Chapter 18 #2
He walked straight into the living room and started pacing.
Back and forth.
Fast. Restless. Agitated.
His hands dragged through his hair before dropping back to his sides, fingers flexing tightly like he was trying to control himself and failing.
His breathing was rough and uneven, chest rising hard beneath his shirt.
Every turn he made was sharp and abrupt, like his body was carrying too much tension to stay still.
Amara frowned deeply now, watching him carefully.
“What is wrong with you?”
That made him stop instantly.
His back stayed turned toward her for one second longer before he slowly lifted his head and looked at her.
Really looked at her.
His eyes moved over her face like he was trying to confirm she was actually standing there alive in front of him. His chest rose unevenly as his breathing caught for a second.
When he finally spoke, his voice came out low and rough, held together only by force.
“Why the hell didn’t I know,” he said slowly, each word cutting heavily through the room, “that my wife went for a brain surgery… where she could’ve died?”
Amara went completely still.
The confusion on her face deepened.
Elias took a step toward her.
Then another.
The fear inside him twisted into anger again, sharper now, louder.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded, his voice rising as his hand cut through the air in frustration. “Why doesn’t your family know? Why didn’t anyone tell me anything?”
He stopped right in front of her.
His eyes burned with frustration and disbelief, jaw tight enough to ache.
“You’re my wife,” he said, quieter this time, but somehow more intense. “And you went through a goddamn surgery without telling me?”
Amara stared at him, stunned into silence. And then something inside her snapped.
Her anger flared instantly, hotter and sharper than before. Her chest rose quickly as she stared at him, eyes blazing with hurt and fury.
“Why didn’t I tell you?” she snapped, her voice rising sharply. “Why the hell would I tell you anything?”
Instead of backing away, she stepped closer to him, her hands shaking violently at her sides. Tears burned in her eyes, but the anger on her face burned even harder.
“Wasn’t it you who left me?” she demanded, her voice rising with every word.
“You left me there—I was on the floor crying, and you still walked out like none of it mattered. You stood there and told me you were leaving for a three-month business trip, and then you just disappeared from my life like I meant nothing!”
Her chest heaved sharply as she fought to keep herself together.
“And now you’re asking why I didn’t tell you anything?” she laughed bitterly, shaking her head at him. “After you abandoned me like that, why the hell would I tell you anything about me at all?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Elias moved.
His hand shot out, gripping the back of her neck before pulling her hard against his chest. The movement was sudden and forceful enough to make her stumble into him.
His arm locked around her instantly, grip tightening like instinct alone refused to let her go. His jaw clenched sharply as he looked down at her, eyes dark and burning with something dangerously close to desperation.
“I am your husband, Amara!” He said harshly, his voice rough with restrained emotion. “We were not divorced. I was supposed to be the one beside you through something like that. I was supposed to be there!”
His hold tightened again for a second.
“But instead, I find out about something like this from someone else?”
His voice cracked slightly at the end, the anger splintering into something heavier underneath.
Amara shoved both hands against his chest, trying to push him away, but he barely moved.
“Husband?” she repeated, tilting her head back to glare at him. “What kind of husband stays silent while his wife is being walked all over just because he forced her into a marriage?”
Her eyes burned as she looked up at him, hurt and anger crashing together inside them.
“What kind of husband brings another woman to a party instead of his wife?” she demanded, her voice trembling harder with every word. “Do you even know how many times I had to stand there and listen to people say you did me a favor by marrying me?”
Her fingers twisted tightly into the fabric of his shirt, wrinkling it in her grip.
“How many times I was ignored? How many times you walked past me like I didn’t even exist? How many nights you came home and treated me like a stranger in my own marriage?”
Her voice cracked halfway through, but she forced herself to continue, her breathing turning uneven.
“We were never even husband and wife,” she whispered bitterly, tears gathering in her eyes. “We never shared a bed. You were barely home half the time… and even when you were, it still felt like I was alone.”
She shoved harder against his chest this time, trying to push him away, but the pain in her expression only deepened.
“So don’t you dare tell me how a wife should behave when you weren’t even a husband to begin with.”
