Chapter 102
1179 Words
✨What Silence Took✨
Elena Vale
The penthouse was too quiet.
Elena sat on the floor in the living room, legs tucked under her, phone in her hand but not really seeing anything on it. The screen lit her face, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.
She didn’t hear the elevator.
Didn’t hear the door unlock.
She only realized he was there when the air shifted.
Ari.
Her head lifted slowly.
He was already inside.
No hesitation. No pause.
Like this was still his space.
Because it was.
He didn’t look at her immediately. Just stepped in, closed the door behind him, and walked past her like he had a purpose.
Like stopping would make things harder.
Elena’s chest tightened.
“Ari…”
He didn’t stop.
Didn’t turn.
“I just came to get a few things,” he said, voice even. Controlled. Distant.
That hurt more than anger would have.
Elena pushed herself up slowly from the floor, her legs stiff from sitting too long.
“This is your home, Ari,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to—”
“I know what it is,” he cut in, already moving toward the bedroom.
The words weren’t harsh.
But they weren’t soft either.
Just… final.
Elena followed him.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Just enough to not let the space grow too wide.
“I haven’t left,” she said, almost like she needed him to know.
Ari paused for a second at the closet door.
Just a second.
Then opened it.
“I can see that.”
The closet felt smaller with both of them in it.
Too full of things that belonged to both of them.
His clothes.
Her things mixed in between.
Evidence of something that had been… easy.
Once.
Ari moved through it methodically.
Pulling out shirts.
A watch.
A few essentials.
Not everything.
Just enough.
Like he wasn’t staying—
But he wasn’t fully gone either.
Elena watched him.
Every movement.
Every silence.
“This isn’t what I meant,” she said finally.
He didn’t respond right away.
Just folded a shirt once.
Twice.
Placed it in the bag.
“What did you mean?” he asked after a moment.
Still not looking at her.
Elena swallowed.
“I meant… I needed a moment. To think. To breathe.”
“You’ve had two days,” he replied calmly.
That landed.
“I didn’t think you’d just… disappear,” she admitted.
That made him pause.
This time longer.
He looked at her then.
Really looked.
“You told me you couldn’t keep doing this,” he said. “What exactly was I supposed to do with that?”
Elena’s throat tightened.
“I didn’t mean I didn’t want you.”
“That’s how it sounded.”
Silence stretched.
Heavy.
Awkward.
Not like them.
“I called you,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“You didn’t answer.”
Ari’s jaw tightened slightly.
“I didn’t think anything I said in that moment would help.”
Her brows pulled together.
“So you said nothing?”
“I gave you what you asked for.”
“I didn’t ask for silence.”
“You asked for space,” he corrected.
Elena exhaled sharply, frustration mixing with something softer.
“Space doesn’t mean you shut me out.”
His gaze held hers.
“Sometimes it does.”
That—
That stung.
Ari went back to packing.
Less to take.
More to avoid looking at her.
“I’ve been dealing with a lot,” she said, quieter now. “The press… my job… everything.”
“I know,” he said.
She blinked slightly.
“You know?”
Ari zipped the bag halfway.
Then looked at her again.
“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”
She hesitated.
“What does that mean?”
Ari didn’t answer directly.
Just reached for his phone on the dresser.
Tapped it once.
Turned it toward her.
Her eyes dropped to the screen.
Articles.
Links.
Headlines.
But—
They were gone.
Blocked.
Taken down.
Restricted.
Elena frowned slightly.
“What… is this?”
“Most of the garbage that was being pushed about you,” he said. “Or at least the ones worth removing.”
Her eyes lifted to his.
“You did this?”
“Matteo and I,” he replied.
Elena stared at him.
Confusion.
Surprise.
Something softer.
Something heavier.
“You’ve been working on this?” she asked.
“For the past two days.”
Her chest tightened.
Because while she had been sitting here—
Drowning in it—
He had been doing something about it.
And.
He wished they had done it together.
“You didn’t tell me,” she said quietly.
“You didn’t tell me it was getting to you like that,” he replied.
Silence.
They stood there.
Looking at each other.
Both realizing something at the same time.
They had been dealing with the same problem— Separately.
“I didn’t want to make it worse,” Elena admitted.
“I could have helped,” Ari said.
“I know that now.”
A beat passed.
Then another.
Ari picked up his bag.
Zipped it fully this time.
“You should have let me in,” he added.
Her chest tightened again.
“I’m not used to needing someone like that.”
“That’s not the same as not having someone,” he said.
Elena took a step closer.
Just one.
“Ari…”
But the words didn’t come.
Not the ones she needed.
He waited.
Just for a second.
Maybe two.
When she didn’t say anything—
Anything clear—
Anything certain—
He nodded once.
Like that was enough.
“I’ll give you more time,” he said.
Her breath caught.
“That’s not what I—”
“It is,” he cut in, not unkindly. Just firm. “You’re still trying to figure this out.”
Her silence betrayed her again.
Ari adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder.
“I’m not going to stand here and convince you to choose me,” he said.
That hurt.
Because she knew—
He meant it.
“You don’t have to,” she said softly.
“Then stop acting like I do.”
Another silence.
This one final.
Ari walked past her.
Back through the bedroom.
Into the living room.
Elena followed again.
Heart racing now.
Faster.
Heavier.
“Ari—”
He stopped near the door.
But didn’t turn.
“Don’t shut me out,” she said.
Her voice softer now.
More vulnerable than before.
Ari’s hand rested on the handle.
“I’m not,” he said.
A pause.
Then—
“I’m just not chasing you either.”
And that—
That said everything.
He opened the door.
Stepped out.
And this time—
When it closed—
Elena felt it.
Not like before.
Not like distance.
Like something slowly slipping out of reach.
And she still hadn’t figured out how to hold on to it.
- Writer
