🔥 Chapter 11 — “The Silence Between Us”
1191 Words
Ella didn’t sleep.
Her apartment felt too quiet, too cold, too empty—like every corner carried the shape of his body, every shadow whispered his name.
She lay awake replaying the night:
his kiss, his warmth,
his anger,
the way his eyes shattered when he walked out the door.
Michael was gone.
And something inside her felt gone with him.
---
Michael didn’t sleep either.
He sat in his car outside her building for nearly an hour, forehead pressed to the steering wheel, breath shaking. His injured hand throbbed beneath a blood-soaked towel, but pain didn’t matter.
What hurt was everything else.
He wanted to run back upstairs.
Hold her.
Believe her.
Let the truth be whatever she said it was.
But then he saw Axel’s hands on her again in his mind.
Saw Alina’s face as she whispered:
“They were kissing. I saw them.”
Love and betrayal wrestled in his chest like two storms colliding.
He started the engine only when he realized he couldn’t breathe in front of her building anymore.
He drove away.
---
Morning
Ella was at his apartment door before sunrise.
Knocking.
Ringing.
Whispering his name through the wood.
No answer.
She tried again later.
And again.
Silence.
At work she looked ghostly—drained but composed, carrying her heartbreak like a hidden bruised organ.
She looked for him everywhere.
His office? Empty.
Parking lot? Empty.
She walked past his door again that night—still silent.
That morning he finally sent a message.
Not to her.
To the company email.
“I will be unavailable for the next few days. Cancel all meetings.”
She read it three times.
Each time hurt worse.
“He doesn’t want to see me,” she whispered to herself. “He doesn’t believe me anymore…”
At lunch Mia found her sitting alone, staring at her untouched food.
“You look terrible,” Mia whispered. “What’s wrong?”
Ella tried to smile, but her lips trembled. Her hands shook.
Something inside her cracked.
She told Mia everything—Axel, the morning, the work incident, the fight, the blood on Michael’s hand, the way he looked at her like she’d broken his soul.
Mia hugged her tightly.
“Oh Ella…” she breathed.
“Who the hell told Michael you were kissing Axel?”
“I don’t know,” Ella choked. “He didn’t tell me.”
Mia’s eyes hardened.
“Well, then we’ll find her.”
---
Michael couldn’t stay in the city.
Couldn’t see her.
Couldn’t trust his own feelings.
So he drove to his family’s beach house—a place he hadn’t visited in years.
The sea wind stung his bleeding knuckles.
The waves kept crashing against the shore like the rhythm of his own thoughts:
Was she lying?
Was she hiding him?
Was I already replaced?
Why does it hurt like this?
He wanted her.
He hated how much he wanted her.
He stayed there day and night, pacing the sand, replaying every detail:
Her voice, her touch, her smile.
Her eyes when she said, “I love you.”
He didn’t want to see her.
He didn’t want distance.
He didn’t want anything except the truth—
—and her.
But the truth felt poisoned now.
---
A Week Later
Ella came to work with heavy steps.
Her chest hurt with every breath.
“He’s not here… again,” she whispered.
“He’s avoiding me. He left his apartment. He’s not answering my calls. What am I supposed to do?”
Suddenly she froze.
Michael was across the hall.
Talking to someone.
Expression blank.
Posture stiff.
For a moment—
just one second—
their eyes met.
His gaze softened for a heartbeat.
Hers broke.
He looked away first.
Ella entered his office minutes later.
He looked exhausted, shadows under his eyes, jaw tense.
She approached slowly.
“Michael…”
“Don’t,” he whispered.
Not cold.
Just… hurt.
She stepped closer anyway.
“Please…”
He turned his face away.
“I don’t want to talk now,” he said softly.
“Just leave me alone.”
Her voice cracked.
“Please believe me…”
He shut his eyes, pained.
“Miss Hayes,” he murmured, voice rough,
“please.
Leave me alone.”
Her tears fell before she could stop them.
Michael saw.
And it tore him apart.
That afternoon, a soft knock sounded on Michael’s office door.
He didn’t look up at first — until he heard the overly gentle voice.
“Michael… can we talk?”
Alina stood in the doorway with a carefully arranged expression of concern, hands clasped in front of her like an actress preparing for her cue.
He exhaled slowly.
“What is it, Alina?”
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her, lowering her voice as if delivering something important, confidential, kind.
“I just…”
She hesitated, eyes flicking toward Ella’s empty desk outside.
“…I think you should be careful.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“Careful about what?”
Alina stepped closer, fake sympathy dripping from her voice.
“About Ella,” she whispered.
“She… lies easily. About men. About relationships. I’m only telling you because I care.”
The room froze.
Michael’s eyes snapped up so sharply Alina flinched.
The temperature in his stare could have shattered glass.
He stood, slowly, deliberately.
“Alina,” he said, voice steady as steel.
She swallowed.
“If you mention her name again—”
He stepped closer, his height dwarfing her.
“—you and I will have a serious problem.”
The air vibrated with the warning.
Not loud.
Not aggressive.
Just deadly certain.
Alina paled, taking a step back.
“I… I didn’t mean—”
Michael didn’t wait for excuses.
He grabbed his jacket from the chair, brushed past her, and walked out of the office without looking back — leaving her frozen in the doorway, her face drained of color.
---
Later that day, Mia stormed into the staff kitchen—Alina was there, scrolling on her phone.
Mia’s tone was ice.
“Alina. We need to talk.”
Alina raised a brow innocently. “About what?”
“You told Michael that Ella kissed her ex,” Mia said flatly.
Alina froze.
Then smirked.
“I told him what I saw.”
“No,” Mia stepped closer, voice cold.
“You told him what you wanted him to think.”
Alina scoffed.
“He deserves to know she’s not loyal—”
“Stop lying.”
Mia slammed her palm on the table, making Alina jump.
“I saw the camera footage.”
Alina’s face drained of color.
“The hallway cameras caught everything,” Mia continued.
“No kissing. No touching. Nothing. You lied to him because you hate that he chose Ella.”
Alina swallowed hard.
“You ruined them,” Mia whispered.
“And when Michael finds out… it won’t be Ella he walks away from.”
For the first time, Alina looked terrified.
Mia walked out.
She knew what she had to do next.
The truth was finally coming.
- Writer
