CHAPTER 3 - THE STRANGER

Amara's POV

I finally got discharged the next day. Darius came to pick me up, his presence as familiar as ever. I asked him for a moment to dress, needing a little space to collect myself. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I felt a strange emptiness wash over me. The person staring back at me was someone I barely recognized.

I could still feel the weight of everything that had happened—the betrayal, the pain, the loss.

I wondered if I should confront Lena. We had always been close—like sisters, really. I had protected her when others turned their backs, including her own sister, Elizabeth, who never really liked her. But now, everything is different.

The bond we once shared felt shattered, replaced with nothing but the sharp sting of betrayal.

And then there was Darius. The man I had loved—no, the man I still loved, even though it felt like he had abandoned me. I had lost myself in this marriage, in him, because I truly believed in us.

When Darius asked me to put all the real estate deals under his name, I didn’t hesitate. When he wanted to be a partner in the jewelry business I had started, I didn’t think twice. I trusted him completely. Even the baby—though unplanned, he was ours. I loved him. I was happy about the pregnancy, even if it had come unexpectedly. It was a gift, something to hold onto.

But after Darius’s mother passed away, everything changed. He became distant, withdrawing from me emotionally and physically.

For months, he hadn’t touched me. It felt like I was invisible to him. And yet, when we went on that business trip, something shifted. We got intimate that day, though the details were blurry—alcohol had clouded my memory, and I wasn’t always good with it. But I knew this: the connection we shared, even that one fleeting moment of intimacy, didn’t fix what was broken.

I also knew why things had turned out the way they did. Darius blamed me for his mother’s death, for the crash of his family’s company after our wedding. He blamed me for everything that had gone wrong in his life. I was the reason he lost everything. I knew it, even if he never said it out loud.

But none of that gave him or Lena the right to treat me this way. None of that gave them the right to stomp on everything I had built, everything I had loved.

Looking at myself in the mirror again, I felt something stir inside me—an unfamiliar strength. I had been given a rare second chance, and I would not waste it. I wasn’t going to let Darius or Lena destroy me. I had to find myself again.

I had to reclaim what was mine, starting with the person I used to be—the person who knew her worth, who fought for what she deserved.

I was done being invisible. I was done being the victim.

I was finally done dressing and headed out of the room, the weight of everything still heavy on my mind. When we reached the entrance, my eyes caught something unusual. A black car was parked outside, different from the one Darius had driven to pick me up earlier.

Before I could ask anything, the sound of wheels rolling across the pavement interrupted my thoughts. An old man was being pushed in a wheelchair, his frail form barely visible beneath a heavy coat.

Two men flanked him, each one towering like bodyguards. My gaze instinctively shifted to him.

For just a moment, our eyes met. The connection was brief but intense—an unspoken recognition, a flicker of something familiar. It sent a cold shiver down my spine. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like I should know him. But the moment passed too quickly, and before I could process it, the men helped the old man into the car.

Darius, as if sensing my hesitation, placed a hand gently on my shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said, his tone urgent, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

I didn’t get a chance to ask any questions. The car door slammed shut, the engine hummed to life, and the black car drove off—leaving behind more questions than answers.

An hour later, we finally arrived at the mansion. Everything looked so familiar—like nothing had changed. The same luxurious decor, the same old paintings on the walls, the same overwhelming silence that used to comfort me now felt suffocating. The house seemed to hold a thousand memories, all of them heavy with unspoken truths.

And there she was—Lena. Standing in the doorway with that too-wide smile plastered across her face, as if nothing had happened. She stepped forward as soon as she saw me, her hands outstretched in welcome.

"Welcome home, Amara. We are so happy you’re back," she said, her voice sweet, too sweet. The words rang hollow in my ears.

I smiled tightly, the fake gesture feeling foreign. I had to pretend. I had to pretend I hadn’t seen the bite marks on her neck—marks that were far too familiar and definitely from Darius. I wondered if her fiancé knew about her cheating on him.I realised I had never even met the guy.

But I didn’t say anything. Not yet.

I nodded in her direction, keeping my gaze steady as I passed her and made my way upstairs. My heart pounded harder with every step. The moment I reached the top of the staircase, I paused. I couldn’t look back—not at her, not at any of them. If I did, I would lose my resolve.

"I need to rest," I told Darius, forcing the words past the lump in my throat. My voice sounded distant, even to my own ears. But that was the best I could do. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep the facade up.

I didn’t wait for a response. I headed straight for my room, locking the door behind me. As soon as I was alone, the weight of everything hit me. The confusion, the betrayal—it was all too much. I needed to act fast. Time was slipping away, and I had to make sure I was in control of the situation.

I pulled out my phone and secretly dialed Emma’s number. She was my secretary and the only one I could trust now, the only person who had always been there for me. I couldn’t let anyone else in on this—not yet.

"Meet me at the café later," I whispered into the phone. "We need to discuss the upcoming event coming up. I have to put things in place... If I don’t act fast, I’ll lose everything."

My fingers clenched around the phone as I ended the call. My heart was racing, but my mind was sharp. The pieces were falling into place, and I wasn’t about to let anything—anyone—stop me. Not anymore.