MORNING - BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Dawn pierced through the gaps in the thick curtains, painting golden lines on the carpet. Elara hadn't moved from the window all night. Her eyes were swollen, her mind swirling between the photo with Kael, Natasha's smile, and the two plane tickets lying there like an irony.
From outside, a soft sound. Click. The locked bedroom door opened from the outside. David stood in the doorway, his face pale and weary, deep lines of fatigue etched clearly. In his hands, he carried a tray with a simple breakfast: chamomile tea and toast—the breakfast Elara always requested when stressed during their university days.
"I thought you might need this," David said, his voice hoarse. He placed the tray on the small table near the window, keeping his distance.
Elara didn't turn. "I'm not hungry."
"We need to talk, Elara."
"What is there to talk about?" Elara finally turned, her eyes cold. "About the photos of both of us plastered all over the news? Or about Natasha, whom you've been meeting secretly?"
David took a deep breath. "Natasha is the project lead from our business partner. Our meeting was purely professional."
"And my meeting with Kael was purely for a charity project!" Elara stood up, her voice rising. "But you chose to be angry, to lock me in this room, while you yourself—"
"I know!" David cut her off, his voice breaking for the first time. "I know I was being a hypocrite. But when I saw your photo with him... the way he looked at you... I couldn't think straight."
"And you think I could, when I saw your photo with another woman?" Elara stepped closer, her body trembling. "We don't trust each other, David. The foundation of our marriage is cracked."
"Don't say that." David tried to touch her arm, but Elara jerked away.
"Why not? It's the truth! For months, we've been like two strangers living under the same roof. You're busy with your business, I'm busy with the socialite world you created for me. We've lost ourselves... lost us."
David stared at her, his eyes revealing a rarely seen panic. "What do you want? I'll change everything. We can start over."
"Start over?" Elara laughed bitterly. "With what? With more lies? With more performances? I'm tired, David. I'm tired of being Davina. I don't even remember how to be Elara anymore."
"So this is about Kael?" David's voice grew louder. "You want to go back to him?"
"THIS ISN'T ABOUT KAEL!" Elara screamed, her voice shattering the morning silence. "This is about us! About how you trust gossip and photos more than you trust me! About how we've both been so busy holding onto little resentments that we've forgotten how to love!"
The teacup on the tray rattled. David fell silent, his face contorted in inner conflict.
"You're right," he finally admitted, his voice shattered. "I've become a stranger to you. But Elara, for everything, don't say it's over."
Elara looked at the plane tickets on the table. "Maybe we need time. Distance."
"No." David shook his head, his face hardening again. "I won't let you leave. Not after everything we've built."
"You see?" Elara said sadly. "Even now, what you're thinking about is 'what we've built.' Not us. Not our feelings. Not our happiness."
She walked to the closet and pulled out a small suitcase. "I'm leaving for a while."
"WHERE TO?" David blocked the door. "To Kael?"
"I HAVE NOTHING WITH KAEL!" Elara screamed, tears finally bursting forth. "But if you keep accusing me like that, maybe I should go to him! Because at least he knew Elara once, not the Davina you created!"
The words felt like a slap. David took a step back, his face as pale as a corpse.
Elara threw some clothes into the suitcase. "I'll stay at a hotel. Or at Sofia's. I don't know. But we need distance, David. We need time to think... whether we can still fix this, or—"
"Don't say that word," David cut her off, his eyes glistening. "I will never agree to a separation."
"Sometimes, we don't have a choice." Elara closed her suitcase. "Let's just be apart this time. Let's both do some soul-searching. Figure out what we truly want... and if we still want each other."
David stood in front of the door, his body rigid. "And Alisha?"
The name made Elara pause. She closed her eyes, a deep pain gnawing at her chest. "I'll pick her up after school. I'll explain that Mom and Dad need some time alone."
"You'll destroy our family."
"OUR FAMILY IS ALREADY BROKEN, DAVID!" Elara shouted, her voice hoarse. "And we keep pretending it's not! I don't want Alisha growing up in a house full of silence and cold stares! She deserves better!"
David finally moved away from the door, his movements like those of a defeated soldier. "How long?"
"I don't know."
"I'll wait for you."
"Don't."Elara pulled her suitcase past him. "Do your soul-searching for yourself. Not for me."
As she walked down the hallway, David whispered, "I love you, Elara. Always."
Elara stopped but didn't turn. "I love you too, David. But love isn't enough when trust is shattered."
The front door closed softly. The sound was more painful than a slam.
David staggered into the living room, looking at their wedding photo on the wall. Elara in her white dress, smiling brightly. David with loving eyes. They looked inseparable.
He took the photo, his fingers tracing the glass. Suddenly, uncontrollably, he hurled it against the wall. The glass shattered into pieces, scattered across the floor like their marriage.
Amid the shards, the photo remained intact. Two happy faces laughing, trapped in an unreachable past.
David knelt among the wreckage, his body shaking with uncontrollable sobs. Outside, Elara's car drove away, taking half his soul with it.
And in the bedroom, David's phone vibrated. A message from Natasha: "David, we need to meet. There's something important about Elara's past you need to know."
He stared at the message, then at the shards of glass around him. For the first time, David Yang—the always confident, always in-control David Yang—truly didn't know what to do.
One thing he knew: he would never let Elara go. Never.
But would that be enough to piece the shattered fragments back together?