WARNING: DRAMA!!! (Go back a few chapters and read where the first few parts to understand what is happening preferable NNN series)
The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting long shadows that danced across the empty dining room. The table was set for two, complete with a modest feast of roasted turkey, stuffing, and all the traditional fixings. Y/N sat poised, her heart fluttering under the weight of her thoughts and guilt. It was Thanksgiving, yet here she was, indulging in a meal meant to be filled with laughter and warmth, alone but for Ace.
Ace had shown up unexpectedly, his presence a balm for her aching loneliness. She hadn't known she needed companionship until he arrived, armed with dessert and a knowing smile. As they shared their dinner, laughter bubbled between them, albeit guilt shadowed every chuckle. Y/N couldn't ignore the guilty knot in her stomach. She still loved Ghost, who was supposed to be home, but his drinking had spiraled out of control, and their last argument echoed in her mind like a haunting refrain.
Time passed in a delicate balance of joy and apprehension. Little did she know that the fragile peace of that evening would soon be shattered.
The front door creaked open, and Ghost walked in with an air of quiet determination. He was supposed to be at Y/N's mother's with the kids. When he sniffed the air and caught the scent of roasting turkey mingled with laughter, his chest tightened. Instinctively, he turned toward the dining room and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. There was Y/N, radiant and laughing at something Ace had said.
Heart pounding and mind racing, Ghost's vision narrowed, and anger simmered within him. He felt betrayed, and an overwhelming surge of jealousy propelled him forward, rage fueling his steps as he stormed toward the table.
"Y/N! What the hell is this?" he roared, the sound cutting through the festive atmosphere. Y/N startled, her laughter extinguished as shock washed over her.
"Ghost, I—" she began, but he cut her off, eyes blazing.
"Is this how you spend Thanksgiving? Alone together? You couldn't even wait for me?" His words were venomous, each one laced with pain. Y/N felt her heart constrict as fear crept in. She had never seen him like this before.
Ace, sitting resolutely at the table, suddenly pushed his chair back and stood up. "You need to calm down, Ghost. You left her. You walked away when she needed you the most!" His words flared in the tension-ridden air, each syllable a challenge to Ghost's fragile composure.
Ghost turned to Ace, fists clenched. "This isn't your business. You have no idea what she did to me!"
"Did to you?" Ace echoed incredulously. "You think abandoning your family is justified because you're hurting? You didn't think of them when you chose to drown yourself in a bottle night after night."
"Get the hell out of my house!" Ghost seethed.
The back-and-forth simmered, escalating into a chaotic storm of accusations and frustrations. Y/N felt crushed inside, caught in the crossfire of two men she cared about. Her heart raced, pulse pounding in her ears as she jumped in to try to stem the flood of tension before it drowned them all.
"Stop! Just stop!" she shouted, the sound startling both men into silence. She felt fear blossom; it was time to confront the deeper issue. "This isn't what I wanted for us! What happened, Ghost? What happened to us?"
Ghost's lips quivered as he struggled for words, but all that came out was raw emotion. "I don't know, Y/N! I thought you'd be gone with the kids. I thought I'd have time to think!"
"Think about what?" she shot back, tears pricking her eyes. "How to drown yourself in your misery? Well, look around! We're stuck in this cycle, and it's tearing us apart! Maybe…maybe we need to consider—"
"Y/N, don't say it!" Ghost interjected sharply, but his voice trembled, betraying his fear.
"Maybe we need to consider a divorce," she breathed, her heart heavy. The words hung in the air, suffocating the space between them, thick and palpable with their dread.
For a moment, silence ruled. Ace's expression softened as the weight of Y/N's words sank in, while Ghost's face contorted into a mixture of disbelief and despair. The laughter, the warmth, and the promise of the evening vanished into the chill of unspoken truths.
Ghost's breath came shallow as he stepped back, his anger dissipating, replaced by something far more painful—loss. "You can't mean that." His voice cracked, the bravado stripped away, revealing the vulnerable heart beneath.
But Y/N held her ground, tears streaming silently down her cheeks. She felt lost in a sea of emotions—love, betrayal, anger, guilt—all colliding in a whirlwind of chaos. "I don't want to feel this way anymore, Ghost. I just want peace."
And in that moment, as they all faced the stark reality of their situation, time stood still. The echoes of their past reverberated around them, yet the uneasy silence brought a flicker of clarity—this was no longer about one night or even Thanksgiving. It was about the life they wished to build or break apart, a painful choice hovering like a specter above them, waiting to be acknowledged.