His other hand came up to her face, fingers sliding along her jaw before he tilted her head upward, forcing her to look at him.
His brows were tightly drawn together now, frustration and disbelief clear across his face.
“Are you out of your mind?” he asked sharply.
There was genuine offense in his expression, like he couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“I married you because I liked you,” he said firmly, his voice low but intense. “It never mattered to me whether we could have sex or whether you could give me a child.”
His grip around her waist tightened slightly as he held her in place.
“I didn’t know how important it was toyou,” he admitted. “That’s why I didn’t want to stress you out. Even if we never had children, it wouldn’t have changed anything for me.”
His eyes locked onto hers, unwavering.
This time his voice rose slightly, emotion finally breaking through the calm restraint he had been trying to maintain.
“So don’t twist this into something it’s not,” he said, almost sounding angry that she would think so little of his feelings for her. “I won’t accept that.”
His thumb brushed firmly against her cheek as he continued.
“I married you because I wanted to marry you. Not because I was forced to.” His jaw tightened. “And I made that decision knowing everything that came with you.”
Amara could only stare at him.
There was something almost desperate in the way he looked at her now, as if he was trying to stop every ugly thought forming in her head before it could settle there permanently. At thesame time, he looked deeply troubled by the fact that she truly believed he saw her as a burden.
The realization clearly offended him.
As if the idea that he would pity her instead of love her angered him more than anything else.
Amara swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry under the intensity in his eyes.
Then, after a long silence, she finally whispered softly,
“Thank you… for telling me.”
Elias tilted his head slightly as he stepped closer to her, his gaze fixed on her face like he was trying to read every emotion flickering across it. Before she could move away, his fingers closed gently around her hand, tugging her a little closer to him.
The movement brought her right against him, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body.
A faint smile touched his lips as he lowered his head slightly toward hers.
“So…” he murmured softly, his thumb brushing over her knuckles, “when are you coming back home?”
Amara blinked up at him, confusion slowly spreading across her face. Her brows pulled together into a frown.
“What do you mean?”
Elias looked at her as though the answer should have already been obvious.
His grip on her hand tightened slightly, his thumb absently stroking her skin again.
“When are you coming back?” he repeated quietly. “Now that you know everything… now that there’s no misunderstanding left between us anymore.”
His voice dropped lower, softer.
“We even slept together.” A faint, almost teasing smile appeared on his lips. “Wasn’t that what you wanted the most?”
