Chapter 2
1245 Words
The room was always cold.
Even when the air conditioning was off.
Even when the sun tried to force its way through the thick curtains.
It stayed cold.
Aiden Dimitri sat on the edge of the bed, unmoving, like time had forgotten to carry him forward.
In his hand was a photograph.
Worn slightly at the edges.
Softened by time.
A woman smiled back at him from inside it.
Not the kind of smile people gave for cameras.
It was real.
Unguarded.
Alive.
Aiden’s thumb hovered over her face but never touched it.
Like if he did, she might disappear completely.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Then loosened.
Then tightened again.
He had been sitting like this for hours.
Or maybe minutes.
Time didn’t behave properly in this room.
It bent around memory.
---
Outside the door, footsteps approached.
Slow.
Careful.
Then stopped.
Aiden didn’t look up.
He already knew who it was.
The door opened.
Not immediately.
A pause first.
Like the person outside was making sure they were ready to be seen.
Then—
“Elena,” Aiden said quietly.
Not a question.
Not surprise.
Just recognition.
Elena Vaughn stepped inside.
She was dressed perfectly, as always.
Hair neat.
Makeup subtle but intentional.
She always looked like she had just stepped out of a moment she carefully constructed.
But her eyes—
Her eyes were already wet.
“Aiden…” she whispered.
Her voice broke halfway through his name.
Like it hurt to say it.
She stepped further into the room.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Then stopped when she saw the photograph in his hand.
Her breath caught sharply.
And then—
she cried.
Not softly.
Not silently.
It came suddenly, sharply, like something inside her had cracked open on purpose.
“Oh my God…” she choked, covering her mouth. “I… I can’t believe you’re still looking at her like this…”
Her shoulders shook.
Too perfectly.
Too timed.
A maid standing near the hallway doorway glanced in.
Then quickly looked away.
Another maid followed behind her, her expression tightening with something close to disgust before she lowered her gaze and walked off.
They had seen this before.
Many times.
And they never believed it anymore.
Elena noticed none of it.
Or pretended not to.
She moved closer to Aiden, wiping her eyes dramatically.
“I miss her too,” she whispered. “God, Aiden… I miss her so much it hurts.”
Aiden didn’t respond.
His eyes stayed on the photograph.
Elena reached him slowly.
Carefully.
Like approaching something fragile.
Then she placed her hand on his shoulder.
He didn’t move away.
That was her permission.
Or her victory.
She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.
Aiden’s body stayed stiff at first.
Like he didn’t know how to react to warmth anymore.
Elena tightened her grip slightly.
“I know you’re hurting,” she murmured. “I know you don’t let anyone see it… but you don’t have to do this alone.”
Aiden’s fingers twitched around the photograph.
Elena pulled back just enough to look at him.
Her eyes were still wet.
Her voice softened.
“I’m here,” she said. “I’ve always been here.”
A long silence.
The only sound in the room was the faint ticking of a clock somewhere far away.
Aiden finally spoke.
“You weren’t supposed to be here.”
Elena blinked slightly.
“I… I know,” she whispered quickly, shaking her head like she misunderstood. “But I couldn’t stay away. Not after everything.”
Her voice broke again.
Perfectly timed.
She pressed her hand against her chest.
“I loved her too, Aiden,” she said softly. “She was my best friend.”
At the word was, something in Aiden’s grip tightened.
Elena noticed.
Of course she did.
She always noticed what mattered.
She leaned in again, resting her forehead briefly against his shoulder.
“You don’t have to keep drowning in this,” she whispered. “Let me help you breathe again.”
Aiden’s eyes finally shifted.
Just slightly.
Toward her.
But not fully.
Never fully.
---
Outside the room, one of the maids stopped walking.
Her hands were clenched around a folded cloth.
She didn’t speak.
But her expression said enough.
The other maid beside her whispered quietly.
“She cries every time she enters that room.”
The first maid exhaled sharply. “And leaves smiling when he can’t see her.”
They didn’t say anything else.
They didn’t need to.
---
Inside, Elena pulled back slightly, brushing a tear from her cheek.
Then she looked at the photograph in Aiden’s hand.
Her expression softened.
Or looked like it softened.
“She would want you to live,” she said gently.
Aiden’s jaw tightened.
Elena continued quickly, sensing the shift.
“She wouldn’t want you trapped here like this.”
Silence.
Aiden looked down at the photograph again.
His thumb finally touched the edge of it.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was afraid of pressing too hard.
His voice came out lower.
“I promised her.”
Elena nodded immediately.
“Yes,” she said softly. “And you’ve kept that promise.”
Aiden’s breathing shifted slightly.
A small crack.
Barely visible.
Elena stepped closer again.
“This house… this silence… it’s killing you,” she whispered. “Let me be here for you.”
Aiden didn’t respond.
But this time—
he didn’t move away when she touched his face.
Her hand rested gently against his cheek.
He closed his eyes.
Just for a second.
And that second broke something inside him.
---
The photograph slipped slightly in his hand.
Elena noticed.
Her other hand covered his.
Guiding it.
Not taking it.
Just controlling the moment gently enough that he wouldn’t resist.
“You’re still human,” she whispered.
Aiden’s breath hitched.
And then—
something inside him finally broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
Like something that had been holding for too long finally gave up.
His shoulders dropped slightly.
His hand trembled.
And the photograph fell from his fingers onto the bed.
Elena caught it before it touched the floor.
Careful.
Protective.
Like she had just saved something precious.
Aiden’s face changed.
Slowly.
His eyes glassed over.
Then he looked away.
Like he couldn’t hold it anymore.
And then—
he cried.
Not controlled.
Not dignified.
Just raw.
His hand covered his mouth as his shoulders shook slightly at first.
Then more.
Then completely.
Elena immediately pulled him into her arms again.
“It’s okay,” she whispered quickly. “It’s okay, Aiden… I’ve got you.”
His breathing broke.
For a moment, he didn’t look like a billionaire.
Or a powerful man.
Or anything people feared.
He looked like a man drowning in something no one else could see.
Elena held him tighter.
And behind her tears—
her expression changed just slightly.
Not sadness.
Not grief.
Something quieter.
Something calculated.
---
Outside the room, one maid turned away completely.
“Disgusting,” she muttered under her breath.
The other didn’t respond.
She just walked away.
---
Inside, Elena kept holding him.
Rocking slightly.
Comforting him like she had done this a thousand times.
Aiden didn’t push her away.
Didn’t stop her.
Didn’t question her.
He just stayed there.
Broken.
And breathing through pain he could no longer control.
---
And somewhere in the silence of that room…
something unseen began to shift.
Not healing.
Not peace.
But change.
Slow.
Quiet.
Dangerous.
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