Chapter 20
1062 Words
William
The moment Bella turned off the lamp, the room went completely dark. For a moment, I almost couldn't believe she'd done that.
Hell, the cruel reminder that she'd shut me out was the only light left that came from the hallway behind me, stretching weakly across the floor before stopping just short of the bed.
And Bella, she had already turned away from me. My phone was still ringing in my hand and without having to look at it, I already knew who was calling.
Elisa.
The name glowed brightly against the screen while I stood there staring at my wife’s back in silence.
Something about the scene unsettled me more than it should have.
Usually, even after arguments, Bella still looked at me. She still waited for me to explain myself, still cried, still asked questions, still cared enough to fight for my attention, but this?
This felt different. It was too cold and detached, like she had already started leaving me emotionally before physically doing it.
Did she really mean what she said about that divorce?
The thought irritated me immediately and I pushed it aside before it could fester. .I exhaled sharply before finally answering the call and stepping out into the hallway, quietly shutting the bedroom door behind me.
“Elisa.” I picked up before the call could end again.
“William?” Her voice came through quickly, soft and familiar. “I was worried. You haven't been responding to my texts since I left, and you didn't even give me a call.”
“It’s late,” I muttered as I rubbed a hand over my jaw tiredly and leaned against the wall. “What happened?”
“I…” There was a tiny pause as Elisa hesitated softly. “I just wanted to check on you.”
Normally, that would’ve been enough for me to soften immediately. Elisa had always been easy to talk to, easy to reassure, but tonight, though?
My mind kept drifting back toward the closed bedroom door behind me. Bella’s face, ghe way she said she didn’t care.
God. I hated that sentence.
“William?” Elisa called again carefully. “Are you listening?”
“Yes.” I straightened slightly. “Sorry. I’m just tired.”
Another pause followed, yhen quieter this time, “Is Bella still upset?”
The question immediately tightened something unpleasant inside my chest.
“She’s being difficult,” I answered before I could stop myself, and almost instantly, I my words to Bella echoed inside my head again.
You’re being difficult again.
I frowned hard.
“Elisa?” I realized she was still waiting.
“She probably didn’t mean what she said or did,” Elisa offered gently. “Maybe she’s just emotional right now.”
Emotional, that word should have , comforted me..Instead, for some reason, it made me more irritated, because Bella hadn’t seemed emotional tonight.
She’d seemed calm, too calm, and somehow, that felt worse.
“I’ll handle it,” I said shortly.
“William…” Elisa’s voice softened carefully. “I hope this isn’t creating problems between you and me.”
I closed my eyes briefly. Normally, I would’ve reassured her immediately, but tonight exhaustion pressed heavily against my skull.
“There’s nothing going on,” I replied distractedly.
“But she clearly thinks there is.”
“She’ll get over it.” The answer came automatically, but even as I said it, something felt off. Because for the first time since knowing Bella, I wasn’t completely sure she would.
Another silence stretched across the call. Then Elisa spoke again, quieter now.
“You sound far away tonight.”
“I said I’m tired.” I frowned slightly at that.
“Right.” Her voice remained soft, but I caught the slight disappointment underneath it. “You should rest then.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
My eyes drifted toward the bedroom door again. “…Yeah.”
The answer felt delayed enough that even I noticed it, and Elisa definitely noticed too.
“Goodnight, William.”
“Goodnight.”
The second the call ended, the hallway became silent again..I stared down at my phone for a few seconds before finally shoving it back into my pocket.
Then I stood there longer than necessary thinking about Bella,about the divorce, and about the way she looked at me now.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Bella used to revolve around me so completely that I never questioned it. No matter how busy I became, no matter how many nights I came home late, no matter how distracted I was, she was always there.
But lately?
It felt like she was slipping through my fingers, and every time I tried to pull her back, she only moved farther away.
I hated that feeling. I pushed the bedroom door open quietly, stepped back inside and darkness greeted me immediately.
For a moment, I could only hear the soft sound of Bella’s breathing beneath the blankets.
I moved closer to the bed slowly and she looked asleep already, or maybe she was pretending. I couldn’t tell anymore.
The moonlight filtering through the curtains barely illuminated her face, but I still noticed the faint tear tracks left behind on her cheeks.
Had she really cried that hard after talking to whoever was on that phone?
Who was she talking to? I frowned slightly. I hadn't heard from her friends in a long while and if they had reconnected, she was bound to tell me, right?
The thought irritated me again almost immediately. Bella had never hidden things from me before, never.
I loosened my tie slowly before sitting down carefully at the edge of the bed.
The mattress dipped lightly beneath my weight, but Bella didn’t move and for a long moment, I simply sat there watching her back.
Then instinctively, I reached toward her. My hand stopped midway as I froze slightly, because suddenly, for the first time in our marriage, I wasn’t sure Bella wanted me touching her.
The realization hit harder than it should have, and slowly, I lowered my hand again.
A strange heaviness settled inside my chest as I stared at the woman lying barely inches away from me.
She had never felt farther and I couldn't help but ask myself.
What the hell was going on ?
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