CHAPTER 5: The Ghost Between Them
902 Words
The silence didn’t fade after the apology,It lingered.
Like something fragile had cracked beneath the surface of the room and everyone was pretending not to hear it.
Ava could still feel it.
In the way conversations restarted too quickly.In the way people smiled too carefully.
In the way eyes kept drifting back to her then away again.
But most of all is Damien who hadn’t moved much.
And yet, something about him had shifted that it made Ava’s skin prickle.
His hand rested lightly at her back again.But this time it wasn’t just a signal.
It felt like control,Like he was reminding both of them where she was supposed to be.
“Stay close,” he murmured.
Ava swallowed slightly. “I am.”
But her mind wasn’t here anymore. It was stuck on one name."ELIRA."
The rest of the evening blurred.Faces came and went,
Voices overlapped and champagne glasses clinked.
But Ava heard none of it.
Because every whisper felt louder than the music.
When they finally left, the cool night air hit her skin like clarity or maybe confrontation.
The car door shut and the silence inside was immediate.
Ava turned to him without waiting this time.
“Who is Elira?”Her voice didn’t shake.
Damien didn’t answer nor looked at her.
“Drive,” he said.
The car moved.
Ava let out a short breath, disbelief flashing across her face.
“No,” she said. “We’re not doing that.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“You don’t get to ignore this.”
“I just did.”
Her heart thudded harder.Not from fear but from frustration.
“You let me stand there while people compared me to someone I don’t even know,” she said.
Ava leaned closer, her voice dropping.
“Was I chosen because of her?”
“Am I replacing someone?”She added.
“Answer me, Damien.”
He turned his head slowly giving a warning look.
“Be careful,” he said quietly.
Ava’s breath hitched.
“To what?” she asked.
“To questions that don’t end well.”
Ava leaned in just a little more.
“Then maybe you should have thought about that before dragging me into this.”
“Elira,” he said.
Her name didn’t sound like just a name when he said it.
It sounded like memory, like something unfinished.
“She was supposed to be my wife.”
The words landed heavier than anything else he had said that night.Ava blinked slowly.
“Supposed to be?” she repeated.
“Yes.”The simplicity of how he respond doesn't match the weight of the matter.
“What happened?” she asked.
No answer but silence.
Like there was something behind it he refused to let out.
Ava studied him carefully now.
“You don’t talk about her,” she said.
“That’s because there’s nothing to talk about.”
“That’s not true.”
His jaw tightened.
“It is.”
Ava shook her head slowly.
“No,” she said. “That’s avoidance.”
That word lingered and for a brief second,Something flickered in his expression.
“Did she leave?” Ava asked quietly.
“No.”The answer came too fast.
Ava’s chest tightened.
“Then what?” she pressed.
"Nothing this is personal okay"
Ava’s voice softened slightly.Not intentionally.
“Did you love her?”
That question changed everything.
Damien didn’t move, blink nor answer.
But the silence that followed was louder than anything he could have said.
And Ava felt it settle deep in her chest.
She leaned back slowly.
“That’s all I needed to know,” she murmured.
Her voice didn’t sound as steady as before.
And she hated that.
A few seconds passed before she spoke again.
“Then why me?”she asked out of curiosity.
Damien exhaled slowly without answering her.
The car pulled into the house while the gates closed behind them.
And the conversation felt like it had hit a wall.
Damien stepped out first.Ava followed quickly.
“Damien”
He stopped walking but didn’t turn.
“You don’t get to say something like that and just walk away.”
Still nothing but Ava stepped closer.
“What happened to her?
“She disappeared.”
The words were quiet but they hit like impact.
Ava’s breath caught.
“What?”
He turned slightly now.
“No body,” he continued. “No explanation. No closure.”
Ava stared at him.
“That’s not possible."
"It is."
“Do you think she’s alive?” Ava asked before she could stop herself.
That made him go completely still.
The kind of stillness that didn’t feel calm but felt dangerous.
Slowly,Damien turned to face her fully.
And for the first time,He doesn't look controlling.
Something buried too deep for too long.
“I never stopped looking and I don't plan to."
Ava’s heart skipped.
“What?”
The weight of those words pressed into the space between them.Ava took a small step back without realizing it.
Because now,She wasn’t just part of a contract.
She was part of something unfinished.
“Then what am I doing here?” she asked quietly.
“You’re exactly where you need to be.”
“Why?” she asked.
His gaze shifted briefly past her, The door behind her was slightly open.
And standing there was a woman.
"ELIRA...?"
- Writer
