Love Unbreakable by Bank Brook
Chapter 1683

Chapter 1682.1: Alternate Ending 1/10

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Dawn brought with it a thick air, heavy with unresolved questions and decisions that still weighed on Nicole's heart. The calm outside the landscape contrasted with the turmoil she felt inside. She had spent too many sleepless nights, trying to figure out how things had gotten to this point, how love, pain, and loyalty had intertwined in such a way that the future seemed uncertain.

Jarrod, who was beside her, had barely slept. Although he tried to maintain a calm facade, Nicole knew him all too well. His tense shoulders and furrowed brow were clear signs that something was tormenting him. They were both trapped in an endless cycle of unspoken words, veiled resentments, and hopes that were slowly crumbling.

As she watched the first rays of sunlight filter through the window, Nicole wondered if they could ever return to those days when everything was simpler, when the love they shared was not tainted by betrayals and misunderstandings. But the present was something else. The tension between them was palpable, as if they were both waiting for each other to break the silence that had grown too long.

"How much longer are we going to continue like this?" Nicole thought, as her gaze focused on the ring on her finger, that symbol of a promise she no longer knew if she could keep.

Finally, Jarrod spoke, his voice hoarse from lack of sleep. “Nicole, we have a decision to make.” His words were simple, but the weight behind them made them resonate with overwhelming intensity.

Nicole didn't respond immediately. She got out of bed slowly, avoiding looking directly at Jarrod. She knew that the conversation they had both avoided for so long could not be postponed any longer. “I know,” she finally said, in a barely audible whisper, as if saying it out loud would make the gravity of the situation real.

Jarrod watched her as she walked to the window. The illuminated sunlight illuminated her figure, but he could only see the distance that had grown between them, a distance that seemed unbridgeable. There were times when he wished he could turn back time, correct his mistakes, but he knew it was impossible. What they had lost could no longer be regained so easily.

“Jarrod,” Nicole said, her voice firmer now, “we can’t go on like this anymore. “Not for you, not for me, not for Austin.” Her son's name seemed to hang in the air, a reminder of what was really at stake.

Jarrod rose from the bed, crossing the room with slow but determined steps. He stood a few feet away from Nicole, staring at her. “I know,” he repeated, but there was something in his tone that suggested he wasn't ready to give up completely yet.

Nicole looked into his eyes, searching for some sign of what he really felt, but Jarrod, as always, was a master at hiding his emotions. “I don't want Austin to grow up in a broken home,” Nicole continued, “but I also can't keep living in this uncertainty. “This is no life.”

The silence that followed her words was crushing. Jarrod clenched his fists, a surge of emotions threatening to spill over. He had never been good at expressing what he felt, and now, when he needed to do so most, he felt the words slipping away. “I can't lose you, Nicole,” he finally said, his voice cracking slightly. “I can’t lose everything we’ve built.”

Nicole felt a pang in her heart at those words, but she also knew it wasn't that simple. What they had built was collapsing, and clinging to the rubble wouldn't do them any good. “You've already lost yourself, Jarrod,” she replied softly. “And in the process, you've lost me, too.”

Nicole's words hit Jarrod like a punch in the gut. He wanted to contradict her, wanted to tell her there was still hope, but apart from him he knew she was right. He had let his ambition and inner demons consume him, and now, when he was on the verge of losing everything, he didn't know how to fix things.

Nicole turned to him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “We need some time, Jarrod. “For you, for me… To find what we really want.” The words hurt in her own mouth, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

Jarrod nodded slowly, though the pain in his chest was almost unbearable. He didn't want to walk away from her, but he also knew that continuing as they were would only hurt them more. “If that's what you need, I'll do it,” he finally said. “But promise me you won't take me away from Austin.”

Nicole smiled sadly. “I would never do that, Jarrod. No matter what happens between us, you will always be his father.”

The relief Jarrod felt was brief, but significant. Although he knew this was the first step down an uncertain path, he also knew it was necessary. They couldn't keep pretending everything was okay when they both knew they were broken inside.

The morning continued, and with it, the hope that, perhaps, the space they both needed could be what would eventually heal them. But, for now, all they could do was move forward, one step at a time, without certainties, but with the promise of not giving up.

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