Love Was Never Enough

Sorry Was Never Enough

Elaris’s POV

I stayed on the floor for what felt like hours.

I wasn't crying.

I wasn't screaming.

I was just... sitting there.

The apartment was so quiet I could hear the old clock above the kitchen sink ticking.

My phone was still clutched in my hand, its screen long gone dark.

Thirty-one missed calls.

Not one returned.

I closed my eyes.

"No..."

The word barely escaped my lips.

This wasn't Evren.

It couldn't be.

Not the man who had spent the night in my apartment.

Not the man who had kissed my forehead before quietly leaving for work.

Not the man who reminded me to eat because he knew I'd forget.

My gaze drifted toward the bedside drawer.

The little notes he'd left behind.

The promises we'd whispered in the dark.

The ring he'd slipped onto my finger almost a year ago.

"I'm going to marry you, Lari."

"You're my home."

"You'll never have to face life alone again."

Every promise echoed through my mind until they became almost unbearable.

No.

Something was wrong.

There had to be an explanation.

Maybe the news had misunderstood.

Maybe it was business.

Maybe there was something I didn't know.

I opened my eyes and slowly pushed myself to my feet.

"I'm going to ask him."

The words sounded steadier than I felt.

"I'll hear it from him."

My legs trembled as I walked into the bedroom.

I pulled a pair of jeans and a dark sweater from the wardrobe,nothing that would draw attention.

After changing, I stood in front of the mirror.

My eyes were swollen.

My face looked pale.

I barely recognized the woman staring back at me.

Without another thought, I reached for the black cap hanging behind the door and slipped it on. Then I grabbed a disposable face mask from my dresser and pulled it over my face.

Good enough.

I picked up my bag and checked everything out of habit.

Phone.

Wallet.

Keys.

Bus card.

Still there.

Unlike everything else.

I left the apartment without looking back.

The hallway felt strangely quiet.

Normally, I'd smile at whoever I met on the stairs.

Mrs. Lane.

Mr. Hale.

The children from downstairs.

Today, I kept my head lowered.

I wasn't ready to answer questions I couldn't answer myself.

Outside, Brookhaven carried on as though nothing had happened.

The bakery had a line stretching onto the sidewalk.

People laughed outside the café, takeaway cups warming their hands against the cold.

Cars rolled past.

Someone hurried across the street after missing the traffic light.

Life hadn't stopped.

Only mine had.

I walked to the bus stop without really seeing the streets around me.

The same question circled endlessly inside my head.

Why?

The bus arrived a few minutes later.

I climbed aboard and found a seat beside the window.

As the doors closed, conversations drifted through the aisle.

"...did you see the photos?"

"I heard the wedding is this Saturday."

"The Valerius family is incredibly wealthy."

"They're calling it the biggest society wedding of the year."

"I always knew he'd marry someone from a family like that."

Someone laughed.

"I can't wait to see her dress."

"They actually look perfect together."

My fingers tightened around my bag.

I heard every word.

I just refused to believe any of it.

They didn't know him.

They didn't know the man who had fallen asleep beside me last night.

The man who'd kissed my forehead that morning.

The man who had promised me forever.

No.

I wasn't going to believe strangers.

I wasn't going to believe the headlines.

I wasn't even going to believe photographs.

Not until I looked Evren in the eyes.

Not until I heard the truth from him.

Until then...

I refused to let my heart believe it.

The ride felt longer than it ever had before.

Every stop tested my patience.

Every red light felt like another cruel delay.

By the time the bus pulled into the financial district, my fingers had gone numb from gripping my bag.

I got off and walked the remaining distance to Evren's penthouse.

I'd been here so many times that the security guards already knew me.

One of them looked up in surprise as I approached.

"Good afternoon, Miss Elaris."

I forced a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes.

"Good afternoon."

He hesitated, his gaze lingering on me for a moment, as though he wanted to ask if I was alright.

Instead, he stepped aside.

"You can go up."

"Thank you."

I walked past him without another word.

The elevator doors slid shut, surrounding me with polished mirrors.

My reflection stared back from every angle.

Pale.

Tired.

Barely holding together.

I adjusted the brim of my cap before tugging lightly at my face mask.

Please...

Please let there be an explanation.

The elevator chimed.

The doors opened.

Everything looked exactly the same.

The marble floors gleamed beneath the lights.

Fresh white lilies rested on the console table near the entrance.

The hallway was quiet.

Unchanged.

As though the world inside these walls had kept moving while mine had fallen apart.

