Chapter 4
957 Words
Elena walked out of the hospital doors and into the night air, her legs moving but her mind stuck in place. The bills. The doctor’s words. Her mother’s tired smile as if she wasn’t the one lying weak on that hospital bed.
The street lamps flickered, painting shadows across the sidewalk. Elena’s bag felt heavy against her shoulder, heavier than her entire body. Inside it sat the contract Damian had pushed toward her earlier. His cold voice still echoed in her ears.
Sign it.
She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around herself. No. That wasn’t an option. Depending on a man was never an option. She had already learned that lesson the hard way.
Her steps slowed when she passed by a small café. Through the glass, she saw a young couple laughing over coffee, their hands tangled together like the world belonged only to them. The sight twisted something deep inside her.
Her chest tightened. Memories she’d buried clawed their way back, sharp and merciless.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but the past came rushing in anyway.
—
It was a year ago.
She remembered standing outside Adrian’s apartment, her arms weighed down with grocery bags. She had spent her last paycheck on his favorite food—fried chicken, beer, the instant noodles he always craved at night. He had called earlier, his voice low and needy.
I haven’t eaten all day, babe. I’m starving. Come over.
She had smiled, foolishly touched. Back then, she thought love was sacrifice. Back then, she thought Adrian was her future.
She balanced the bags and knocked on the door. No answer. She frowned and tried again.
That’s when she heard it.
A woman’s giggle. Low. Breathless. The creak of a bed frame hitting the wall. The deep groan of a man she knew too well.
Her blood froze. No. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
Heart pounding, she pushed the door open.
The bags slipped from her hands, cans and vegetables spilling across the floor.
And there he was. Adrian. Naked. His body tangled with another woman’s, who didn’t even pause when Elena stumbled inside. She just kept moaning, louder, almost mocking.
Elena’s lips trembled. She couldn’t breathe. “Adrian…”
He turned his head lazily, like she had interrupted a nap. His face carried not an ounce of guilt. Only annoyance.
“What are you doing here?”
Her heart shattered. “What am I doing here? I’m your girlfriend!”
The woman laughed, her lipstick smeared, her nails digging into Adrian’s back. “Girlfriend? That’s rich.”
Tears blurred Elena’s vision. “How could you? After everything I—after all I did for you—”
Adrian pushed the woman aside and stood. Completely naked, completely unashamed. His voice was sharp, cruel.
“Don’t make this into drama. You knew I wasn’t serious about us.”
Her body shook. “Not serious? I paid your rent. Your tuition. I worked double shifts to keep you afloat! I gave you everything, Adrian. I loved you.”
He sneered. “I never asked you to. You wanted to play savior. Don’t blame me for your stupidity.”
The words sliced her open.
She staggered back, choking on her sobs. Her world, her sacrifices, everything she thought they were—it all collapsed in a single moment.
And the worst part wasn’t even the betrayal.
It was the way he looked at her, as if she had been nothing but a wallet. Nothing but a fool.
She ran that night. Ran until her feet blistered and her lungs burned. And from that moment, she swore never again. Never again would she depend on a man. Never again would she let love blind her.
—
Elena blinked, jerking back to the present. Her chest rose and fell in ragged breaths as the memory dissolved, but the ache it left behind was just as raw.
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and kept walking.
That night had been the reason she walked into Damian’s company months later. She had nothing left, no money, no dignity. Just a stubborn will to survive.
Damian had been her boss. Cold. Calculated. Demanding. But unlike Adrian, he never begged her for anything. He never smiled at her either, but at least he didn’t lie.
Still, she knew his type. Billionaire. Powerful. The kind of man who could crush people with a single phone call. He wasn’t someone she could trust.
Her steps slowed again. She pulled the bag from her shoulder and unzipped it. The crisp papers inside stared back at her.
The marriage contract.
Her hands shook as she pulled it out.
One signature. That’s all it would take. One word to change everything.
Her throat tightened. She could hear her mother’s weak voice echoing in her ears. “Don’t worry about me, Elena. Just live your life.”
But what life?
Her phone buzzed suddenly, snapping her out of the spiral. She grabbed it quickly, almost hoping it was the hospital. But the screen made her stomach drop.
It was Damian’s office. A simple message.
Do not keep me waiting.
Elena’s knees went weak. The city blurred around her. She clutched the contract tighter to her chest.
Tears welled in her eyes again. “What will I do… what will I do?”
She stood there on the crowded street, broken between her past and her future.
And somewhere in his glass tower, Damian Black sat in his office, staring at his phone. His jaw was tight, his knuckles white around the pen he held.
“She’ll come back,” he muttered to himself. His chest ached in ways he refused to admit. “She has to.”
- Writer
