Chapter 17 #2
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she exploded. “I already told you my life is none of your business anymore! We’re divorced!”
Elias kept one hand on the steering wheel, his expression calm despite her rage.
“How could you go to the police station over something this ridiculous?” she continued angrily. “What were you even thinking?!”
Elias finally glanced at her briefly before answering smoothly, “You weren’t answering my calls. I had no other way to find my wife.”
Amara looked like she was about to lose her mind.
“And besides,” he added casually, “didn’t you tell me that if I couldn’t find my wife, I should go to the police station and look for her there?”
Amara stared at him in disbelief.
“You are insane.”
A faint smirk tugged at Elias’s lips.
Amara crossed her arms tightly and turned toward the window before snapping coldly, “I want to go back home.”
Elias glanced at her again before calmly replying, “I am taking you home.”
The entire drive back passed in complete silence.
Amara sat with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, staring out the window stubbornly while refusing to even look at Elias.
Elias didn’t say a single word either.
The moment the car stopped in front of his house, Amara immediately reached for the door handle, ready to get out on her own.
But before she could even step out properly, Elias walked around the car, opened her door, and slid one arm beneath her knees while the other wrapped around her waist.
In one smooth movement, he lifted her straight into his arms.
Amara instantly snapped, “Elias! Put me down!”
He shut the car door with his foot and carried her toward the house without even slowing down.
“I want to go back to my own home!” she shouted angrily, struggling against him. “This is kidnapping! You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore!”
But Elias ignored every single word.
His grip on her only tightened as he carried her inside the mansion and straight upstairs.
The servants quietly lowered their heads and pretended not to notice the chaos.
Amara kept glaring at him furiously the entire way.
Only after reaching the bedroom did Elias finally stop.
He walked inside and unceremoniously dropped her onto the bed.
Amara immediately pushed herself upright, glaring at him in disbelief.
“What is wrong with you?” she snapped. “Can you stop bothering me already? This is getting out of hand!”
But Elias didn’t answer.
Instead, he casually shrugged off his coat and tossed it onto the nearby chair. Then he bent down and kicked off his shoes and socks carelessly onto the floor.
Without a word, he loosened the top buttons of his shirt before climbing onto the bed beside her.
Amara instinctively moved back slightly.
But the next second, Elias suddenly pulled her closer by the waist and dropped his head directly into her lap.
Amara froze.
Before she could react, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he buried his face against her stomach and closed his eyes.
“You’re crushing me,” she complained immediately, pushing at his shoulders.
Elias only tightened his hold slightly.
“I haven’t slept properly in days,” he muttered tiredly against her stomach. “I missed you so much.”
His voice was low and exhausted, lacking its usual sharpness.
Amara could feel his warm breaths through the thin fabric of her clothes as he slowly relaxed against her body.
She stiffened immediately.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said coldly, trying to push him away again. “Let go of me. I’m not sleeping with you.”
Elias didn’t even bother responding.
Instead, when she tried to move again, he tightened his arms around her waist possessively and refused to let her go.
A second later, she heard him mumble sleepily, “Stop moving around. I need sleep.”
His brows furrowed slightly as he pulled her even closer.
“It’s been so long since I slept properly,” he muttered. “Keep quiet.”
Amara glared down at him in frustration and tried pushing him again, but he barely reacted.
Then suddenly, she noticed the steady rhythm of his breathing.
Her movements slowly stopped.
Within minutes, Elias had already fallen deeply asleep.
Amara stared at him in shock.
Dark circles sat beneath his closed eyes, and for the first time in days, the tension on his face had finally disappeared.
She carefully tried to pull herself away from him.
But the moment she moved, Elias instinctively dragged her down onto the bed with him.
Amara let out a startled sound as he rolled slightly and buried his face against her neck instead, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist while the other trapped her against his chest.
His lips brushed lightly against the side of her neck as he unconsciously held her closer in his sleep.
Amara stiffened completely.
“Unbelievable…” she muttered under her breath.
But no matter how much she tried, he refused to loosen his hold even in his sleep.
In the end, she had no choice but to stay there stiffly in his arms.
