Elias still hadn’t returned home.
Amara quietly walked upstairs and entered their bedroom.
The moment the door closed behind her, exhaustion crashed over her completely.
The soaked dress she had been wearing all night suddenly felt unbearably heavy, like it had been dragging down her entire body the whole time without her noticing.
Her head still hurt faintly.
Her chest hurt even more.
She quietly walked toward the closet in the silence of the room. Even the soft sound of her footsteps against the marble floor felt painfully loud to her ears. The entire house felt empty and cold around her, and the heaviness inside her chest only seemed to grow stronger with every second.
Slowly, she reached for the closet doors and slid them open.
Soft lights flickered on automatically inside.
Her eyes moved across the shelves in silence.
Jewelry.
Rows of expensive dresses.
Perfumes lined neatly together.
Luxury heels.
Silk nightdresses still neatly folded exactly the way they had been arranged when she moved in.
So many things inside the closet still remained untouched even after an entire year of marriage.
Not because she didn’t want to… but because she never got the chance to use them.
There had never been intimacy between her and Elias.
Not real intimacy.
Not the kind she had secretly dreamed about after marrying the man she loved.
She had entered this marriage believing that one day things would slowly change between them.
That one day he would look at her differently.
Touch her differently.
Love her back.
But tonight…
For the first time…
The truth hurt deeply enough to break her.
Their marriage looked perfect in front of everyone else, but behind closed doors, it was cold, distant… empty.
A year of marriage.
And they hadn’t even kissed.
