Chapter 130

Desmond’s POV

The world around me seemed to collapse in slow motion, like the weight of my sins was pulling me into an abyss I couldn’t claw my way out of. My breath hitched as I sat in the car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. The reporters outside my company were a sea of chaos, their voices melding into an indistinct roar that made my pulse race. Cameras flashed, questions were shouted—each one a dagger aimed at my already fractured soul. I couldn’t face them. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Taking a sharp turn, I headed to the one place I thought I might find solace—my aunt’s house. The road stretched endlessly before me, my mind replaying every poor decision, every moment of weakness that had led me here. *How could I have been so stupid?* Shame burned hot in my chest, but beneath it simmered fear—raw and unrelenting.

When I arrived, I felt like I was barely holding myself together. My aunt’s house was just as imposing as I reme