Chapter 2
The phone rang.
And rang.
And rang.
But he didn’t pick up.
Amara swallowed hard and quickly ended the call before dialing again.
Her fingers started trembling even more as the call continued ringing unanswered.
Slowly, her eyes dropped toward the wallpaper on her phone screen.
It was a photo of her and Elias from the first dinner they had gone to together after getting married.
She still remembered how happy she had been that night.
She had spent nearly two hours choosing her dress, nervously fixing her makeup over and over because it was their first dinner as husband and wife.
In the photo, she was smiling brightly at the camera while holding onto Elias’s arm, her eyes full of happiness that she hadn’t even tried to hide.
Elias stood beside her in his black suit, calm and unreadable as always, but Amara had treasured that picture like it was something precious.
Back then, just standing beside him had felt enough to make her happy.
Now, staring at the picture carefully…
She suddenly realized it didn’t look like he had truly wanted to smile at all.
It looked forced.
Small.
Restrained.
Now that she looked at the picture again, it almost seemed like he had only smiled because she had been holding his hand so tightly and looking so happy beside him.
As if he had forced himself to smile for her sake.
The picture suddenly felt haunting.
Painful.
And then a terrifying thought crossed her mind.
‘If I died from this illness… would he even come to pick up my corpse?’
Amara’s fingers tightened painfully around the phone.
Except for the times she dragged him out herself or begged him to come home early, Elias was always busy.
So busy that sometimes she wouldn’t even see him for days.
Her trembling fingers pressed call again.
This time, just as the phone was about to disconnect—
The call connected.
“Where are you?”
Elias’s voice came from the other end immediately.
Cold.
Tense.
“I told you I’d get there soon. Why didn’t you wait for me at the party?”
Amara took a shaky breath.
“Have you reached?” she asked softly.
“Yes, I have,” Elias answered impatiently. “Where are you?”
Amara’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“Did you go to the party alone?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.”
The answer came instantly.
Without hesitation.
Amara’s eyes slowly closed.
Her heart broke all over again.
The lie came so easily to him.
So naturally.
As if he didn’t even care whether she believed him or not.
She had seen Bianca beside him herself. But he lied to her so easily.
Amara suddenly felt exhausted.
Completely exhausted.
Without answering him, she hung up the call.
The line went silent.
She stared blankly at the screen for several seconds afterward.
But he didn’t call back.
Amara lowered her head slowly.
Tears filled her eyes again before slipping silently down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away with trembling fingers, but more tears kept falling no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
Finally, she took a shaky breath and scrolled through her contacts until she found Juliet, her best friend’s number.
Then she pressed call.
Juliet answered almost immediately.
“Amara?”
“Juliettt…” Amara broke down the second she heard her voice, the wail slipping out no matter how hard she tried to hold it back.
There was a sharp pause on the other end.
“What the hell happened?” Juliet’s voice turned panicked instantly, shock and worry filling every word. “Are you crying?”
“I-I’m at the hos-hospital,” Amara sniffled helplessly. “I want to go home…”
“I’m coming right now. Stop crying.” Juliet’s voice became firm immediately despite the panic underneath it. “Which hospital?”
“Springfield.”
Amara heard the sound of keys jingling through the phone, followed by hurried footsteps and a car door slamming shut.
“Stay there. Don’t go anywhere alone, okay? I’ll be there soon.”
The call ended quickly after that.
An hour later, Juliet stood beside Amara at the hospital reception desk while Amara quietly signed her discharge papers with trembling hands.
And Juliet looked absolutely furious.
Juliet had rushed straight to the hospital, her long blonde wavy hair pinned up messily in a claw clip, loose strands falling around her face. She was in jeans and an oversized T-shirt that read Don’t talk to me before I talk to you.
Her sharp eyes burned with anger as she kept looking at Amara’s pale face and swollen red eyes, her jaw clenched so tightly it looked like she was holding herself back from exploding.
“He should be ashamed of himself,” she finally snapped loudly, nearly slamming the pen onto the counter. “I swear to God, I hope his company collapses one day. Was that damn business party more important than you? How can he do this to you?”
The nurse behind the desk glanced up awkwardly.
But Juliet didn’t care.
“You only went to that stupid party because of him!” she continued angrily. “It’s not like you wanted to go there for yourself. He asked you to go with him!”
