Chapter 16 #3
“But trust me,” she said firmly, “I’ve already let go.”
She let out a frustrated laugh and looked at him coldly.
“You need to leave me alone now.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Elias’s grip on her wrist tightened.
Before she could move away, he suddenly pushed her backward onto the hospital bed. A gasp escaped her lips as the mattress dipped beneath her weight. Elias climbed over her immediately, pinning her beneath him.
He grabbed both of her wrists and pulled them above her head, holding them there firmly with one hand while the other braced beside her face.
His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared down into her eyes.
“There is nothing you can do that will make me let go of you,” he growled. “You are my wife, and that is never going to change.”
Amara turned her face away from him in frustration, refusing to look at him, but Elias immediately grabbed her jaw again and forced her to face him.
His eyes burned with desperation.
“Tell me what you lacked,” he demanded. “Tell me everything I failed to give you during our marriage, and I’ll fix it. I promise I’ll fulfill every wish you have.”
His voice lowered, becoming rough and emotional.
“I’ll make up for every moment we lost. I’ll change everything.” His thumb brushed against her cheek as he stared at her intensely. “You’ll forget that horrible year, and all you’ll remember are the happy days we’ll have together from now on.”
Every word came out with complete seriousness.
“I’m not letting you go, Amara,” he said firmly. “I want you. There is nothing in this world that can change that.”
He leaned closer, his forehead almost touching hers.
Amara stared at him in disbelief. She had lost so much because of him. And all he had to say was that he would not do it again.
The anger inside her exploded instantly.
She suddenly shoved hard against his chest, forcing him backward. Elias lost balance and fell onto the bed beneath her with surprise flashing across his face.
Before he could react, Amara climbed on top of him, sitting over his stomach as she grabbed his collar tightly and yanked him upward.
Her trembling hands clenched the fabric near his neck while tears burned in her eyes.
“You can never give back everything I lost because of you!” she cried out.
Her voice cracked with pain and fury.
“I lost so much that I stopped counting!” she shouted. “I even lost my life, Elias!”
The words hit him so suddenly that his entire expression froze.
“But you weren’t there for me,” she said, pain flashing across her face. “So don’t sit here acting like you can fix everything now when you can never give me those moments back!”
Tears streamed down her face now, months of suppressed pain finally breaking free.
“I will never trust you again!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
She could barely believe the audacity of his words. He kept saying he would never disappoint her again when he had already disappointed her so many times she had lost count.
And worst of all—
He had left her to die.
The thought alone made her feel like she was losing her mind.
“You need to stop this!” she snapped hysterically.
Elias stared at her in confusion, completely stunned.
“What are you talking about?” he asked immediately, his brows furrowing deeply. “What do you mean you lost your life?”
His voice turned anxious.
“What happened, Amara?”
But she said nothing.
Her fingers slowly loosened from his collar before she shoved him away from her completely. Elias fell back against the bed while Amara climbed off him at once.
She grabbed her purse from the table beside the hospital bed and stormed toward the door with furious steps. The sharp sound of her heels echoed through the hallway even after she disappeared from sight.
Elias remained frozen on the bed in shock.
His breathing was uneven as confusion filled his face.
He had thought Amara was simply angry and that once her temper cooled down, they would eventually remarry.
But this—
This no longer looked like anger.
It had become something far darker, something he couldn’t even recognize anymore.
Amara had never looked at him this way before.
In the past, every time she got upset with him, he could calm her down with gifts, affection, or a few soft words.
But now it felt as though none of those things mattered anymore.
He had never imagined that after the divorce, the woman who once loved him so deeply would look at him like there was nothing left between them at all.
Now she looked at him like he was her enemy.
Like he had destroyed something inside her that could never be repaired again.
The realization left him shaken.
For the first time in his life, Elias truly felt like he was losing everything he had.
His chest felt painfully tight, as if his heart was slowly being crushed into pieces.
Just then, the hospital room door opened again.
Footsteps echoed inside the room.
Elias instantly lifted his head, hope flashing across his face.
“Amara—”
The word left his mouth automatically, assuming she had come back.
But instead, three tall figures walked into the room.
Cassian, Xavier, and Lucius.
