C17 Taylor Tries to End It, but Scott Refuses

Taylor rehearsed the words all morning. In the mirror, she whispered them like lines in a play: This has to stop. We can’t keep doing this. It’s over.

But each time, her reflection stared back, pale and uncertain, as if mocking her. She could craft the speech, polish it into perfection, but when she pictured Scott’s eyes—burning with intensity, brimming with a devotion she hadn’t asked for—the words dissolved into ash.

Still, she had to try. For Owen. For herself. For whatever remained of her marriage before it shattered completely.

Scott agreed to meet at the café on the quiet end of town, a place she hoped would soften the blow. Public enough to prevent a scene, but private enough for honesty. She arrived early, sliding into a booth by the window, her heart racing as she clutched her coffee cup with trembling fingers.

When he walked in, the room shifted. His presence seemed larger than life, commanding, though he didn’t seek attention. He spotted her instantly, his lips curving into a smile that made her chest tighten with guilt.

“Taylor,” he said warmly, sliding into the seat across from her. “I wasn’t expecting you to call so soon.”

She forced a polite smile. “I needed to talk to you.”

The words sat heavy between them. Scott leaned back, studying her carefully, his expression unreadable.

“Talk,” he said simply.

Taylor inhaled sharply. “This has to end, Scott. Whatever we’ve been doing—it’s gone too far. I can’t keep betraying Owen. I can’t keep lying to myself. It’s not fair to anyone.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, though his voice remained calm. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do,” she said firmly, gripping the cup tighter. “I should never have let it go this far. I only wanted one thing from the beginning. A child. That was it. But this… us… it was never supposed to happen.”

Scott leaned forward, his hands flat on the table. His gaze locked onto hers, fierce and unrelenting. “Don’t reduce this to some arrangement. Don’t insult what we have by calling it a mistake.”

Taylor’s throat tightened. “It was a mistake. I should have walked away before it started.”

His jaw clenched. “You don’t believe that. Not really. If you did, you wouldn’t keep coming back. You wouldn’t answer my calls. You wouldn’t look at me the way you do right now.”

She shook her head, her voice breaking. “You don’t understand. I love Owen. He’s my husband. My life is with him.”

Scott’s expression darkened, a shadow crossing his face. “And what about me? Am I supposed to just disappear? Pretend none of this happened?”

“Yes,” Taylor whispered. “That’s exactly what has to happen. For both our sakes.”

For a long moment, Scott didn’t speak. The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Then, slowly, he reached across the table, his hand brushing hers. She pulled back instantly, the contact searing.

“You can tell yourself you don’t want me,” he said softly, “but your heart says otherwise. I’ve seen it, Taylor. Felt it. You can’t deny what’s real.”

Her stomach twisted, shame crashing over her in waves. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be. Please, Scott, just… let me go.”

His lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. “I can’t. I won’t. You’ve changed me. Do you understand that? Before you, I didn’t know what it meant to want someone with every part of myself. And now you want me to give that up?”

Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. “You have to. Because if you don’t… you’ll ruin me. You’ll ruin everything.”

Scott leaned closer, his voice low and urgent. “I’d rather ruin everything than lose you.”

Her breath hitched. The intensity in his eyes terrified her. This wasn’t love—it was possession. And she knew, in that moment, that walking away wouldn’t be simple.

She grabbed her bag, sliding out of the booth. “This is over, Scott. Don’t call me again.”

He rose quickly, blocking her path. The café was quiet, only a few scattered patrons sipping coffee, but the tension between them burned like fire.

“Taylor,” he said, his voice sharper now, “don’t do this.”

She met his gaze, forcing her voice to stay steady. “I already did.”

For a moment, she thought he might lash out. But instead, he stepped back, his expression hardening into something unreadable.

“Fine,” he said, his tone flat. “Walk away. Pretend you don’t care. But don’t forget—you came to me. You wanted this. And you’ll want it again.”

She didn’t respond. She pushed past him, her legs trembling as she hurried out into the crisp evening air.

The walk back to her car felt endless, every step weighed down by the gravity of what had just happened. She should have felt relieved, liberated. Instead, fear coiled in her chest, whispering that it wasn’t truly over.

When she reached her car, she exhaled shakily, fumbling with the keys. Just as she opened the door, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She froze, knowing before she even looked who it would be.

It was Scott.

> You can try to end this, but I’m not letting you go.

Her hands shook as she dropped the phone into her bag, slamming the car door shut. She started the engine, her mind racing.

Back at the house, Owen greeted her with his usual warmth, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his arms wrapping around her like a safe harbor. She clung to him, burying her face against his chest, fighting back the tears that threatened to betray her.

He pulled back, studying her face. “Rough day?”

Taylor forced a smile, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside. “Just tired. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Owen nodded, satisfied, and moved toward the kitchen. But Taylor remained frozen in the entryway, her heart pounding with the weight of the lie.

She thought she had ended it. She thought she had found the strength to walk away. But deep down, she knew Scott wasn’t finished.

And worse, she wasn’t sure if part of her wanted him to be.

Later that night, as she lay beside Owen in the dark, her phone buzzed again on the nightstand. She didn’t dare look, but the glow of the screen illuminated the room.

Scott’s name.

Her body tensed, fear and longing colliding in her chest. She turned the phone facedown, closing her eyes.

But the words she imagined on the screen haunted her: You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.

Taylor shivered under the covers, realizing that walking away wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning of something darker.