MasukSix years ago, Elara Wynters lost everything in a single night— her husband, her home, and her dignity as a wife. Before another woman and a baby that wasn’t hers, her husband, Liam Ashford, looked her straight in the eyes and said coldly: “I don’t know her.” That single sentence erased the entire life they had built together. Broken and bleeding inside, Elara walked away without looking back. But in her departure, she carried with her three small reasons to keep living.
Lihat lebih banyak“Liam... please, pick up the phone.”
Elara’s voice trembled between ragged breaths. Her heels clacked against the hospital floor—hurried, anxious. Her eyes scanned every corridor, her chest tightening under the weight of dread pressing down on her heart. Just twenty minutes ago, someone from Liam’s office had called—saying her husband had been in a minor car accident. She dropped everything and rushed to the hospital, not even remembering to grab a jacket in the cold night air. Her phone vibrated again. Liam’s name flashed on the screen. Relief flooded through her as she pressed the green button. “Liam! Where are you? I’m at the hospital—” The voice on the other end cut her off—flat, emotionless. > “I’m still at the office, Elara. Working late. Why?” Elara froze. Her heart pounded wildly. “The office?” her voice quivered. “But... I was told you were in an accident. I’m at the hospital right now, they said—” > “You must’ve heard wrong,” Liam interrupted quickly. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” And the line went dead. Elara stared blankly at her phone. Something was wrong. Her instincts screamed that Liam was lying. She followed the directions the nurse at the front desk had given her, walking toward the assigned room. The door was slightly ajar. Through the narrow gap, she saw something that shattered her completely. Liam stood there— smiling. That gentle smile she hadn’t seen in years. But it wasn’t for her. It was for another woman in a white dress—Celine Ward, Liam’s coworker, whose name Elara had heard countless times but always chose to ignore. And in Liam’s arms was a baby. Elara froze. Every second felt like a blade slowly piercing her chest. Her hand trembled as she gripped her purse. Her lips quivered as she tried to swallow the pain rising inside her. “Liam...” she whispered, barely audible. The man turned. His smile vanished. Shock flickered in his eyes—then turned cold. Frozen. “Elara?” Celine looked between them, brows arched. “You know her?” The air thickened instantly. Elara stepped forward, her voice unsteady but firm. “Of course he knows me. I’m his wife.” But her words drifted uselessly into the air. Liam stared at her for a long moment... then opened his mouth. > “I don’t know her.” The world stopped. “What?” she whispered. “Liam, what do you mean?” She searched his face for even a flicker of guilt. There was none. Only distance. Only coldness. Celine let out a small, mocking laugh. “Oh, so you’re the one who kept calling late at night? I thought it was just a wrong number. Now it all makes sense.” She slid her arm around Liam’s. “Honey, we should take the baby home. You need to rest.” Elara stared at them, her mind blank. “Honey?” she repeated, disbelief breaking her voice. Liam said nothing. He just looked down, gently patting the baby’s back— as if the woman who once stood by him through everything no longer existed. Elara stood motionless. But inside, everything was collapsing. “So this is how easily you erase me, Liam?” her voice cracked, pain bleeding through every word. “So quickly you forget the vows you made before God? I was there when you had nothing! And now you stand here, pretending you don’t know me?” Liam didn’t look up. “Enough, Elara. Don’t cause a scene.” Tears finally fell. But they weren’t from weakness— they were the tears of someone betrayed, erased from the life she helped build. Celine smirked, her tone dripping with satisfaction. “You heard him. Don’t humiliate yourself.” Elara stepped back, her vision blurred with tears, her heart burning with pain and fury. She took a shaky breath, then looked at Liam one last time. > “You may pretend not to know me today, Liam. But one day, you’ll look for me. And when that day comes, I’ll be the one who doesn’t know you.” She turned sharply, holding back sobs as she walked out of the room, her steps unsteady. Behind her, Liam watched her fading silhouette. Something twisted in his chest—a strange, sharp ache—but he pushed it away, forcing