Page 44 of Fractured Loyalties

I retreat into the kitchen and let the kettle boil while I stare at nothing. My fingers tremble, so I brace them against the counter. When I bring the mug back to the living room, Elias is still standing where I left him, but his hands are at his sides now. Open.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I say quietly.

“I know.”

“I thought I would be.”

“You should be.”

Silence stretches long.

But I step closer. Close enough to see the way his throat works when he swallows. The taut lines near his mouth. The minute flicker of restraint still grips him.

He finally speaks. “If I hadn’t stopped….”

“But you did.”

He nods. Barely.

I sit on the couch. “Come here.”

He hesitates. Just a breath. Then he moves. He sits beside me but doesn’t reach for me.

“I didn’t do it for him,” he says.

“I know.”

He turns his head slowly. “I did it for you.”

I sip my tea. Let it burn my tongue. Let it anchor me.

“Good,” I whisper.

Chapter 10 – Elias - The Breaking Point

The tea she made is cold now. She hasn’t touched it in a while.

We’ve barely spoken. Just words hanging like unfinished thoughts. She sits on the couch beside me, legs tucked beneath her, a quiet presence that’s steadier than I deserve.

When I told her, “I did it for you.”

She didn't even flinch. She gave a nod, once. “Good.”

The word settles between us like an ending. Or a beginning.

Her eyes searched mine like she’s already known this, has known it longer than I’ve admitted it to myself. That should terrify me. It doesn’t. What terrifies me is how much of me she’s already seen—and how much I still want to protect what little image I think I have left.

I rise slowly, the weight of the last twelve hours clinging to every tendon. “I need a minute,” I say. My voice is quiet, controlled. But my jaw aches from how long I’ve held it clenched.

She doesn’t ask questions.

She just watches me walk away.

I close the door to my bedroom behind me and exhale slowly through my nose.

The quiet here feels different. Less like calm and more like judgment.

I move toward the ensuite, strip with mechanical precision, and step into the shower. The water is too hot at first, scalding across my skin, but I don’t adjust it. I let it burn.