My Ex-wife, My Destination

Daisy’s P. O. V.

“Daisy, I don’t want to snatch Hope from you,” Luke whispers, staring directly into my eyes. I can see the honesty in his eyes, but I don’t believe him anymore.

He’s a monster.

In fury, I didn’t realise how close I had come to him. I stand, grabbing his collar, our faces just inches apart. I can feel his warm breath touching my skin, sending chills down my spine. His blue oceanic eyes bore into my grey ones. I can’t deny how much I missed looking into them. I feel a sudden urge to kiss his thin lips.

What the hell am I thinking? I can’t get physically attracted to him again. Control yourself, Daisy. Just control yourself.

I pull myself away from him, releasing his collar.

“Luke, just speak up. What do you want from me after all these years?” I question, staring at him with hatred in my eyes.

“Daisy, I want to make amends,” he begins, his eyes filled with regret. “I want to take responsibility for our daughter. Please give me a chance to explain myself.”

Our daughter? Really? Where was he when I gave birth to her? Where was he when I struggled to raise her, managing my work?

And after five years, he wants to make amends. Is he kidding me?

“Luke, she is my daughter. Not yours, and stop your damn drama,” I snap, shutting him up.

“I know she is our daughter-”

I interrupt, yelling at him, “Are you out of your mind, Luke? Don’t you get it? Hope isn’t your daughter, and get the hell out of our lives.”

“No. I won’t go.” He refuses, raising my anger. “This time, I won’t let you go, Daisy.” He gently grabs my arms and moves closer to me. “I won’t run away from my responsibilities. No matter what it takes, I’ll make you trust me.”

For once, my heart urges me to believe him because his eyes are so genuine. I can also see the old Luke in him: calm, composed, honest, sweet, and the person whom I fell in love with in our school days and endured the pain in our marriage for six months to bring him back.

However, I accepted long ago that the man I fell in love with is dead. The person standing in front of me is now a monster, pretending to be the old Luke so he can take my daughter away from me.

“I’m not the old Daisy anymore, Luke. I don’t trust you. Did you forget what you did to me five years ago? How can you be so shameless?” As I sneer, his eyes lower in embarrassment.

“I’m not asking you to trust me, Daisy. I just want you to give me a chance to make amends. Please.” He begs, taking my hand in his, his eyes fixed on the floor. “I want to take care of you and our daughter. Please give me a chance to show you how much I have changed.”

Wow! What a great actor he is! Does he think he can fool me with his acting? No, he can’t.

“You know what I want to give you right now?” As I ask, he immediately lifts his eyes toward me.

“What-”

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I give him a hard slap across his cheek, startling him.

As he stares at me in shock, his hand placed on his cheek, I say, “This is what you deserve, Luke. I wish I had given you this a long time ago, but I was an idiot to love you. But now, I’m not a fool to trust you. I don’t want to waste a single second on you. So just leave and never show me your face again.” I turn my back to him, fuming with anger.

“Now I won’t give up on us, Daisy, no matter what. Whether you want it or not, I’m not leaving my family. I’m ready to take your hatred, your anger, your slaps because that’s what I deserve for shattering your soul.” He takes a deep breath before adding, “You and Hope are my destination, and I’m ready to take any path that leads me to you both.”

Tears roll down my cheeks mechanically.

Traitors.

Five years ago, I longed to witness this side of Luke, but now that I’m witnessing it, I can’t digest it. A monster like him can never change, and even if he has changed, I can’t forgive him and give him a second chance. He ripped my soul out of me so brutally that it took years to find myself again. I won’t forgive him for the pain I endured because of him. Never.

I wipe my tears and turn towards him. “I think you’ll spend your entire life finding that path, Luke, because there is no way I’ll let you reach us.”

“Listen to me, Daisy. I’m willing to spend my entire life reaching you because-”

“Do you really care about me, Luke?” I ask, cutting him off because, no matter how much I deny it, his words are melting my heart, and I don’t want that.

“I’ve cared about you from the beginning, Daisy-”

I cut him off again. “Then just get out of our lives and never show your face to us. If you stay here, I’ll understand that you don’t care about us.”

He looks at me, stunned, for a few seconds before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Fine. I’ll leave and never show you my face again.” He holds my arms and leans closer to my face, accelerating my heartbeat. I despise how much he still affects me. I hate myself for still feeling anything for this man. “Because I care about you more than anything else in this entire world. Just remember that you and Hope are my destination, Butterfly. Somehow, I’ll find a way back to you both.”

I won’t lie and say that my heart doesn’t skip a beat when he calls me Butterfly in that husky tone. My entire body trembles at his mere words.

No. No. I can’t let him affect me.

I push him away with all my strength. “Then just leave.”

“I’m leaving just to get you back, Daisy.” He opens the door and exits, looking at me one last time with…

No. I hate that word. It’s not that. He is just faking it. He is still a monster.

I also come outside and see Hope looking at Luke, standing on the sofa with a sad pout. “Why are you leaving so soon, Uncle? Hope wants to spend more time with you.”

“Kiddo, I have important work. When you want to meet me, ask your mommy to give me a call.” As he glances at me, I glare at him.

“Mommy, give me your phone. I want to save Uncle’s number on your phone.” Hope holds out her hand to me, and I just stare at her, trying to find an excuse. “Mommy, give Hopi your phone. Please.”

As she pleads, I reluctantly take out my phone from my jeans pocket and give it to her, glaring at Luke through the corner of my eyes.

“Take it.” She gives my phone to Luke after unlocking it. “Save your number.”

After saving his number, as he hands back my phone to me, our hands touch, sending a jolt of electricity down my spine.

I turn towards Hope and lift her in my arms. “Now say goodbye to uncle, Hopi.”

And ask him to never show his face to us.

“Bye, Uncle. Hope will miss you.” She waves at him with a sad pout.

Why is she getting so attached to him? I just pray it doesn’t get harder for me to keep Hope apart from Luke in the future.

As Luke moves closer to kiss Hope on her cheeks, he stops as I give him a deadly glare.

“Bye, kiddo.” He waves at her.

Hope gives him a flying kiss, bringing a smile to his face. A smile I once died for. When he smiles genuinely, his entire face lights up, and for a moment, I almost forget all the pain he caused.

But then, reality hits me like a cold splash of water, and I remember why I can never let him back into our lives.

As Luke leaves, glancing one last time at me and Hope, I hold Hope tightly.

I know this won’t be the last time we’ll see him. He’s determined and relentless, and I fear what lengths he might go to get what he wants.

But I won’t let him win. I won’t let him back into our lives, no matter how much he pleads or threatens. It was so hard to pick up the pieces of my heart broken by him so brutally, and I refuse to let him shatter it again. I’ve built a safe and stable environment for Hope, and I won’t let anyone disrupt that.