I stopped outside his door.

For a moment...

I couldn't move.

If I walked through that door, everything would change.

There would be no pretending after this.

No, convincing myself the articles were wrong.

No hiding behind hope.

I stared at the fingerprint scanner.

My thumb hovered over it.

I still had access.

The thought twisted painfully inside my chest.

Slowly, I pressed my thumb against the glass.

A soft beep echoed through the hallway.

The lock clicked open.

I closed my eyes for a brief second before pushing the door open.

The apartment was silent.

Too silent.

"Evren?"

No answer.

I stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind me.

My eyes swept across the living room.

The kitchen.

The dining area.

Empty.

A coffee mug sat on the island.

A jacket was draped over the back of a chair.

Everything looked painfully ordinary.

As if this were any other day.

Then I saw him.

He stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to me, one hand tucked into his pocket.

He didn't turn.

"Evren."

His shoulders stiffened.

Slowly...

He faced me.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

He looked exhausted.

His tie was gone.

The top buttons of his shirt hung open.

Dark shadows rested beneath his eyes, as though he hadn't slept at all.

And yet...

He was still the man I'd fallen in love with.

The man I'd crossed the city believing would tell me this had all been a mistake.

Hope flickered one last time inside my chest.

Please...

Tell me none of this is real.

"I've been calling you."

My voice barely sounded like my own.

It was small.

Unsteady.

Fragile.

His gaze dropped to the floor.

"I know."

"I called you thirty-one times."

Each word felt heavier than the last.

"I know."

"You didn't answer a single one."

He was silent.

The apology on his face hurt more than if he'd argued with me.

"I'm sorry."

Those two words landed between us with a dull ache.

Sorry.

That was all?

I took a slow step toward him.

"I saw the news."

His jaw tightened.

"I know."

"I came here because..." My voice caught. I swallowed hard before forcing the words out. "...because I know there has to be some mistake."

He didn't answer.

Not even a shake of his head.

I clung to the silence anyway.

"You've always told me not to believe everything I read online." A faint smile tugged at my lips, desperate and trembling. "So tell me."

I searched his face, looking for the man I knew.

The man who loved me.

The man who was supposed to marry me.

"Tell me they got it wrong."

He was silent again.

The hope I'd carried all the way here began to crumble.

"Evren..."

I took another step.

"Please."

The word escaped before I could stop it.

"Say something."

He looked at me then.

Pain flickered across his face.

"It's true."

For a heartbeat...

I simply stared at him.

Then I laughed.

A small, confused laugh.

"No."

I shook my head.

"No... that's not funny."

He didn't move.

My smile slowly faded.

"Evren..."

My voice cracked.

"Tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was."

The room seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

"No."

I shook my head again, harder this time.

"No."

"Elaris…"

"No!"

The word tore out of me before I could stop it.

"You were with me last night."

He swallowed.

"I know."

"You stayed at my apartment."

"...I know."

"You had s*x with me.You held me until I fell asleep."

His eyes dropped.

"You kissed me goodbye this morning."

He closed his eyes.

"You told me you loved me."

His voice was almost a whisper.

"Because I do."

My breath hitched.

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could wipe it away.

"Then why?"

The question broke apart as it left my lips.

"Why?"

He said nothing.

I took another shaky step toward him.

"Tell me what I did wrong."

His head snapped up.

"You did nothing."

"Then why wasn't I enough?"

The words hung between us.

His lips parted.

No sound came out.

And somehow...

That hurt even more.

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us looked away.

I searched his face, waiting for him to laugh... to tell me this was some cruel misunderstanding.

He didn't.

He just stood there, looking at me like he'd already accepted losing me.

My voice cracked.

"Why, Evren?"

He dragged a hand over his face before letting it fall to his side.

"My family…"

"No."

I shook my head before he could finish.

"Don't."

"Elaris…"

"Don't do that."

I could feel the tears gathering, but I refused to let them fall.

"I've spent three years listening to your family insult me."

My voice trembled.

"I've smiled through every dinner where your mother pretended I wasn't sitting there."

"I know."

"No."

I laughed bitterly.

"You don't."

"If you knew..." I swallowed hard. "...we wouldn't be standing here."

He took a cautious step toward me.

I stepped back without thinking.

The movement stopped him cold.

For a second...

Pain flashed across his face.

"The company is collapsing," he said quietly.

"We've lost investors."

"Our debts keep growing."

"If we don't secure this merger…"

"I don't care."

