The distance between us
952 Words
Three days.
That’s how long it had been since the photo leaked.
Since Elias shut down.
Since we said everything without saying anything at all.
He hadn’t touched me.
Barely looked at me.
And I couldn’t decide what hurt more—his silence or the fact that I *missed* him even in the same room.
---
The media was on fire. Speculation. Lies. Twisted headlines.
*“Billionaire CEO Caught With Wife in Scandalous Bedroom Leak.”*
*“Aria Lane—Secret Heiress or Paid Companion?”*
The contract we’d both signed to protect our image? Now the weapon they were using to destroy us.
And Elias?
He was handling it the only way he knew how.
By pushing me out.
---
“I want you to stay at the Hamptons house,” he said that morning over coffee.
I stared at him. “So that’s it? You send me away again?”
“It’s safer.”
“For you or for me?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he stood up, suit perfect, expression unreadable.
“Victor will take you. I have meetings.”
I didn’t stop him.
But something inside me cracked as he walked out the door.
Because I realized something terrifying.
We’d crossed the line between fake and real…
And now we were pretending all over again.
This time, pretending we didn’t care.
---
The Hamptons house was stunning.
Ocean views. Endless windows. Quiet luxury.
But it felt like a cage.
A beautiful one—but a cage nonetheless.
Victor didn’t speak much on the drive. He kept his eyes forward, jaw tense. Loyal to Elias, sure—but he didn’t look happy about the way things were unraveling.
Neither was I.
I tried to distract myself. Skimmed headlines. Scrolled social media. Every post was worse than the last.
The public wasn’t just questioning the marriage now—they were calling it a scam. A PR stunt. Saying I’d “used my body” to trap a billionaire. Some even dragged up my mom’s hospital records, like I’d faked the debt to win sympathy.
And Elias?
He still hadn’t called.
Not once.
---
The third night at the house, I finally broke.
I sat on the floor of the balcony, wrapped in one of his sweaters I “accidentally” packed, staring out at the ocean I couldn’t enjoy.
And I cried.
Not because of the press.
Not even because of the betrayal.
But because I’d fallen for a man who didn’t know how to hold something fragile without letting it slip through his fingers.
And I wasn’t just slipping.
I was already gone
It was nearly midnight when the knock came.
I froze.
Victor was out—something about securing the perimeter.
I crept toward the door slowly, heart pounding.
And when I opened it… I didn’t see Elias.
I saw *her.*
Sienna.
Elias’s ex.
In a white coat and five-inch heels, smirking like she already knew she was about to ruin my night.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, every inch of my body going cold.
She pushed past me like she owned the place. “Relax. I’m not here to fight. I’m here to *warn* you.”
I stared. “Warn me?”
She turned, voice too calm. “You really think you’re the first girl he’s played house with?”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
She pulled out her phone, opened a folder… and showed me *photos.*
Old ones.
Elias. In Italy. Holding hands with another girl.
Another wedding.
Another “wife.”
“I was her best friend,” Sienna said. “She signed a contract too. Got paid. Got used. And when the press caught wind of it?”
She tapped the screen. “Elias ended it. Quietly. Brutally.”
My fingers trembled. “That’s not true.”
She smiled. “Believe what you want. But when he sends you away for good? Just remember I warned you.”
Then she was gone.
Leaving me in the hallway.
Holding my breath.
And wondering if the man I loved… was just playing me like all the rest.
--
I didn’t sleep.
I sat curled on the couch with the photo still glowing on my screen. Elias with another woman. Another “fake” wife. Another contract.
Another lie.
When the door finally opened just after 3AM, I didn’t look up.
But I felt him.
Elias stood in silence. No words. No excuses. Just… presence.
“Is it true?” I asked, voice hollow.
He didn’t answer.
So I turned.
Held up the phone.
“Is this true?”
He looked at the screen. Then at me.
“Yes.”
That one word shattered me.
I stood, shaking. “So this whole time… I was just another job?”
“No.” His voice cracked. “You were never supposed to matter. But you do. You *do,* Aria.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew it would ruin everything.”
I stared at him, eyes burning. “It already did.”
He stepped closer, voice breaking.
“I didn’t fall for her, Aria. I didn’t let her in. But you—” He stopped, jaw tight. “You made me *feel.* You made this real. And I didn’t know how to protect you from the mess I created.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
“I didn’t need perfect,” I whispered. “I needed honesty.”
Silence.
Then Elias whispered the three words I swore he wasn’t capable of.
“I love you.”
But it came too late.
Because I was already walking away.
And he didn’t stop me.
---
- Writer
