Fractured Walls

The suitcase lay open on the bed, half-filled with clothes she barely saw as she shoved them in. Her hands trembled, but she kept folding, kept moving.

Anything to drown out the sound of her heartbeat hammering in her ears. The air in the room was heavy, still thick with Seth’s scent, that faint blend of cedarwood and aftershave that clung to the sheets no matter how many times she changed them.

She didn’t want to breathe it in. She didn’t want to remember.

Her mind replayed the moment over and over again. Seth’s voice, admitting what Runes’s text had hinted at: even without doing much, Thea got even with Runes.

Those words had gutted her. She had felt like a fool walking into that office with her heart still open, still believing in him.

Now she was standing here, packing up the pieces of herself he had left behind.

The door creaked. She didn’t bother to look up.

“Thea,” his voice came from behind her, softer than usual, like he was afraid to touch the air between them.

She zipped the suitcase halfway and ignored him.

“Thea, this is all a misunderstanding,” Seth said again, closer this time. “You’ve been avoiding me. You won’t answer my calls, you won’t even…”

She turned sharply, eyes blazing. “What am I supposed to say, Seth? Thank you for using me? Thank you for making me feel like I finally mattered only to find out I was just a pawn in your little game?”

His jaw tightened. “That’s not true.”

“True?” she repeated, laughing bitterly. “You plotted revenge against Runes, and somehow I ended up being your weapon. Don’t tell me it wasn’t intentional. Don’t tell me that wasn’t part of your plan all along.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it?” she demanded, stepping toward him. “Because the way Arian said it, you got exactly what you wanted. He’s in prison, you got justice, and I…” Her voice cracked. “…I was just collateral damage.”

Seth’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to hurt you?”

“Yes!” she shouted, tears stinging her eyes. “Because that’s all anyone ever does to me. They hurt me and then act like it wasn’t on purpose! Like I deserved it.”

The words echoed. For a moment, neither of them spoke and the room echoed with Thea's sobs.

How could she have trusted him? Why did she think he was suddenly in love with her like some dumb fairytale bullshit?!

Seth stepped closer, his voice dropping to something desperate. “Thea, I didn’t use you. What happened between us, it was real. Every word, every touch..”

“Don’t,” she cut in, voice trembling. “Don’t make this harder. I believed you, Seth. God, I believed in you. You were the first person I let in after everything, and now I can’t even look at you without wondering if any of it was real.”

“It was real.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. “Because I was afraid you’d leave if you knew.”

Her laugh came brittle and bitter. “Guess what? I’m leaving anyway.”

She turned back to the suitcase, forcing the zipper all the way up. Seth reached out instinctively, fingers brushing the handle before she could lift it.

“Thea…”

“Don’t touch me.”

The words stopped him cold.

She straightened, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “I’m done, Seth. I can’t stay here. You won. You got what you wanted. Runes girl in your bed, runes behind bars. Congratulations. You outdid yourself.”

He watched her move across the room. Each step, each motion, made his stomach clench with despair. He wanted to stop her, to say something that would make her stay, but the words wouldn’t come. Everything he could have said felt hollow now.

As she crossed the doorway, his restraint finally cracked. “You can’t just leave.”

Thea froze. Slowly, she turned. “What did you say?”

He swallowed. “You can’t leave yet.”

Her brow furrowed. “Try me.”

“You signed a contract.” His voice had changed, colder now, detached, like he was retreating into the only defense he had left. “We agreed to stay married for one year. It’s only been eight months.”

Thea’s breath caught, eyes staring at him in shock. This was the Seth she married right in front of her.

“You’re really going to throw that in my face right now?”

“It’s business, Thea. You know how this works.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Business? That’s all this ever was to you, wasn’t it?”

He didn’t answer. The silence said enough.

Thea laughed again, broken and bitter. “Of course. Of course that’s what you’d say. What was I thinking? You only do things that benefit you.”

Seth’s eyes flickered: guilt, anger, shame all tangled together. But he held her gaze, forcing himself to stay cold. “You made a deal, Thea. You don’t get to walk away when it’s inconvenient.”

