I should have known peace never lasts long at least not in my life.
For two weeks, Edward and I found a rhythm that felt dangerously close to happiness.
He stayed with me almost every night, waking me with kisses that made me forget everything except him.
We cooked together.
We watched movies.
We laughed so much I thought maybe… maybe life was finally allowing me to breathe again.
But life is cruelly consistent.
Which is why Clarissa showed up again.
And this time… she wasn't here to argue.
She was here to fight dirty.
I came home earlier than usual rain clouds rolling heavy above the city, wind picking up, a storm preparing itself.
Edward had told me he'd be working late at his office, catching up on a proposal he was revising. I didn't mind. We were good. Stronger.
When I pushed open my front door, my heart froze.
She was sitting on my couch.
Clarissa.
Legs crossed elegantly.
Perfect red lips.
An expensive perfume filling the entire room like poison.
Wearing a black dress tight enough to stop circulation and heels sharp enough to stab confidence.
"How… how did you get in?" I asked, voice hardening.
She smiled, flipping her perfectly curled hair.
"Edward gave me a key. Months ago. Before you existed."
I clenched my jaw.
"I want you out."
She smirked.
"Oh, I'm not here for you. You're just the side character in this story."
I stepped forward. "Try me."
She stood, smoothing her dress. "He's coming home soon. And I know men, Leah. Especially men like Edward. They get bored. They return to what's familiar. What's… meant for them."
My stomach twisted not with insecurity, but with fury.
"You think he'll come back to you?" I asked. "After everything?"
She tilted her head. "I don't think, sweetheart. I know."
She moved toward the hallway the one that led to my bedroom.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
Clarissa gave me one last mocking smile.
"Winning."
Then she disappeared into my bedroom and shut the door.
My pulse spiked.
A trap.
A pathetic one, but still a trap.
I stood there for a moment, breathing hard, tempted to rip the door open and drag her out.
But no.
Let her embarrass herself.
Let her try.
Let her fail.
Edward wasn't a child.
He knew who he loved.
He knew where he belonged.
And it wasn't with her.
I went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Rain started hitting the windows, soft at first, then harder.
Then I heard the front door unlock.
"Leah?" his voice called.
"In here," I said calmly.
He stepped inside, shaking raindrops from his hair, his tie loose around his neck. He looked exhausted, but the moment he saw me, his shoulders softened.
"Hey," he said, walking over to kiss my forehead.
I kissed him back… just long enough for Clarissa to hear.
Edward froze mid-kiss. "Someone's here."
"Yes," I said. "In the bedroom."
His face instantly darkened. "What?"
"Clarissa broke in with an old key."
He cursed under his breath and started toward the hallway.
I followed him.
The door to my bedroom opened before he could reach it.
And there she was.
She was wearing nothing.
Nothing but his old dress shirt one I didn't even know he still owned.
The shirt was unbuttoned halfway, exposing more than enough skin to make her intentions obvious.
Her hair was tousled like she'd run her fingers through it.
Her lips were glossed.
Her perfume was dizzying.
She looked like a desperate scene from a bad romance drama.
"Eddie," she breathed.
Her voice soft, seductive, dripping with false vulnerability.
"I've been waiting."
Edward froze not in shock or desire, but pure, sharp anger.
"What the hell are you doing in Leah's bedroom?" he asked, voice ice.
She took a step forward.
"Your bedroom. It used to be yours, you know. Before she stole you."
I crossed my arms.
"Try again."
Clarissa ignored me.
She reached out, lightly touching his chest, whispering:
"Edward… we grew up together. We're supposed to get married. You know that. You know this… us… was arranged for a reason. You're mine. You always have been."
He stepped back instantly, like her touch burned him.
"I'm not yours," he said flatly. "And I never was."
Her eyes filled with false tears.
"Don't lie," she whispered.
"You kissed me once"
"When I was sixteen," he snapped.
"And I regretted it immediately."
She blinked, stunned.
"And you're standing here," he continued, voice rising, "half-naked in Leah's house, trying to manipulate me into what touching you? Sleeping with you? What did you think would happen?"
She swallowed hard. "I thought… you missed me."
He laughed a cold, humorless sound.
"That's your last attempt? Pathetic seduction?"
Her face twisted.
"You used to want me."
"I was a boy," he said.
"And even then, I didn't want you. I wanted freedom."
Then he added, eyes burning:
"And now I want Leah."
Clarissa's mask slipped completely.
She trembled, gripping his shirt. "Edward, please. Your father wants this. Our families want this. You can't choose her."
Edward pried her hand off him, firm but controlled.
"Watch me."
"You're throwing everything away for an older woman?" she spat.
"A divorced woman? A woman who used to sleep with your father"
My chest tightened, anger flaring but Edward beat me to it.
"STOP," he shouted.
Clarissa flinched.
"You don't get to talk about Leah like that," he said, stepping in front of me.
"She's better than you in every way. Kinder. Stronger. More real."
Her eyes widened, shock and fury mixing.
"I love her," he said clearly, deliberately.
"And nothing your father, my father, your arranged marriage, your manipulations, or your tantrums will change that."
She shook her head violently, tears spilling.
"You can't… you can't choose her. Not over me. Not over everything we're supposed to be."
Edward's voice softened not with affection, but with pity.
"There is no 'we.' There never was."
She covered her face and let out a broken sob.
"You're choosing her…"
"You're actually choosing her…"
Edward didn't comfort her.
He didn't touch her.
He didn't even move closer.
He simply said:
"Get out, Clarissa."
She dropped her hands, mascara streaking down her cheeks.
"This isn't over," she whispered.
"I'll make sure everyone knows. I'll tell your father. I'll tell the media. I'll ruin you both."
Edward stepped forward, calm, almost frighteningly composed.
"Do what you want," he said.
"But understand something."
He took my hand.
"I will protect her. Every time. From anyone."
Clarissa stared at our intertwined fingers like they were a blade shoved into her chest.
Then she walked out slowly, painfully slamming the door behind her.
Silence filled the apartment.
Edward let out a breath he'd been holding and leaned against the wall.
I stepped to him gently.
"You okay?"
He pulled me into his arms, head resting against mine.
"I'm done letting anyone try to take me away from you," he whispered.
I held him tighter.
"We face whatever comes next," I said softly, "together."
He kissed my forehead.
"Always."
And for the first time since Clarissa appeared in our lives, I believed it with my whole heart.