himself not to care. Beside him, Celine smiled with quiet triumph, the baby sleeping soundly in her arms. Out in the corridor, Elara’s body finally gave in to the tremors. She leaned against the cold wall, pressing a hand to her chest. Her sobs broke through, muffled behind her palm. And in the stillness of the hospital night, only her quiet cries and bitter whisper could be heard: > “If love means being forgotten... then let me go, before I lose myself completely.”Love or HabitElara woke before dawn, the house still wrapped in silence.For a moment, she didn’t know what had pulled her from sleep. There was no nightmare this time, no sudden panic gripping her chest. Just a quiet, unsettling awareness—like a question hovering too close to ignore.She sat up slowly on the couch, the thin blanket slipping from her shoulders. The living room was dim, shadows stretching long across the floor. Everything looked the same as always, yet something inside her felt… shifted.Her eyes drifted toward the hallway.Toward the bedroom she no longer slept in.Toward Liam.Her chest tightened—not with longing alone, but with confusion.Do I still love him…Or am I just used to him being there?The question struck harder than any argument they had ever had.She padded quietly into the kitchen, made herself tea, and leaned against the counter while the kettle boiled. The routine was familiar, comforting. She had done this thousands of times—sometimes with Liam sta
The Man Who Waits“I’ll just leave this here.”Adrian’s voice was calm, almost careful, as he set a paper bag on the small table near the door. The scent of warm bread and soup slowly filled the living room.Elara stood a few steps away, arms loosely crossed, unsure what to say.“You didn’t have to,” she said finally.“I know,” Adrian replied with a faint smile. “That’s why I wanted to.”There was no expectation in his eyes. No question hanging in the air. Just presence.Elara noticed that immediately—and it unsettled her in a way she couldn’t explain.It had been three days since the night she slept on the couch.Three days of quiet routines, careful conversations, and an ache that never quite left her chest.Liam came and went like a guest now. Polite. Distant. Watching her too closely, yet afraid to step closer.And Adrian… Adrian simply waited.He didn’t ask why she looked tired.Didn’t ask where Liam was.Didn’t ask what she planned to do.He just showed up when he said he would,
“I’ll sleep here tonight.”Elara’s voice was quiet, but it landed harder than any shouted accusation.Liam stood frozen near the bedroom door, watching as she carefully spread a thin blanket over the couch in the living room. The lamp beside her cast a soft yellow glow, stretching her shadow across the wall—showing him just how far away she already felt.“You don’t have to,” he said, his voice rough. “We can talk more. We don’t have to end the night like this.”Elara didn’t look at him.“I need space,” she replied. “Just for tonight.”Just for tonight.Those words echoed painfully in Liam’s chest. He knew better than to argue. He had already pushed too much, demanded too much. Still, standing there, watching her create distance with such quiet determination, made something inside him twist.He nodded slowly. “Okay.”The word felt like a surrender.Elara adjusted the pillow, then sat down, her movements slow, deliberate. She looked exhausted—not just physically, but in a way that reach
“I’m sorry.”The words left Liam’s mouth before he fully understood how hollow they would sound.Elara paused in the middle of folding laundry. Her hands stilled, gripping the edge of a white shirt—his shirt. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at him. Not with anger. Not with hope.With caution.They stood in the narrow space of the bedroom, sunlight filtering through half-closed curtains, dust floating quietly between them. It felt like the kind of moment that should heal something.But instead, it cracked further.“For what?” Elara asked quietly.Liam swallowed. He had rehearsed this in his head all morning. A thousand versions. None of them felt right now that he was here, facing her eyes—eyes that had once trusted him without question.“For… everything,” he said. “For being angry. For leaving. For saying things I shouldn’t have.”Elara nodded once, slowly, as if absorbing the list. “That’s vague.”He frowned. “I’m trying, Elara.”“I know,” she replied. “But trying isn’t the sa
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Ulasan-ulasan