Elena's POV
The silence in the room was unbearable.
It wrapped around me like a thick, heavy blanket, pressing on my chest until I could barely breathe. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts an endless loop of everything that had happened everything I had done for him. I know I did so little girl him but at least he could have appreciated me. I now know the reason why he is called a cold cruel billionaire.
For Justin.And yet, all I had to show for it was the echo of his cruel words."I don't need you."
I closed my eyes, and the words sliced through me again. He hadn't said thank you. He hadn't smiled. He hadn't even looked at me the way I thought he might after everything.
I had stood on that podium. I had held his hand. I had faced a world of cameras and strangers and defended him with every ounce of strength I had left.
And he… He had tossed it aside like it meant nothing.
A tear slipped down my cheek, and I didn't wipe it away. Not this time.Because this time, I wasn't going to pretend it didn't hurt because it did.
I wasn't going to lie to myself. I had cared.
Maybe I still did.But caring was a weakness I couldn't afford anymore.
While I was still ruminating about what happened today, I received a call from an unknown number. The voice that came from the other end was one of the sweetest voice I've heard in a long time. It was Justin's mother. I tried to hide my tears and speak joyfully but I didn't know when I burst into tears. "What happened my dear daughter" Mrs Shawn asked with so much concern. "Nothing ma, just touched that you called me your dear daughter" I replied . " Hmm, Elena why do I feel you are hiding something from me" she said again. I did not have a choice but to tell her everything. I told her all what happened, by the time I was done I felt so light as burden-free.
"Elena I'm so so sorry, I apologize on Justin behalf. Justin might be a hard nut to crack but he has being through a lot on his own, he has his own coping mechanism and he goes through a lot on his own. Please stand by his side. He may say he doesn't want any help but he does, he yearns for it and I think you are the best woman for it. Please don't give up on him" Mrs Shawn said again. what she said touched me and I got determined again to be by his side no matter what happens.
We talked about more things, there was silence and she said what made me to cry again" I love you my darling daughter" That touched me . This was what mummy told me.
After the call,I sat up slowly, pushing the blankets aside. The cool air brushed against my skin, grounding me. I looked around the room this room that had become my retreat. My safe haven from a man I couldn't seem to stop falling for ever since I came to his place.
But tonight? Tonight I made a decision.
I wouldn't try anymore.I wouldn't hope. I wouldn't wait. I wouldn't flinch. But I won't change myself because of a man. I would always be a good person.Because I was tired of giving when he only took.
I walked over to the vanity and stared at my reflection. My eyes were swollen, my lips trembling from the weight of everything unsaid. But in the center of all that brokenness, I saw something I hadn't seen in a while.
Me.Not Mrs. Shawn.Not the pawn Me!!!! Elena Clark!!!
The girl who once dreamed of Paris. The girl who once believed in fairy tales. The girl who now had to write her own story with or without a prince.
I wiped my tears and spoke to the reflection.
"You're done chasing ghosts, Elena."
I turned on the lamp beside the bed, its warm glow softening the edges of the night.
No more crying over a man who couldn't see me.
No more hoping he'd open the door.
No more waiting.
I took out my phone, scrolled through my messages, and hovered over his name.
Justin.
My thumb rested on the keyboard. I typed out a simple message:
"You didn't have to say it like that."
And then I erased it.
I tried again:
"After everything I did today, that's all you had to say?"
Delete.
I tried one more time:
"I get it. You don't need me. But did you ever think that maybe I needed you to just say thank you?"
Gone.
Every message I wanted to send only reminded me of the power he still had over my emotions. And I hated that.
I hated how my heart still stuttered when I thought of the look in his eyes when I stood beside him today. The flicker of something unspoken. A softness, maybe. But it vanished the moment we got home.
I stood up again and pulled on my robe.
This wasn't who I wanted to be.
Not anymore.
So I walked out of the room and down the hallway. I passed his bedroom door. I paused. Just for a second. Just long enough to remember the way he looked at me the night of the reception. Like he was starting to see me.
And then he stopped.
I didn't knock. I didn't linger.
I walked past and went down to the kitchen. Poured myself a glass of water. Let the cold silence settle around me like armor.
He didn't want me?
Fine.
But he didn't get to keep pieces of me either. Not the parts I worked hard to heal. Not the strength I had built when no one else was watching.
I drank the water, washed the glass, and went back to my room.
Tomorrow, I would wake up and smile.
Even if it was fake.
Even if it was heavy.
Because pretending to be okay was better than being pitied.
And I didn't want his pity.
I crawled into bed, pulling the sheets up to my chin.
This was my life now.
This was my fight.
And if he didn't want to fight beside me, then I would fight for myself.
For the version of me that didn't shrink back when someone told her she wasn't enough.
Because I was enough.
I always had been.
He just didn't see it.
Not yet.
But maybe, one day, when it's too late, he would.
I closed my eyes.
Sleep was slow to come, but when it did, it was quiet. Dreamless.
I didn't cry.
Not tonight.
Because my tears were sacred now.
And I wouldn't waste them on someone who didn't see the value in my voice.
To be continued...