"I'm sorry, Deviana... but I'm still taking you home with me."

Adrian’s voice was firm, cold—leaving no room for refusal.

The sleek black car moved slowly through the chilly night. The streetlights passed by in blurred streaks of light, meaningless in their motion. Inside the car, the silence was heavier than the hum of the engine.

In the passenger seat, Deviana sat motionless, her eyes staring blankly out the window as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. Her sobs weren’t born of fear—but exhaustion.

Exhausted from carrying wounds that never healed.

Exhausted from loving a man who never knew how to love her back.

Her heart was shattered, and all she could do now was wonder: What will Adrian do to me this time?

But behind those tears, a sliver of curiosity remained.

Why was Adrian so desperate to bring her back? Was it pride? Or... had he truly lost control?

The car finally pulled into the driveway of a grand house, surrounded by manicured gardens and bathed in soft, inviting light—the place she had once called home.

"Come inside, sweetheart. Weren’t you always happy living here?"

Adrian’s voice was light, as if he were welcoming her back from a vacation.

Deviana looked at him with a cold, sarcastic expression.

What a ridiculous question.

Maybe once, she had been happy here—when she was naïve enough to believe love could grow from one-sided effort. But now... this house was just a monument to broken hope and sleepless, tear-soaked nights.

Still, she stepped out of the car—not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice.

Adrian walked beside her, pretending nothing had happened. He even reached out, intending to touch her waist, but Deviana quickly stepped away.

Inside the house, everything was the same.

The furniture they had chosen together, the paintings on the wall, even the soft rug where she used to sit and read for hours.

But now, the house felt foreign. Empty. Dead.

Adrian led her up the spiral staircase to the bedroom on the second floor—the room that was supposed to be their first night as husband and wife.

He opened the door. Inside, the room had been meticulously prepared: crisp white sheets, rose petals scattered across the bed, and the soft scent of lavender in the air.

He gestured for her to enter first.

Deviana looked around with tearful eyes.

How cruel it was to see this room prepared—now—after everything had been destroyed.

"What do you want, Adrian?" she finally asked, her voice hoarse and bitter.

Adrian turned toward her, locking eyes.

"Of course I want to tie you to me—so you’ll never run from my life again."

Deviana instantly looked away, her heart boiling with conflict.

"You think I can just accept you back like nothing happened?" she said coldly. "Don’t be ridiculous, Adrian. I’ll never let myself be touched by you again."

Adrian stepped closer. "Why do you keep rejecting my love, Deviana? Why do you act like you don’t care anymore?"

"Because what you call love... is just ego!" she snapped.

"If you truly loved me, you wouldn't have left me at the altar. You wouldn’t have made me endure shame, humiliation, and pain just so you could run to another woman."

Adrian went silent. His gaze faltered.

Deviana walked toward the bed, running her fingers across the silky sheets—soft as the sweet lies Adrian used to tell her.

"Seven years, Adrian. I held on for seven years. I loved you in silence, through tears, through disappointment, through hope. And all you ever did was toy with my loyalty. And only after I left, you started to feel ‘loss’?"

"Because I realized... I can’t live without you."

"You’re not afraid of losing me. You’re afraid someone else will have me. That’s not love, Adrian. That’s obsession."

Adrian exhaled sharply. He stepped closer, reaching for her shoulder—but Deviana slapped his hand away.

"Don’t touch me!" she shouted.

"I’m not yours! And I won’t become yours just because you dragged me back here."

Adrian held himself back, his eyes beginning to turn red.

"I just want to make things right, Dev. I’ll marry you. This time, for real. I’ll make up for everything."

"Not all wounds can be healed with a lavish wedding, Adrian!" she snapped, eyes burning with emotion.

"You can buy flowers, a big house, the most expensive dress. But you’ll never be able to buy back the sincerity you threw away!"

Adrian lowered his head.

For the first time, he truly felt small before the woman he used to take for granted.

Deviana walked over to the bedroom window, pulled the curtains aside, and looked out at the night. The cool breeze that flowed in seemed to ease the fire in her chest.

"I’ve thrown away all those feelings. What’s left is pain. And every time you come near... that pain bleeds again."

Adrian took slow steps behind her. "Isn’t there any space left in your heart for me?"

Deviana took a deep breath, then turned around. Her eyes were sharp, but dry.

"All that’s left is emptiness, Adrian. Emptiness because you ignored it too long. And I was too stupid to keep waiting for it to be filled."

Silence fell like a heavy curtain between them.

Two souls once bound, now standing on opposite cliffs.

Then Deviana walked past him, calmly.

"I’ll sleep in the guest room. If you have any dignity left, don’t follow me tonight."

Adrian watched her fading silhouette.

Then, in a whisper—barely audible—he murmured,

"I love you, Deviana. And I’ll keep loving you… even when you no longer believe it."