She stepped toward him. “You’re am asshole. You tell me you love me, you swear what we had was real, and now you’re chaining me here with a piece of paper?”

“I’m protecting what’s mine,” he said quietly.

Her breath hitched. “I was never yours.”

The words hit like a slap.

Seth’s jaw clenched, but Thea didn’t wait for his reaction. She bent down, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and headed for the door.

“I’ll stay,” she said without turning around, her voice suddenly calm, almost too calm. “You want me here for the remainder of our contract? Fine. I’ll stay. But I’m moving back to my quarters. We follow every rule you set in place. Separate rooms, separate lives.”

Seth blinked, the coldness in his eyes faltering. “I wouldn't have it another way.”

“You wanted business?” she interrupted. “Then we’ll keep it business.”

He didn’t stop her this time. He just stood there as she walked past him, her perfume lingering faintly in the air, her footsteps echoing down the hallway until the front door closed behind her with a hollow click.

The silence that followed was unbearable.

♤

He stood there for a long time after she left. Motionless, staring at the empty doorway like she might suddenly change her mind and walk back in.

She didn’t. Hell, she wouldn't and he knew that.

The sound of her suitcase wheels faded into nothing, leaving behind a silence that felt suffocating.

He raked his hand through his hair, pacing once, twice, before slamming his palm against the wall. The pain was immediate and grounding. He deserved it.

He had done this.

Every word he said had been wrong. Every sentence, every choice, a knife he’d turned on both of them. He could still see her face, the way her eyes had dimmed when he brought up the contract. That split second when heartbreak became hatred.

God, what the hell had he done?

He sank onto the couch, elbows on his knees, hands tangled in his hair. The room suddenly felt bigger without her.

Too big, too quiet.

Every corner carried her presence: the faint scent of her shampoo, the scarf she’d left draped over the armrest, the book on the coffee table she’d never finished.

He’d told himself the contract was protection, from scandal, from betrayal, from the chaos of emotions he couldn’t control. But now it felt like a chain, not for her… but for him.

He had wanted to reach for her, to tell her the truth. That yes, his hatred for Runes had started it, but she had changed everything. That revenge had turned into something far more dangerous: love.

Hell, he loves her but he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

But he had watched her cry, and all he’d managed to say was you can’t leave yet.

Seth let out a low, humorless laugh. “Brilliant, Seth. Real fucking brilliant.”

He leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. The faint hum of the city seeped through the windows. Somewhere outside, life went on; people laughing, talking, living.

But inside, everything felt suspended, like time had stopped the moment she walked out.

His phone buzzed on the table beside him.

Arian.

He ignored it. The last thing he wanted was another reminder of the mess he’d made.

Instead, he got up and walked toward the window. From here, he could see the faint glow of the guest quarters down the path. Her quarters.

A light flicked on inside.

For a moment, he thought about going there. He could knock on the door, apologise, tell her anything that might undo the damage. But what could he possibly say that wouldn’t sound like another manipulation?

He pressed a hand against the glass and whispered to no one, “I didn’t mean to lose you.”

But she was already gone. Not physically, but in the way that mattered most.

He returned to the room and sat in the dark, the quiet pressing in on him from every direction.

Thea had always filled this place with warmth. Soft laughter, scattered books, the smell of coffee she brewed every morning. Now, all that was left was the echo of what used to be.

His gaze drifted to the marriage contract on the shelf, the one his lawyer had drawn up months ago. He pulled it out, flipping through the pages until he found her signature at the bottom. His fingers traced over it slowly.

When she signed it, she had just been humiliated. She was nervous but trusting. She’d said, If this is what it takes to fix things, then fine. We’ll make it work.

He had nodded back then, thinking he could control everything. How the might have fallen in the hands of a maiden called Thea Balmero.

Now, all his control meant nothing.

He closed the file and dropped it on the floor. The sound was final, echoing in the hollow room.

Maybe he deserved this silence. Maybe this was the price of keeping secrets, of pretending he could mix revenge with love and come out clean.

In the faint reflection of the glass, he saw his own expression; tired, defeated, and alone.

And for the first time since Thea walked into his life, Seth Blackwood realized he had no idea how to fix what he’d broken.