CHAPTER 2: HOURS OF DARKNESS

REVA

Opening my eyes, I realized it was night again. The room was dark, with the only light coming from the resort's garden lanterns, which filtered through the curtains. My body ached as I shifted, limbs heavy, mouth dry as I blinked away the pain in my eyes.

Hours had passed while I remained in the same position, only getting up to relieve myself four or five times throughout the day.

I hadn't dared touch food, just a sip of water in the morning, and my throat burned. It was raw and shredded from hours of crying, and even breathing was painful.

Pushing myself up slowly, my head pounded, and I felt dizzy. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I reached across the sheets. It was instinct or memory, but there was no warmth, only the cold that had curled up inside me.

Nikolai hadn’t come to the suite. He hadn't come after me. He had felt no need to explain, and the silence was more painful than the truth. My gaze shifted to my lap and the hand that rested on it, and another wave of agony washed over me as I stared at my wedding band, bringing the images back with unbearable force.

How could he possibly have done this to me after everything? After I had given him everything.

Nikolai and I met during the darkest period of his life. He had just survived a second car accident. The first had stolen his entire family, his parents and younger brother, on the night of his brother's graduation, with Nikolai being the driver.

I still remember how he looked at me that first day in the hospital... confused, exhausted, and hollow behind the eyes. His skull had been cracked in two places, and we were unsure whether he would ever be able to walk, speak properly, or be himself again.

But he made it through, and I stayed. First, as his doctor, then as a friend, after no one had visited him.

When he was able to speak clearly again, weeks later, he told me about his uncles accusing him of the murders. They claimed he planned the crash so that he would inherit everything.

I remembered how his voice cracked when he told me he loved his family. As if that was not enough, he found out he was not even blood. His uncles accused him because he had been adopted.

Years of belonging were shattered in one revelation, sending him into a downward spiral. His adoptive family had taken everything from him, including the business, his name, and his place in the world, and by the time I met him, he was barely hanging on.

I helped him through the surgery, but what came after was so much more than medicine could cure. It was pain… raw emotional torment that kept me awake by his side night after night, leaving me unable to focus on my other patients.

I never meant to fall in love with him. But I did, and maybe it was because of pity, but it didn’t matter because I fell hard. We married that same year in a private ceremony, keeping our relationship private because he was still a patient and the company had a strict policy against getting involved with patients.

I also helped him take his former family to court for his share of the business, which he had worked at for many years and contributed to its success.

But the fight didn’t fix him. He slipped deeper into depression than before, and I carried us for two years. I gave up weekends, birthdays, and sleep.

Each night, I returned home to find Nikolai exactly where I had left him, sprawled on the sofa, eyes red and unfocused, or curled in bed, drowning in silence.

There were days when I could hardly stand up and had to be strong for him... wipe away his tears, calm his storms, and coax him into eating, bathing, and existing. I was his wife, anchor, caregiver, and provider.

I paid for his therapy sessions, prescriptions, and doctor visits. I paid our rent, groceries, and other expenses while also supporting my own family, who relied on me for their financial needs. It was not easy; it almost broke me.

But I never made him feel like a burden; I never considered him a burden or blamed him for anything. I loved him through it all, and he did this to me. He broke me without even having the decency to face me.

I bolted out of bed, as if something had snapped inside me. I was dead to the world only seconds ago. But now my body moved with an unknown strength, as if rage had overcome the pain, reaching deep into my chest and rewiring every nerve.

Swinging my legs over the bed, I stood, my knees trembling briefly before locking in place as my feet landed on the floor, and took long strides towards the door.

I ripped it open, and the light from the corridor flooded my vision, causing me to flinch as my eyes struggled to adjust from the hours of darkness. It burned; everything burned. But I kept walking.

I was on my way to Hunter's suite, and I had not allowed myself to think about his betrayal because it would reopen old wounds and leave me dead on this cold floor.

I didn’t even let myself think of how I booked that suite for Hunter; how I added him last-minute to the trip, even though he wasn’t part of the package, because he’d been down, and I wanted to cheer him up. I wanted him to feel loved and not spend Christmas alone.

He was my brother, after all, and he stabbed me in the back with the man to whom I had given everything.

Clenching my fists, I stormed down the hallway, glad I didn’t bump into anyone I knew. I didn’t think I could take it. My dress was wrinkled and twisted, and I was still barefoot.

Reaching the suite, I didn’t even hesitate. My hand shot out, and I ripped the door open with all of my fury. Storming into the suite, I was ready to scream Hunter’s name. But I didn’t have to call him.

They were curled up on the sofa, two lovers enjoying a quiet moment of comfort like they hadn't just ripped my heart to shreds. They stood with wide eyes and parted lips, as if my being in their presence was unthinkable, when they were the ones who left me rotting.

“You didn’t even come.” My eyes locked on Nikolai. “You let me cry all night. All day... alone. You didn’t even have the decency to come to me after you ripped my heart open with your filth!”

He took a step toward me, but my hand shot up. “Don’t.” My voice broke. “Don’t come any closer.”

"I thought it would be best to let you cool off."

My lips twisted and, for a second, I couldn’t even speak. That was his reason? That absurd, pathetic excuse? “Why?” I finally managed, and that was all I could ask.

“I’m tired, Reva,” he said. “I'm tired of pretending. Tired of failing you. You wanted a perfect version of me, a man who fit into your ideal life, and I tried to be that. I tried to love you the way you needed to be loved. I tried to be everything you needed. But I can’t anymore. I’m not that man.”

I looked at him, breath caught between my ribs. So it was my fault? I forced him to fuck my brother? Because I put pressure on him? In which bloody world did that happen?

"After everything, Nikolai?" I whispered, my voice shaking in disbelief, ignoring the nonsense he had just vomited because he was aware it was garbage.

“This is how you do me? This is what you say to me? Why didn’t you say this at home? Why didn’t we talk about this? Since when do you even like men?”

His eyes didn’t flinch. “I’ve always liked men.”

That stopped me cold. “Then why, why didn’t you ever tell me? Why did this come here? Did you want to humiliate me? Is that it?”

“No! This was never meant to humiliate you. I didn’t want you to see us like that! I didn’t talk to you because I knew it wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t change anything.” His tone grew flat and final. “You'd cry. You’d say we could fix it. And I couldn’t pretend anymore.”

Guilt flickered across his face. “I never wanted you to find out like this.”

I gulped hard, barely able to stand. “But I did.”

“I’m sorry it happened this way. I didn’t come here to hurt you, Reva. I came on this trip… to say goodbye.”

My heart stuttered. He didn’t plan this trip. I invited him. Despite my warning, he got closer, and this time I couldn't move. I was frozen in place, watching the man to whom I had given everything annihilate every part of me.

“I’m tired,” he repeated. “Tired of being unseen. I want someone who can truly see me. And I’m sorry it… happens to be your brother.”

A strange stillness came over me the moment he mentioned my brother. Until then, I hadn’t looked at him, and my eyes finally dragged themselves to where he stood.

There was no shame, remorse, or fear in his eyes as he bent over the coffee table to pick up an envelope. My mouth opened, words swelling like fire behind my lips, but I fell silent once more at the words that echoed behind me.

“Those are the divorce papers. I’ve already signed.”