Chapter 6
1380 Words
Amaris lay awake in the dark.
Behind her, the mattress dipped slightly as a man drew closer, bringing with him the coolness of the night air and a faint scent of alcohol.
It was the first time he had come home in several days.
Stellan's arm slipped around her from behind, his palm resting against her waist, a gesture that felt both tentative and like the familiar claim of possession.
"Amaris..." His voice was low, rough with tiredness. "I'm back."
She did not move or reply.
His lips brushed the back of her neck, warm against her skin, while his fingers traced lightly over the fabric of her nightgown, as if confirming that she was really there.
"I've missed you," he said.
Amaris' eyelashes fluttered gently, but inside she felt nothing but coldness.
She knew him too well. Stellan never returned home at dawn for no reason, nor did he suddenly speak such soft words.
It could only mean one thing...
He had just left another woman's bed, and now spoke out of guilt, or perhaps a quiet sense of satisfaction.
Affection offered in the early hours was always just a mask to hide the shame of infidelity.
Was this a final, fleeting gesture?
As the bright lights of the carousel glowed through the twilight, Amaris felt as though she had slipped back to when she was eighteen.
For the past seven days, Stellan had canceled every meeting, set his phone to flight mode, and arranged one date after another, recreating all the little things they had done when their love was new.
He had rented out an entire theater for a late-night film, taken her to a private observatory to find the constellation bearing her name, and even brought her to an amusement park that very morning.
Now he stood holding a stick of cotton candy.
"Open your mouth," he said.
He pulled off a wisp of the fluffy sugar and held it to her lips, his eyes soft enough to make anyone's heart melt.
Amaris took it instinctively. The sweetness on her tongue felt overwhelming.
She raised her hands to sign, "Too sweet."
"You used to love this," he said with a smile, wiping a trace of sugar from the corner of her mouth with his thumb.
"Back in college, you always complained that the ones I bought were too small."
Amaris lowered her gaze. She remembered that time clearly. Back then, Stellan had been just a struggling student, unable to afford VIP tickets. They would wait in line for two hours just to ride the roller coaster once.
Now he could rent the entire park, yet the thrill she had felt in those days was long gone.
Dinner was at the French restaurant where they had shared their first kiss. Stellan had arranged for walls to be covered in white roses, each petal still dotted with fresh water droplets.
When the server rolled out a seven-layer cake, Amaris signed in the glow of the candlelight.
"Today is not an anniversary."
"It's a new beginning," he said.
He took her wrist, and his wedding ring glinted strangely in the flame.
"Let's start over. Will you?"
Amaris agreed.
On the day he accompanied her to the hospital for a follow-up checkup, Stellan received a call. He frowned and pulled out his phone.
The moment he saw the name Annika Sutherland light up the screen, Amaris watched him freeze.
But he quickly answered, switching the call to speakerphone.
"I am taking my wife for a medical appointment," he said, his tone cold and distant. "Say what you need to say."
There was a brief pause at the other end, followed by soft, shaky sobs and a voice thick with tears.
"Mr. Blackwood, I need to ask for leave tonight... I can't stay late."
"Your reason?"
"I'm not feeling well. I need my boyfriend to take me to the doctor."
"I do not pay you to miss work," Stellan replied sharply.
Annika's crying grew louder, and then the line went dead, leaving only a steady dial tone echoing through the room.
Stellan stared at the darkened screen, his right hand clenching and unclenching.
Amaris pressed her lips tightly together and turned to gather her identification and medical records.
"Let's go," he said, slipping the phone back into his pocket. His voice was calm, as if nothing had happened.
Amaris remained where she stood.
"You can go to her instead," she signed.
A flicker of something like irritation crossed his face.
He reached out to take her wrist. "Don't be difficult."
Amaris waited on the steps while Stellan went to bring the car around. Footsteps sounded behind her, but stopped suddenly three meters away.
She turned and saw him standing beneath the shade of a tree, still holding his phone. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting broken shadows across his face.
His expression seemed frozen, as if time had stopped. She watched him swallow once.
"Amaris... About the company..."
She looked at his hand gripping the device, the screen still glowing faintly.
She did not need to guess who was messaging him. Perhaps the moonlight was too bright, for it made her eyes burn.
Amaris lifted the corners of her mouth in a faint, empty smile, and signed for him to go ahead. Her fingers trembled slightly, as if even these simple movements had become too heavy.
"I'll have Celia take you through the appointment," he said.
"I can go alone," she signed.
"I'll finish my business as fast as I can and come find you."
Amaris nodded, turned, and walked toward the curb to hail a taxi.
Stellan let out what sounded like a sigh of relief.
Without another word of comfort or explanation, he turned and hurried away.
It was the first time in all their years together that she had gone for a follow-up checkup by herself. But she did not return to her usual hospital.
Instead, she went to a different clinic where a close friend worked as a physician.
The doctor told her that her vocal cords were holding up well, though there was still some inflammation caused by stress and emotional strain.
Amaris nodded and followed quietly to collect her medication. As she sat on a bench in the long corridor, she saw Stellan.
"Stellan, I want to go back to that beach we visited before," Annika said, wearing a loose white dress and clinging to his arm, her voice soft and pleading.
"It's getting colder lately... it isn't good for the baby," Stellan replied gently. "We'll go again once the weather warms up. For now, I'll take you to get that strawberry cake you like."
Amaris stared, frozen, as he walked with Annika toward the maternity ward.
They waited near the door for their turn to be called. Stellan leaned against the wall, his eyes never leaving Annika.
She fumbled nervously through her bag, searching for her medical file, but could not find it.
He watched Annika for a long moment in silence, then reached out, took her chin in his hand, and leaned in to kiss her before she could pull away.
Annika tried to turn her head, but Stellan closed his eyes and deepened the kiss. When it ended, she leaned against him, weak and breathless.
Amaris saw every detail, completely exposed and unhidden. Tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
With shaking hands, she picked up her phone and called Stellan.
In all these years, she had never called him, only sent text messages. But now she wanted to speak, to prove that she was still a person with a voice, even if it was broken.
She saw Stellan glance at his phone, his expression turning impatient at the interruption.
He frowned, hesitated for a moment, then answered.
"You've never called me before," he said, his voice rough.
Amaris tried to reply, but only a ragged, gasping sound came through the line.
She held the phone to her ear, opened her messaging app, and typed a message to send.
Amaris: Stellan, is the child Annika is carrying... a boy or a girl?
On the other end, there was total silence. Then she sent one more line.
Amaris: Let's get divorced. You can find yourself a wife who still has a voice.
- Writer