Her voice grew louder with every word.
“And then he acts like you don’t even exist and leaves you alone there? What the hell is wrong with him?”
Juliet’s eyes turned red with anger.
“And now you’re in the hospital, and he doesn’t even care?!” she nearly shouted. “What kind of husband does that?”
Juliet slammed the pen down on the counter so hard it slipped from her hand and rolled across the desk.
The nurse looked startled.
Amara quickly reached for Juliet’s arm and whispered softly,
“Calm down… lower your voice.”
“The hell I will,” Juliet snapped furiously. “I don’t care who hears me.”
Then her voice suddenly cracked.
“You have a brain tumor, Amara.”
The words came out shaking so badly that Juliet almost couldn’t finish them.
“How can he do this to you?” she whispered brokenly. “How dare he?”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she quickly looked away before forcing herself to continue.
“I swear to God, I don’t even understand why you fell in love with him,” she said bitterly. “You’re literally dying, and he still doesn’t give a damn about you.”
“Juliet…” Amara said tiredly.
“No!” Juliet snapped immediately. “Don’t defend him.”
Her chest rose and fell harshly as anger flashed across her face.
“You told him you were going to that party,” Juliet said, her voice trembling with fury. “And when he didn’t find you there, his first instinct wasn’t even to look for you?”
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
“What kind of husband does that?” she snapped. “His wife disappears in the middle of the night, ends up in the hospital, and he doesn’t even notice?”
Amara lowered her eyes quietly.
Silence fell between them for a few seconds.
“Juliet,” Amara whispered softly again, exhaustion heavy in her voice. “Let’s just go home. I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”
Juliet stared at her for a few long seconds.
Then her expression softened slightly.
Finally, she gave a tight nod.
“Fine.”
Without another word, Amara intertwined her fingers with Juliet’s and gently pulled her toward the hospital exit.
Even while walking, Juliet still looked furious enough to explode at any second.
So Amara gently squeezed her hand, silently trying to calm her down as the two of them slowly walked out into the cold night together.
Juliet insisted on taking Amara back to her own apartment for the night, but Amara refused quietly and asked her to drop her off at Elias’s house instead.
It was already very late.
Nearly three in the morning.
The night was silent and dark as Amara stepped out of the car.
Juliet looked at her worriedly through the window. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Amara forced a small smile and nodded.
“I’ll be fine.”
Juliet clearly didn’t believe her, but after a few more reluctant sighs, she finally drove away.
Amara turned and slowly walked inside the house.
Everything was dark and quiet.
All the servants had already gone to rest, and the huge mansion felt empty and cold.
Elias still hadn’t returned home.
Amara quietly walked upstairs and entered their bedroom.
The moment the door closed behind her, exhaustion crashed over her completely.
The soaked dress she had been wearing all night suddenly felt unbearably heavy, like it had been dragging down her entire body the whole time without her noticing.
Her head still hurt faintly.
Her chest hurt even more.
She quietly walked toward the closet in the silence of the room. Even the soft sound of her footsteps against the marble floor felt painfully loud to her ears. The entire house felt empty and cold around her, and the heaviness inside her chest only seemed to grow stronger with every second.
Slowly, she reached for the closet doors and slid them open.
Soft lights flickered on automatically inside.
Her eyes moved across the shelves in silence.
Jewelry.
Rows of expensive dresses.
Perfumes lined neatly together.
Luxury heels.
Silk nightdresses still neatly folded exactly the way they had been arranged when she moved in.
So many things inside the closet still remained untouched even after an entire year of marriage.
Not because she didn’t want to… but because she never got the chance to use them.
There had never been intimacy between her and Elias.
Not real intimacy.
Not the kind she had secretly dreamed about after marrying the man she loved.
She had entered this marriage believing that one day things would slowly change between them.
That one day he would look at her differently.
Touch her differently.
Love her back.
But tonight…
For the first time…
The truth hurt deeply enough to break her.
Their marriage looked perfect in front of everyone else, but behind closed doors, it was cold, distant… empty.
A year of marriage.
And they hadn’t even kissed.
Amara’s body trembled faintly at the realization. She lowered her head, pressing her lips together as her fingers curled tightly into her palms. She stood there staring blankly at the untouched nightwear hanging inside the closet.
Her chest hurt.