Rivalry Final book 📖 OCTOBER 2026
Trey felt the air leave his chest the moment she said it. Married. Pregnant. By Masego.
He didn’t even sit down—he just stood there, jaw flexing, eyes burning like he was trying to hold himself together with sheer force.
Anjelys didn’t flinch. If anything, she braced herself, like she knew exactly how hard her words were about to land.
“That’s why I didn’t respond to you,” she said, voice steady, too steady. “It wasn’t complicated. You weren’t the man I needed you to be.”
Trey’s heart dropped so fast it almost made him dizzy.
“That’s crazy as hell,” he breathed. “That’s really crazy as hell coming from you.”
She crossed her arms, chest tight, avoiding his eyes because she knew if she looked at him too long, she’d crumble. “I told you what it was.”
“No,” Trey said, voice rising, hurt twisting into anger. “You didn’t tell me anything. You hid. You disappeared. And then you come back pregnant by that bitch—Masego? I can’t believe you stayed with him !”
That hit her. It showed in the tiny flicker across her face, but she didn’t back down.
“Oh, you can’t believe it?” she shot back. “You got a bitch pregnant at the army, Trey. Don’t play stupid with me.”
He stepped closer, frustrated, shaking now from all the emotions hitting him at once. “That wasn’t even— I still wanted you! I never stopped wanting you. I settled for her!” His voice cracked. “You dumb—?!”
The insult hung in the air, unfinished, like he couldn’t even bring himself to finish tearing her apart.
Her eyes glossed for the first time. Not weak—wounded. Disappointed. Exhausted. “And I settled for you,” she whispered. “That’s the part you never want to admit.”
Silence folded around them like a heavy curtain.
Two people who had held on to each other for so long… now standing in front of each other staring at the ruins.
“You loved me,” Trey said, softer now. “You know you did.”
“I did,” she said. “I still do. But love isn’t enough when we’re killing each other with it.”
He looked down, blinking hard. “So that’s it.”
She nodded slowly. “It has to be.”
Trey swallowed, chest tight, eyes burning as he turned away. “This chapter’s done then.”
Anjelys’ voice was small, trembling even though she tried to hide it. “Yeah… it is.”
And just like that—without a final hug, without a kiss goodbye, without one last attempt to fix something already shattered—they both walked away.
Not because they didn’t love each other.
But because sometimes love is the thing that breaks you the most.
The second the door clicked shut behind Trey, the whole apartment felt too quiet. Too still.
It was like the silence reached out and wrapped around her throat.
Anjelys stood there, back against the wall, hands shaking even though she had held herself so steady the entire time he was in front of her. She had been firm, sharp, unyielding — because she knew if she gave him even an inch of softness, she’d fold right back into him. And she couldn’t do that. Not this time.
Not with a marriage she was pretending was stable.
Not with a baby she was pretending she was ready for.
Not with a life she was pretending she chose freely.
She slid down the wall slowly, knees drawing up to her chest. The first tear didn’t even feel like hers — it just slipped out and hit her wrist like warm rain. Then another. And another. Until she couldn’t stop them.
Her breath came out shaky, uneven, the way someone cries when they’ve been holding it in for months.
“He still wanted me…” she whispered to the empty room, her voice breaking on the truth she wished she didn’t hear.
“He really… still wanted me.”
It hurt. God, it hurt.
Because she had wanted him too — fiercely, stupidly, in ways that made no sense next to the life she kept choosing instead.
She pressed her forehead to her knees, her hair falling around her like a curtain.
She didn’t sob loudly.
It was silent crying — the kind where your whole body trembles but you try to swallow every sound, every emotion, because you’re scared if you let yourself truly break, you won’t come back from it.
She thought of the baby.
Thought of Masego.
Thought of Trey, yelling because he was hurt, calling her out, begging her in his own angry way.
And then she thought of the way he said, “I still wanted you.”
That one cracked her deeper than anything else.
Because she knew she’d been waiting to hear it.
And now she’d heard it at the exact moment she had to walk away from it forever.
Her hand trembled as she wiped her face, but the tears kept coming anyway.
She looked around the apartment — the place that was supposed to symbolize a new beginning — and all she felt was the weight of everything she’d ruined and everything she’d lost.
“I loved you too,” she whispered into the empty room, finally letting herself admit it without fear.
“And I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”
But the room didn’t answer.
No one came back through the door.
Life didn’t pause for her to undo the choices she made.
She was alone now.
And for the first time, she let herself feel every inch of that loneliness.
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Wow, I just finished reading this excerpt from A.Powell's 'Rivalry Final book' and I'm absolutely reeling. This scene between Trey and Anjelys is everything I love about dramatic romance – raw, heartbreaking, and so incredibly real. It perfectly captures that agonizing moment when two people who deeply love each other realize that love alone isn't enough to make a relationship work. Anjelys's strength throughout their confrontation, even as her world crumbles, is truly something to behold. She stood firm, knowing that any crack in her resolve would pull her back into a cycle she couldn't afford. The weight of her 'pretending' – a stable marriage, a ready baby, a freely chosen life – is palpable. It makes you wonder how long she’d been carrying that burden, forcing herself to maintain a facade. And Trey, in his own pain, still clinging to the idea that he 'still wanted her' – it just adds another layer of tragic complexity. He settled for someone else, she settled for him, and now they're both left with the ruins of what could have been. What really struck me was Anjelys's breakdown after Trey leaves. The silence, the shaking hands, the quiet tears that she couldn't hold back anymore. It’s a powerful portrayal of private grief, the kind that hits you when you've had to be strong for too long. 'He still wanted me…' she whispers, a painful truth that she knew deep down, but had to deny to herself to make the impossible decision. And her admission, 'I loved you too… And I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,' echoed in the empty room, resonates so deeply. It’s a moment of pure vulnerability and regret that many of us can relate to, where you finally acknowledge the truth of your feelings, but it's too late to change anything. A.Powell has a way of crafting dialogue that feels authentic, even when the emotions are at their most extreme. Every line contributes to the escalating tension and eventual, heart-wrenching release. The description of Anjelys's outfit from the cover art, like those iconic black high heels with red soles, or her perfectly patterned nails and glimmering gold rings, just adds to the image of a woman trying to hold it all together, even as her inner world shatters. It makes you connect with the character on a visual level, imagining her composure against the internal chaos. This excerpt leaves me desperate to read 'Rivalry Final' in its entirety. It’s not just a story about a breakup; it’s about the impossible choices we make, the sacrifices for a perceived better future, and the lasting impact of past mistakes. It forces you to consider if love, no matter how fierce, can overcome every obstacle, or if sometimes, letting go is the only way to truly survive. If you’re a fan of emotional, character-driven narratives that explore the complexities of human relationships, you absolutely need to add this book to your TBR list. I can't wait to see how Anjelys and Trey navigate their lives after this devastating farewell. This is the kind of story that stays with you long after you've turned the final page.
