My Husband Chose Her Dogs Over Me

Chapter 10

After Franco healed, he secretly watched Mara one last time. She stood in the sunlight laughing, holding Gian's hand while a tall man shaded them both with his body. The way both father and son gazed at her with pure love...

The perfect little family he'd thrown away.

A crushing ache spread through his chest as realization hit—he finally understood what he'd lost. There was a time when he'd had that too. Mara bringing him homemade meals during night shifts, little Alec running into his arms squealing "Daddy!" Why had it taken losing everything to appreciate those precious moments?

He made one last desperate attempt at reconciliation, but Mara refused to even open the door. "Please Mara, just give me one more chance! I know how badly I messed up—"

All he got was a cold "Go away" through the door.

Defeated, he visited three small graves to whisper his apologies to the children he'd never meet.

When he tried again weeks later, the door finally opened—but it wasn't Mara. Instead, a polished man stood there wearing a pink apron that smelled faintly of garlic and herbs.

Chester made his position clear. "Mara doesn't want to see you. Don't come back."

Franco's pulse spiked. "Who the hell are you to speak for her?"

The man simply rotated his left hand, sunlight glinting off the silver band on his ring finger. "Her fiancé. And if you keep harassing my future wife, we're going to have problems."

The words hit Franco like a knife to the chest—worse than any physical pain.

In time, Mara married that man. Two years later, their newborn completed the family. At sunset, Franco would sometimes lurk near the park, watching from a distance as they walked hand-in-hand—the happy life he'd thrown away now shining just out of reach.