Chapter 19
The morning sun spilled through the windshield, warm light falling across Elias’s face as he drove toward Amara’s apartment. His gaze briefly shifted to the bouquet of lilies resting on the passenger seat before returning to the road ahead.
His hands were tight around the steering wheel, knuckles pale with tension. Exhaustion was clear on his face after staying awake the entire night, but none of it compared to the nervous pounding in his chest at the thought of seeing Amara again.
He had changed out of last night’s clothes into a fresh black shirt and dark pants. There was no tie around his neck, and his suit jacket lay tossed beneath the bouquet. His breathing was heavy and uneven, his thoughts consumed by Amara.
Just then, his phone started ringing.
Elias stiffened instantly, irritation flashing across his face at the interruption. For a second, he almost ignored it, but then his eyes flicked toward the screen and saw Xavier’s name.
Taking a slow breath, he pressed the pickup button on the car screen.
Xavier’s tense voice came through immediately.
“Maverick is trying to forcefully move Zoe out of the hospital. He already removed some of her medical equipment. I tried talking to him, but he’s completely lost his damn mind.”
Elias’s jaw tightened.
His eyes dropped to the flowers on the passenger seat, and something painful flickered across his expression. His chest felt heavy, but in the end, his grip tightened around the steering wheel as he abruptly turned the car around.
The tires screeched lightly against the road.
It didn’t take long for him to reach the hospital.
The moment Elias stormed into the corridor, his sharp eyes immediately landed on Maverick standing near Zoe’s room. Nurses stood nearby nervously, not daring to interfere.
As soon as Maverick spotted him, he started marching toward him without hesitation.
Elias came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, his face cold and unreadable. He stood there with deadly calmness, one hand slipping into his pocket as he stared at Maverick without emotion.
Maverick stopped right in front of him, fury burning in his eyes.
“You,” he snapped, raising a finger in Elias’s face. “I’m taking Zoe with me. You have no fucking right to stop me.”
“Maverick—”
Xavier quickly stepped between them, grabbing Maverick by the shoulder and trying to push him back before things escalated further.
“You’re not thinking about Zoe’s condition,” Xavier said firmly. “She was just transferred here from Australia. She can’t handle another transfer right now. It’ll affect her health.”
He glanced toward Elias before looking back at Maverick.
“Elias did the right thing for her. You need to understand that.”
Maverick shoved Xavier’s hand off his shoulder aggressively and took another step toward Elias.
“You’re nothing but a selfish and arrogant bastard,” he spat coldly. “I’m not leaving my sister with you.”
His chest rose sharply with anger as he jabbed a finger toward himself.
“She’s my sister. I can take care of my own family perfectly fine.”
Then his eyes darkened dangerously.
“What the fuck makes you think you have more right over my sister than I do?”
Elias looked exhausted, but strangely calm. A hollow smile slowly appeared on his face as he looked at Maverick.
“I did everything I could for Zoe,” he said quietly. “Because you’re like a brother to me… and Zoe is like my little sister.”
His voice remained steady, but the tiredness in his eyes was impossible to miss.
“It wasn’t just for Amara. It was for you too. You couldn’t even walk back then, so I handled everything I could.”
He paused for a second before letting out a bitter laugh under his breath.
“But I’m tired now.”
His gaze turned cold.
“If you want to take Zoe away, then do it. That’s on you.”
Then his jaw tightened painfully.
“The person I care about the most is Amara.”
At the mention of her name, something cracked in his expression.
“But when she needed me the most…” His voice lowered hoarsely. “I couldn’t even protect my own wife.”
His eyes darkened with guilt.
“I thought I owed it to you and Zoe after marrying Amara. I thought I had to keep choosing you over her every damn time.”
He shook his head slowly.
“But now I realize all I was doing was pushing Amara away.”
The corridor fell silent.
Elias looked directly into Maverick’s eyes.
“Zoe and Amara’s cars collided, but whose fault was it really?” he asked coldly. “Their cars moved toward each other. Amara didn’t drive into Zoe.”
His breathing turned heavier as emotions finally started surfacing through his calm exterior.
“I love Amara,” he said firmly. “And if I have to give up everyone else for her… including you… then I will.”
His eyes turned sharp and unwavering.
“I already failed her once. I will never make her cry again, no matter who stands in front of me.”
Maverick’s face twisted violently with rage.
