Amara’s eyes snapped open the moment a sharp pain shot through her lower back.
A soft gasp left her lips as her entire body tensed. The ache was intense, throbbing down her back and making her stomach twist unpleasantly. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second before slowly pushing herself upright on the bed.
The second she sat up, she winced.
Her hand immediately pressed against her lower back while she shifted carefully, her brows pulling together in pain.
Beside her, Elias was still fast asleep.
His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and calm, completely relaxed unlike her aching body. One arm was stretched across the mattress where she had been lying earlier, his dark hair slightly messy against the pillow.
The sight instantly made irritation flare across her face.
Her lips pressed into a tight line as anger rose in her chest.
“He wouldn’t even touch me during the entire year we were married,” she thought bitterly, glaring at him. “Ibeggedhim to kiss me. And now, after we’re divorced, he seduced me into sleeping with him? What the hell is wrong with this damn man’s brain?”
The more she looked at his peacefully sleeping face, the more annoyed she became.
Carefully, she slid off the bed, another ache pulling through her lower back the moment her feet touched the floor.
“Damn it…” she muttered under her breath.
She grabbed her dress from the floor, the same one she had worn last night, and slipped it over her body. And then, she quietly sneaked out of the room.
Not long after she left, Elias woke up.
His brows furrowed slightly as his hand instinctively moved across the bed beside him, searching for Amara.
But the spot next to him was cold.
His fingers shifted across the sheets again, feeling nothing.
A confused look crossed his sleepy face as he finally opened his eyes properly and looked around the room.
There was no sign of her.
The sleepiness vanished from his expression instantly.
He pushed himself upright quickly and looked toward the bathroom first, but the door was open and empty.
“Amara?”
No answer.
His chest tightened immediately.
Throwing the blanket aside, he got off the bed in a rush and grabbed his pants from the floor before shoving them on carelessly. He pulled a shirt over his body without even buttoning it properly and hurried out of the room.
“Amara!” he called out louder this time.
His eyes searched the entire house frantically.
The living room.
Nothing.
Dining area.
