“I understand everything,” she said, her voice tight as she held his gaze. “But it still hurts.”
Her chest rose unevenly with each breath, emotions pressing heavily against every word she spoke.
“How are you going to erase the feelings I built for you little by little every single day?” she asked quietly. “How are you going to make me forget every night I spent wondering what I had done so wrong that my own husband hated me so much?”
The words hit Elias hard enough that his entire expression stiffened.
For a second, he looked like he had forgotten how to breathe.
Amara slowly lifted her hand and wrapped her fingers around the one resting against her cheek. Gently but firmly, she pulled his hand away from her face and lowered it back down between them.
The second his skin left hers, the warmth between them disappeared completely.
She looked straight into his eyes.
“We have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
There was no hesitation in her face now. No softness left in her expression.
“Our divorce is final,” she continued firmly. “And I’m not coming back to you.”
Before he could respond, she turned around and walked away from him.
Elias stood frozen for half a second, staring at her back as though his mind had failed to process the words that had just come out of her mouth.
Amara walked toward the couch and picked up the purse and phone she had left there earlier. Without looking back at him, she turned and started toward the door.
But before she could get far, Elias suddenly stepped in front of her.
He crossed the distance between them quickly and caught her wrist, stopping her mid-step.
“Don’t go.”
His voice came out lower this time.
Not commanding.
Almost desperate.
Amara slowly turned back toward him.
Elias tried to keep his expression calm, but the nervousness in his eyes betrayed him completely. His fingers tightened instinctively around her wrist, like he was terrified that the moment he let go, she would disappear from his life entirely.
His chest felt painfully tight.
Everything she had said to him was still echoing in his head, making it hard for him to even breathe properly. His thoughts felt scattered and blank all at once.
He stared at her silently for a long moment before swallowing hard.
“Eat first,” he said finally, his voice rough. “Have lunch with me… then you can go.”
“I don’t want to,” Amara answered immediately. “I’m not hungry.”
She tried to pull her hand free, but Elias only tightened his grip slightly before gently tugging her a step closer.
“Come on,” he said softly. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips, though it looked strained and tired.
