Christine's P.O.V.
Elliot didn't deserve my forgiveness, much less a second chance. Not after everything he'd put me through. Years of abandonment, cold indifference, mocking words, and public humiliation... How could all of that be erased by a few kisses and empty promises that things would be different this time?
And even if I wanted to believe him, I would be a fool to go back, only to end up once again in that dark, silent house. The nanny. The maid. But never the wife. Just another accessory.
I wouldn't survive it again.
I had to be strong for me and my children. I had already started walking a new path, and there was no turning back. No room for weakness, and no repeating past mistakes. The world might have left me on my own, but at least it had given me freedom.
The car engine shut off when we reached the apartment building's parking lot, but Darius didn't move. He sat there, staring at the steering wheel, his lips drawn in a firm line. His silence told me more than any wor
