Chapter 9: Apologies Wrapped in Diamonds
565 Words
Three days passed.
Three days without Sebastian.
No texts. No calls. No surprise visits. Just… silence.
Nina didn’t know if she should be relieved or afraid. With a man like Sebastian, silence wasn’t always peace—it was often a loaded gun waiting to go off.
She stayed with Ama, who cooked for her, made her laugh, and reminded her who she was before temptation knocked on her door dressed in a three-piece suit and an expensive smile.
“You need to take your life back,” Ama said one afternoon as they sipped tea in her tiny kitchen. “You don’t owe him your youth, your health, or your future.”
“I know,” Nina said, though her heart still wrestled with guilt. Not for leaving him—but for how long she had stayed.
That evening, as the sky turned orange, a sleek black car pulled up outside Ama’s apartment.
Nina froze at the window.
She knew that car.
Seconds later, there was a knock.
Ama moved faster than Nina could react, yanking the door open and stepping outside. Nina followed cautiously, her stomach twisting.
Sebastian stood there in a tailored suit, holding a velvet box and a bouquet of rare blue roses.
“Nina,” he began, but Ama raised a hand.
“No. You don’t get to just show up here.”
He turned his gaze to Nina, ignoring Ama completely. “Please. I just want a moment.”
Ama looked at Nina, who gave a small nod.
“I’ll be right inside,” Ama warned him, her voice sharp.
Sebastian waited until she was gone, then held out the box.
“I bought this for you,” he said, opening it to reveal a diamond necklace worth a small fortune. “It’s not an apology, it’s… a reminder of everything I can give you.”
Nina didn’t touch it. Her voice was steady, her hands cold.
“I don’t want diamonds, Sebastian.”
He stepped closer. “I know I’ve been harsh. But this—us—it’s complicated. I’m not used to needing someone.”
“You don’t need me,” Nina said, her voice quiet. “You need control. And I gave you too much of it.”
Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “So what now? You walk away from everything? From all I’ve built around you?”
“I’m walking away from everything that’s killing me,” she said. “And you’re at the top of that list.”
He laughed bitterly. “You think you’ll be happier struggling? Taking buses? Wearing second-hand shoes again?”
“If that means I get my soul back,” she said, “then yes.”
For the first time, Sebastian looked… human. Vulnerable. But it wasn’t enough.
“I loved you in my own way,” he whispered.
“And I needed love in mine,” she replied.
She handed back the necklace. The roses. The fantasy.
“I’m done, Sebastian.”
He watched her walk away. No threats this time. No manipulation. Just silence.
Because deep down, even he knew—
He had everything but love.
And in trying to own her, he lost her.
That night, Nina deleted his number. Blocked his accounts.
And for the first time in a long time, she stood in front of the mirror and didn’t see a prisoner.
She saw a survivor.
- Writer
