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.
