Derek’s POV
I stayed seated on the edge of the hotel bed for what felt like hours, the silence suffocating me. The anger from discovering Annabel's betrayal simmered inside me, but it was the regret, the overwhelming guilt over Ava, that gnawed at me the most. It’s what I deserve, I treated Ava badly, so it’s my karma.
How did I get here? How did I ruin everything for a woman who never cared about me? My mind kept flashing back to Ava. How she smiled when I told her I wanted a family, how her face fell when we years passed by and we had no child. We could have worked through that. We could have adopted or sought other options, but I was too caught up in my selfish desires.
I walked out on her because she couldn't bear children. How low could I have sunk? The more I thought about it, the