“You’re nothing but a fucking traitor!” he roared, shoving Xavier away as he stepped closer to Elias. “You betrayed me!”
His chest heaved furiously.
“I was your friend, but the second a woman came into your life, you sided with her instead of me!”
His eyes were bloodshot with anger.
“I don’t give a damn what proof exists!” he shouted. “The reality is that Amara is the reason Zoe is lying in a fucking coma! She’s the reason my legs stopped working!”
He pointed aggressively at Elias.
“So none of that other shit matters! What matters is that you chose Amara over me!”
Elias stared at him silently for a moment before answering with complete indifference.
“She’s the love of my life,” he said. “I’ll choose her over everyone.”
His eyes turned colder.
“Especially when she’s innocent.”
That sentence completely snapped whatever control Maverick had left.
With a furious roar, Maverick suddenly raised his fist and swung at Elias.
Xavier’s face changed instantly.
“Maverick!”
But before the punch could land, Elias caught his wrist midair with one hand.
The impact stopped sharply.
Elias’s expression didn’t change.
Without a word, he shoved Maverick’s arm aside hard enough to force him back a step, but he didn’t hit him in return.
He simply turned around and walked away.
His footsteps echoed heavily through the corridor as he stormed out of the hospital.
A while later, Elias parked outside Amara’s apartment building. The bouquet of lilies still rested on the passenger seat. He sat there silently, staring up at her apartment window.
But he couldn’t move.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel as frustration filled his face.
He let out a harsh laugh at himself.
“Pathetic,” he muttered bitterly.
After everything she had gone through alone because of him, he no longer even had the courage to face her.
In the end, he drove away again.
By the time evening fell, Elias was already heavily drunk.
The entire mansion was dark except for the faint kitchen light left on in the distance. Silence filled every corner of the house, making it feel colder and emptier than ever before.
Elias sat slumped on the couch with a half-empty bottle hanging loosely from his hand. The top buttons of his shirt undone carelessly. His eyes were red—not just from alcohol, but from hours of staring at the messages Amara had sent him.
Again and again.
Like torturing himself on purpose.
Her words refused to leave his head.
Her voice.
Her smile.
The way she used to glare at him whenever they sat together at the dining table.
“If you can’t handle spicy food, then stop eating it,” she would complain while pushing a glass of water toward him. “Why do you always order spicy dishes whenever I do?”
At the time, he had always brushed it off with indifference, acting annoyed whenever she nagged him.
But the truth had been embarrassingly simple.
He ate what she ate because he loved her.
Because sharing the same food with her somehow made him feel closer to her.
Because seeing her happy while eating made him want to stay there longer.
And yet he had never told her any of that.
Elias let out a rough laugh under his breath before dragging a hand down his face. The alcohol burned through his veins, but it still wasn’t enough to quiet his mind.
Suddenly, he pushed himself up from the couch.
His movements were unsteady as he staggered toward the dining room, one hand bracing against the wall for support. He nearly bumped into the chair before dropping heavily into it.
The dining table was filled with untouched food prepared by the staff hours ago.
His eyes landed on a bowl of spicy chicken curry.
For a long moment, he just stared at it blankly.
Then he grabbed the plate violently and pulled it toward himself.
He started eating recklessly, shoving food into his mouth without caring about the taste or the heat. His breathing grew uneven as the spice burned down his throat, but he didn’t stop.
The pain barely registered.
All he could hear were Amara’s messages echoing endlessly inside his head.
‘Elias… I’m scared. The doctor said I have a brain tumor and that I might not wake up after the operation. I’m terrified.’
‘I was very sick today. My head wouldn’t stop hurting and I vomited so much.’
‘I’ve been lying in bed for the past five days. I couldn’t even look at sunlight anymore, so I asked the maids to install blackout curtains in the room. I stay in complete darkness now because it hurts less that way.’
‘I can’t eat anything. Every time the pain throbs inside my head, I feel nauseous again and throw up. But today I feel a little better. ‘
‘I miss you so much.’
‘The doctor said there’s a chance I might not survive the surgery. But I can’t tell my parents about it because I don’t want them to worry.’
‘Juliet is here with me, but… I still wanted you beside me. Even though you weren’t here for me… I still can’t force my heart to stop loving you.
‘I’m scared, Elias. I wish you were here.’
‘The opposite of love isn’t hate. It’s being discarded.’
His hand tightened around the spoon so hard his knuckles turned white.