Elias’s expression darkened instantly.
A muscle ticked sharply in his jaw.
“I told you,” he said sharply, voice low and tight, “it was for your safety. You were injured. I didn’t want to hurt you further.”
Amara’s eyes flashed with disbelief.
“And you had no right to hide it from me!” she fired back immediately. “Even if you thought you were protecting me, didn’t I deserve to know? Didn’t I deserve one explanation?”
Her breathing shook now as years of pain finally spilled out without restraint.
“Where were you when I was crying?” she demanded, her voice cracking. “When people were insulting me? When I was being humiliated? Where were you then?”
Elias’s jaw tightened harder.
“I didn’t know it was happening to you. If I had—”
“You are my husband!” She cut him off fiercely.
Her hands dropped from his chest only, her entire body shaking with emotion.
“It doesn’t matter anymore!” she shouted, her voice rising louder with every word. “You don’t get to decide what I should feel. You don’t get to decide how I handle my pain—”
Her breath hitched sharply.
“—the pain of being married to someone who didn’t even consider me his wife!”
Elias took a deep breath, like he was trying to force his anger back down, then suddenly pulled her into his arms.
The hug was so tight it stole her breath.
Amara froze against him, her body going still, but he didn’t let go. His arms stayed wrapped around her as if he was afraid she would disappear the second he loosened his grip. His chest pressed hard against hers, and only then did she realize he was shaking.
His entire body was rigid and trembling.
Slowly, he pulled back just enough to look at her.
“I’m sorry.”
His voice cracked.
His eyes searched hers in confusion, pain, and something almost helpless.
“I thought…” He swallowed hard, struggling to speak properly. “I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know how to fix this.”
The words came out broken and unfinished.
For the first time, she saw the man who always had an answer for everything fail to explain himself. The same man who handled billion-dollar problems without even blinking now looked completely lost, unable to form the words he truly wanted to say.
But Amara’s expression didn’t change.
She placed both hands against his chest and pushed him back, creating distance between them.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said flatly. “It’s over. The past is over, and whatever we had between us is over too.”
Her voice carried no anger anymore, which somehow hurt even more.
“So you don’t have to apologize. You can’t change the past, and I can’t keep expecting things that will never happen.”
She stepped farther away from him.
“Now leave.”
“I’m not leaving,” Elias said immediately.
His hand shot out, grabbing her waist before she could move farther away. He pulled her back against him, lowering his forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry I didn’t pick up your call,” he murmured roughly. “I thought you were going to ask for a divorce again. I was terrified of answering and hearing you say those words.”
His grip around her tightened slightly.
“There was already so much chaos in Australia. I was trying to deal with everything there, and I…” He shut his eyes briefly. “I couldn’t handle hearing you ask to leave me too.”
“Don’t worry. I get it,” she replied quietly.
There wasn’t even a trace of emotion on her face anymore.
She gently pulled herself away from him again.
“You were busy. I can’t expect you to be available for me all the time.”
The indifference in her voice made something twist painfully inside him.
Amara had always been emotional with him—needy, clingy, expressive. Even when they fought, she still looked at him with feelings in her eyes.
But now there was nothing.
No anger.
No sadness.
Nothing at all.
It felt like she had already given up on him completely. Like she no longer expected anything from him anymore.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Near the doorway, Felix had quietly stepped inside, but he didn’t interrupt. He simply stood there with his head lowered, staring at the floor.
Elias’s attention remained locked on Amara.
He reached up slowly, cupping her face in his hand before tilting her head up toward him.
“Why didn’t you contact me?” he asked hoarsely. “Why didn’t you call Felix? Why didn’t you text me?”
His brows furrowed painfully.
“You could’ve sent me one message, Amara. Just one message, and I would’ve come back immediately.”
Amara frowned at him.
“I did call you.”
Elias went still.
“I called Felix too.” Her voice remained calm, almost detached. “You hung up on me, and told me you’d call me back.”
Her lips curved bitterly.
“But neither of you did.”
The color slowly drained from Elias’s face.