Not yet.
Part of me is still in that hospital bed, barely able to sit up, clutching my sister’s phone with trembling fingers, staring at that screen.
He’s here, in front of me, kneeling. Eyes full of worry.
He looks like he cares. Maybe he even does.
But how do you explain the exact moment your world broke—to the man who doesn’t even know he shattered it? That the worst pain didn’t come from what was done to you—but from who wasn’t there for you?
I look at him. Really look.
And something inside me tightens, sharp and familiar.
I thought I had buried it.
But now...
Now it’s burning again.
Chapter 13
WHAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
Truth lies beneath what remains unsaid
Della
The silence that had wrapped around us all evening vanishes.
The warmth of the fire, the stillness of the lake, the softness of this fragile peace—gone.
I feel it rise—something dark and sharp clawing up from everything I’ve spent years trying to lock away. My voice trembles—not from fear, but from fury. From heartbreak. From all the words I never thought I’d say aloud.
I look him straight in the eyes—rage and grief crashing together behind mine.
“How is Leah?” My voice comes out cold, sharper than I mean—but maybe that’s the point. “I’ve been so caught up in this quiet little fairytale today, I nearly forgot to ask you about yourwife.”
His hands are on mine. I shake them off.
I gesture toward his phone still glowing on the counter.
“She seems worried. Calling late. Sweet of her.”
Dorian blinks, visibly thrown.
“What are you talking about? Leah and I are—were—done. That ended a long time ago. You know that. She probably called about something work-related.”
I step away from the couch, needing space. Air.
“Della, what’s going on?” His voice follows me. “Talk to me. I want to know… I need to. Please.”
But something’s already cracked open. Rage receding, leaving a raw exhaustion behind.
“She was never really out of your life, was she?”
He exhales hard, running a hand through his hair.
“We work together. That’s it. Nothing else.”