Lucius shoved both hands into his pockets as he leaned lazily against the wall near the door, looking completely relaxed despite the tense atmosphere in the room.
Cassian stood quietly beside him with his usual calm expression, watching everything in silence.
Meanwhile, Xavier walked straight toward Elias’s bed.
Once he reached him, Xavier bent slightly at the waist and narrowed his eyes while staring down at Elias.
Elias was looking like some pitiful stray dog abandoned on the street.
Seeing the miserable look on Elias’s face, Xavier snorted.
Elias’s eyes were visibly red, his expression dark and furious, but there was also something exhausted and broken hidden beneath the anger.
“Why do you look like this?” Xavier asked with a laugh. “Who hit you on the head?”
Elias instantly stiffened.
His jaw clenched hard before he glanced toward the hospital door again, staring at the empty hallway where Amara had disappeared moments ago.
Then he suddenly pointed furiously toward the door.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” he snapped loudly.
The frustration in his voice shocked all three men.
“I gave her everything! I apologized so many times, and she’s treating me like I’m some stranger instead of her husband!”
His voice rose with every sentence as anger and disbelief mixed together.
“It was just a mistake!” he shouted. “Why doesn’t she get it? She’s acting like I’m her enemy!”
He dragged a hand through his hair violently, clearly losing control of his temper.
“All she has to do is forgive me!” he continued. “We’ve fought so many times before, and every single time she eventually let it go. But this time she refuses to forgive me no matter what I do!”
His breathing became uneven.
“What the hell is going on in that woman’s head?”
The anger in his voice was obvious, but beneath it was panic.
Because for the first time, Amara was no longer coming back to him.
And he couldn’t forget the hatred in her eyes.
Xavier burst out laughing at his words.
“So basically,” he drawled casually, “you need to find yourself a new wife now. You’re single again. Congratulations.”
Elias slowly turned toward him with a terrifying expression.
“Say that one more time,” he said coldly, “and I’ll stab you.”
He pointed directly toward the medical tray beside the hospital bed where several injections and surgical tools rested.
“I already have weapons right here.”
Xavier immediately took a step back.
“What the hell?” he said, staring at him. “You’ve actually gone crazy.”
“Don’t test me,” Elias growled. “I swear I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”
“It’s not that serious,” Lucius drawled lazily. “If she refuses to forgive you, then just force her to forgive you.”
Elias frowned.
Lucius shrugged casually.
“Make her jealous,” he said simply. “That usually works. If you push hard enough, she’ll probably forgive you quickly.”
“The fuck it will.”
Cassian’s sharp voice instantly cut through the room.
All three men turned toward him at once.
Cassian rarely cursed, so even Elias looked caught off guard.
Cassian stepped away from the wall and pointed directly at Elias with a warning look.
“Don’t even think about making her jealous,” he said flatly. “It won’t make things better.”
Xavier glanced sideways at him before letting out a small laugh.
“The man is speaking from experience,” he muttered.
Cassian immediately shot Xavier the same deadly glare Elias had given to him moments ago.
“Don’t forget my hands work perfectly fine,” Cassian said coldly. “Unlike Elias, I can actually get up, grab that knife, and stab you with it myself.”
Lucius let out a short laugh.
Xavier walked over and casually slapped a hand onto Cassian’s shoulder.
“Are you still drowning in heartbreak over Juliet? Jealousy is burning you alive?” Xavier asked mockingly. “Get over it already. She’s engaged to someone else.”
“Shut up,” Cassian growled instantly.
His expression darkened as he shot Lucius another glare before finally turning toward Elias again.
Then suddenly, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“You know what?” he said slowly. “I think I figured out why she suddenly stopped caring about you.”
Elias frowned immediately.
“What reason?”
Cassian crossed his arms over his chest.
“She’s hiding a lover from you.”
Elias snapped upright so fast it looked like someone had shoved a rod through his spine.
“What the fuck?” he barked, staring at Cassian like he had lost his mind.
Cassian remained calm.
“I’m serious,” he said with a suspicious look. “Think about it. She forgave you every single time before, right?”
Elias stayed silent.
“But suddenly,” Cassian continued, “you disappear for three months, and now she wants nothing to do with you anymore.”
“That’s because she’s angry,” Elias snapped immediately.
Cassian raised a brow.
“Is she?”