The Choice that shouldn’t Hurt
770 Words
Katriel didn’t sleep.
She spent the night sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the suitcase she hadn’t packed. Zayn’s words echoed in her ears like a broken lullaby:
“Pack your bags. Tomorrow morning, I’ll let you go.”
Let her go.
She should have felt free. She should’ve been filled with relief, with joy.
But instead… her chest burned. Not like fire.
No, worse.
It was emptier than when he forced the ring onto her finger. Colder than when he first brought her into this glass-and-gold mansion. Because this time, the choice was hers and she didn’t know what to do with it.
Her freedom was sitting on the floor in the form of an empty suitcase.
But her heart?
Her heart was still standing on the balcony, waiting for a man who never promised her anything, yet somehow broke her anyway.
---
6:02 AM
The sunrise cut through the blinds, staining the floor gold. Katriel’s fingers hovered over the zipper.
One pull, and she’d be free.
One pull, and she’d walk away.
But just as she reached for it
Knock. Knock.
She jumped.
The door creaked open. Andro stood in the doorway, composed as ever.
“Mr. Qin asked me to escort you to the car.”
Katriel blinked. “He’s not coming?”
“He said goodbye last night.”
Andro paused, then added softly, “He’s not in the house anymore.”
She felt the words slam into her chest. He’d already left.
No goodbye.
No final look.
No explanation.
Just silence.
Just cold.
Just Zayn.
Katriel glanced back at the suitcase. Then at the doorway.
Then something inside her snapped.
She stepped away from the suitcase.
“I’m not leaving,” she whispered.
Andro’s expression didn’t change but something in his eyes flickered. Respect? Surprise? Maybe both.
“He won’t be happy.”
“Good,” she said. “Neither am I.”
---
Later that Morning – The House is Still
Zayn’s absence was like a vacuum. Every staff member was quiet. The halls were too still. Even the piano room, which usually echoed with soft classical music, was silent.
Katriel walked alone through the mansion, her bare feet on polished floors, tracing her fingers across the cool walls like they could tell her what to do.
Why hadn’t she left?
Why hadn’t she run the moment he gave her the chance?
But she already knew the answer.
Because running would’ve meant admitting she felt something.
Because she wasn’t just bound by ice she was bound by him.
---
Noon – Ellis Qin Returns
She was sitting in the sunroom, curled in an oversized chair, when Zayn’s mother entered unannounced.
“Still here?” Ellis said, arching a brow.
Katriel looked up. “I changed my mind.”
Ellis walked to the window, arms folded.
“You’re confusing my son.”
Katriel blinked. “I didn’t know he could be confused.”
“He’s used to control,” Ellis said. “Not emotion. Not doubt. And especially not… women who stay.”
Katriel’s lips tightened. “I didn’t stay for him.”
Ellis turned slowly. “No? Then for who?”
Katriel met her gaze. “For myself.”
The woman studied her for a long moment.
“You’re going to destroy him.”
“I think he was already halfway there.”
A pause.
Then, to Katriel’s shock, Ellis smiled faintly.
“For the first time, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.”
And with that, she turned and walked out leaving Katriel blinking in disbelief.
---
Evening – A Call from an Unknown Number
Katriel was curled up in the corner of the library, trying to read a novel she couldn’t focus on, when her phone buzzed.
A number she didn’t recognize.
She hesitated.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
A pause.
Then a deep voice she hadn’t heard before:
“You don’t know me, Mrs. Qin… but I know what your husband is hiding from you.”
Katriel’s heart stopped. “Who is this?”
“I’m the man who saw the fire with my own eyes.”
A cold sweat broke down her back.
“What do you want?”
“Truth. Justice. And maybe… to see Zayn burn for what he buried.”
Click.
The line went dead.
Katriel stood there, shaking.
Someone out there wanted to destroy Zayn.
And somehow, she was now the only thing standing between him… and the fire coming for him.
“Will she protect the man who hurt her, or watch him burn for the sins of his past?”
- Writer
