He Chose Her Over Us

---- Chapter 6 Belen Porter POV: | woke to the soft, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and the smell of antiseptic. My eyes fluttered open to a private, sun-drenched hospital room, the kind of luxurious suite reserved for the ultra-wealthy. Camden was asleep in a chair by my bed, his head slumped forward, his hand resting on the edge of my mattress, as if to guard me even in his sleep. He looked exhausted, his usually impeccable suit rumpled, dark circles under his eyes. He hadn' t been there. Gregory hadn' t been there. It was Camden who had saved me. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

My husband had left me to die, and my childhood friend had crossed the country to pull me from the wreckage. My hand flew to my stomach, a desperate, frantic movement. A wave of pure terror washed over me. "The baby," | rasped, my voice raw. "My baby!" Camden's head shot up, his eyes instantly alert. He grabbed my hand, his grip warm and steady. "Shhh, Belen, it' s okay. You' re okay. The baby is okay." ---- He squeezed my hand. "You have a small placental abruption, but the doctors stabilized it. They said you and the baby are both strong.

You' re both fighters." The relief was so overwhelming, so absolute, that it broke me. A raw, guttural sob tore from my throat, followed by another, and another. The tears | had held back for so long finally came, a flood of grief, terror, and rage. | cried for my baby, for the love | had lost, for the woman | used to be. Camden didn' t say anything. He just sat there, holding my hand, his thumb stroking my knuckles in a steady, comforting rhythm until the storm of my sobs subsided into ragged breaths. He used a warm cloth to gently wipe the tears from my face, his touch infinitely tender.

| remembered another time he had saved me. A college party, a guy who wouldn' t take no for an answer. Camden had appeared out of nowhere, a silent, imposing presence that had made the other boy shrink away. He had wrapped his jacket around me and walked me back to my dorm, never once making me feel foolish or weak. "lm sorry, Belen," he had said at my door. "I should have been watching out for you better." He was always there, on the periphery of my life, a steadfast guardian | had taken for granted.

While | was chasing the brilliant, volatile flame that was Gregory Velazquez, Camden was the constant, unwavering light | had been too blind to see. ---- Gregory had promised to protect me, but he had thrown me to. the wolves. Camden had never promised me anything, but he had walked into the fire to pull me out. "Take me home, Cam," | whispered, my voice hoarse. "Please." He looked at me, his eyes full of a deep, aching emotion | was finally beginning to understand. "Our home, Belen. It' s always been our home." | nodded, a sense of finality settling over me. "Yes.

Our home." There was still one last piece of business to attend to. A final, cancerous tie to cut. | looked at Camden. "But this last part... | have to do it myself." He understood. He always did. My phone, which Camden had salvaged, lay on the bedside table. | picked it up. There was one new message, from Gregory. | know you' re angry, Belen. You have every right to be. But you put me in an impossible position. Adrianna was terrified. | did what | had to do. ' ve had my medical team put on standby at the city hospital. Go get yourself checked out. We' Il talk when you' ve calmed down.

He didn' t apologize. He blamed me. He thought a text message and his medical team were enough to patch the mortal wound he had inflicted. He still believed | would be waiting for him. ---- | didn' t reply. | didn' t even feel the anger anymore. All | felt was a vast, cold emptiness where my love for him used to be. With a steady hand, | opened his contact information. | deleted his number. | blocked him on every platform. | erased every digital trace of his existence from my life. It wasn't a grand gesture. It was a quiet, simple act.

But it was the sound of a door slamming shut, a lock turning, a final, irrevocable end. | looked at Camden, at the man who had been my safe harbor all along. A new, fragile feeling began to bloom in the barren landscape of my heart. It wasn't the fiery, all-consuming passion I'd had for Gregory. It was something quieter, deeper. It felt like peace. It felt like coming home.