He stopped.

"This marriage…"

"I said I don't care."

The words came out louder this time.

"I don't care about the Arden Group."

"I don't care about shareholders."

"I don't care about your board meetings or your investors."

My chest rose sharply.

"I care about you.I care about us."

For a moment, I saw something inside him break.

His shoulders sagged.

His eyes closed.

When he spoke again, his voice sounded hollow.

"This marriage will save everything."

A laugh escaped me.

I barely recognized the sound.

"So that's it?"

I looked at him as though I were seeing a stranger.

"You marry another woman..."

"...and I'm just supposed to understand?"

"It isn't like that."

"Then tell me what it's like."

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

The silence answered before he ever could.

"I love you."

The words were barely audible.

But they reached me anyway.

A tear slipped down my cheek.

I didn't wipe it away.

"If you love me..."

My voice shook with every word.

"...why wasn't I enough?"

His entire body went still.

"You kept saying we'd get married."

"You put a ring on my finger."

"You made me believe I finally had a family."

I looked down at my hand.

The engagement ring still sat there.

It suddenly felt heavier than it ever had before.

"I spent years believing I belonged somewhere."

I looked back at him.

"And now you're asking me to watch you build that life with someone else."

His eyes glistened.

"Elaris..."

"I wasn't asking for your company."

My voice broke completely.

"I wasn't asking for your money."

"I wasn't asking for your family's approval."

"I was only asking for you."

He lowered his head.

Unable to look at me anymore.

Neither of us spoke.

The silence stretched between us until it became unbearable.

I watched him.

The man I'd loved for three years.

The man I'd imagined growing old with.

The man who'd promised he'd never let me face life alone.

And suddenly...

I didn't know him anymore.

"If you love me..."

My voice was barely a whisper.

"...why did I have to read about your engagement on the internet?"

His lips parted.

Nothing came out.

"I waited for you all day."

A bitter smile touched my lips.

"I kept looking at my phone."

"I thought your battery had died."

"I thought maybe you were stuck in a meeting."

"I even told myself you were probably asleep in your office."

I let out a quiet laugh.

It sounded broken.

"I made excuses for you..."

My eyes burned.

"...while the whole country already knew."

He shut his eyes.

"Elaris..."

"No."

I shook my head.

"When?"

My voice was frighteningly calm.

"When were you planning to tell me?"

He didn't answer.

I waited.

Seconds passed.

Then he whispered,

"I didn't know how."

I stared at him.

For a long moment...

I simply stared.

Then I nodded.

Slowly.

"So..."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"You were just going to let me find out like everyone else."

"No."

"But that's exactly what happened."

"I was trying to protect you."

The words hit me harder than I expected.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

"Protect me?"

I looked at him in disbelief.

"Is that what you call this?"

His face crumpled.

"I didn't want you to get hurt."

"You didn't want me to get hurt?"

I laughed again.

This time there were tears in it.

"I woke up this morning thinking I was your fiancée."

My voice shook.

"By lunchtime, I found out you belonged to someone else."

I took another shaky breath.

"And you think that's protection?"

He couldn't answer.

"I kept defending you."

I smiled through tears.

"When people started talking online..."

"I told myself they were lying."

"When the articles came out..."

"I told myself there had to be some misunderstanding."

"When you wouldn't answer my calls..."

"I still believed you."

I looked straight into his eyes.

"I believed you more than I believed what I was seeing."

The tears I'd been holding finally spilled over.

"I trusted you that much."

He looked away.

"I'm sorry."

Those words again.

Always those words.

I took a slow breath.

"No..."

I whispered.

"They're not enough anymore."

His head snapped up.

For the first time since I'd walked in...

Fear crossed his face.

"You know what's cruel?"

My voice softened.

"So cruel that I don't think you'll ever understand."

He said nothing.

"I would've stayed."

His brows drew together.

"If you had come to me before all this..."

"I would've cried."

"I would've begged you not to do it."

"I probably would've hated your decision."

A tear slid down my cheek.

"But I would've stood beside you while you made it."

His breathing hitched.

"I loved you enough to face the truth."

I shook my head slowly.

"But you didn't even give me that choice."

The room fell silent again.

"I wasn't worth the truth."

The words came out so quietly I almost didn't hear myself say them.

His face was drained of color.

"Elaris..."

"You decided for me."

I looked down at the engagement ring on my finger.

Then back at him.

"You decided what I deserved."

"And apparently..."

My voice broke.

"...I deserved to hear it from strangers."