, staring at the image of the man she loved with another woman, her chest tightened with the crushing realization. 'Maybe there wasn't anything left to salvage.' Maybe the love she had poured into their relationship wasn't enough to compete with the life he seemed to be chasing without her.
Noelle turned away from the billboard with her vision still blurry with tears. She took a shaky step forward, then another. Her feet carried her aimlessly through the city streets. She needed to get away, to breathe, to think.
But no matter how far she walked, the pain followed her and reminded her that some heartbreaks were impossible to outrun.