At some point during the night, exhaustion finally pulled her into sleep too.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the curtains, spilling across the bed in soft gold.
Amara stirred first.
Carefully, she tried to slide out of Elias’s arms without waking him, her movements slow and controlled. But the moment she shifted, his body reacted instantly.
Elias jerked awake.
His arms tightened around her waist again, firm and instinctive, as if her leaving had triggered something in him even before he was fully conscious.
“Where are you going?” he asked hoarsely, voice thick with sleep.
“I’m leaving,” Amara answered flatly, already trying to pry his arm away.
Elias pushed himself up slightly, still half-dazed. Before she could get off the bed, he caught her wrist.
“No.”
Amara frowned, tugging her hand back. “Let go.”
“Amara, I have begged you so many times,” he murmured, his voice softening, eyes growing heavier and more intent as he leaned closer to her. “Marry me again. We can sleep together like this every day from now on.”
For a second, something flickered across Amara’s face—shock, disbelief, something sharp and wounded. Then she let out a quiet, bitter scoff.
She shoved his hand off her wrist roughly.
“Elías,” she said in a low, cold voice, “you don’t even care if I live or die. Why would I marry you again?”
His brows pulled together, confusion replacing the haze in his eyes.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, staring at her. “I don’t understand.”
Amara’s chest tightened at the sight of his blank confusion—the same one she’d seen before, the same one that always made her feel like she was speaking into a wall.
“You never will,” she said quietly. “And I won’t waste my time anymore.”
Something in her chest cracked painfully as she said it.
Before he could react, she shoved him off her fully and swung her legs out of bed. The sharp pain that shot through her made her inhale sharply, but she didn’t stop.
Amara grabbed her purse with trembling hands, forcing herself to steady.
Elias was already sitting up behind her.
“Amara—” he began, voice sharper now.
But she didn’t look back.
She walked out of the room and the door closed behind her with a loud thud.
***
“Fucking hell,” Elias gritted out, dragging a hand through his hair as he tried to steady his breathing. Agitation burned in his eyes as he stood in the middle of the room, frustration and displeasure written all over his face.
It had started as nothing more than a small fight between them.
During the argument, he had agreed to the divorce because she was upset, thinking she would calm down and eventually come back to him.
He had never imagined that once he truly let her leave, she would become this stubborn—and refuse to return.
He had believed that if he spoiled her enough, made her happy enough, she would eventually forgive him and come back on her own.
But months had passed… and she still refused.
The harder he tried to get close to her and bring her back, the more distance she created between them. It was slowly driving him insane. Everything was becoming harder for him to handle.
His phone suddenly rang on the table.
Elias let out another frustrated breath before marching toward the side table. He snatched the phone up and pressed it against his ear without even looking at the screen.
On the other end, Xavier’s urgent voice came through.
“Elias, get to the hospital right now.”
Elias frowned immediately, his heart dropping. “What the hell is going on?”
But Xavier spoke over him before he could say anything else.
“Maverick found out Zoe is alive,” he said quickly. “He’s at the hospital right now, raising hell. Get here fast.”
It didn’t take Elias long to react.
He quickly grabbed the suit he had thrown aside the previous night and shoved it on carelessly. His shirt remained half-buttoned, the collar messy and uneven, while his tie was nowhere to be seen. He barely cared about his appearance as he rushed out of the room.
The moment he stepped outside, he headed straight for the car.
Felix, who had just spotted him, immediately hurried over. “Mr. Creed—”
“Get to the hospital. Take the other car,” Elias barked sharply before Felix could finish.
Without waiting another second, Elias slid into the driver’s seat and sped off.
The drive to the hospital was reckless and fast.
The second he arrived, he slammed the car door shut and strode quickly through the hospital entrance, his expression dark and tense. Nurses and visitors instinctively moved out of his way as he headed straight toward Zoe’s ward.
As soon as he reached the hallway, he saw Cassian and Xavier outside the room.
Both of them were struggling to hold Maverick back.
Cassian had a tight grip on Maverick’s arm, trying to force him to stay still and stop him from barging into the room again. Xavier stood beside them, tense and visibly irritated as he tried to calm the situation.
The closer Elias got, the clearer the shouting became.