IN DAVID'S STUDY
David stood before the window of his study overlooking the garden. In his hand were temporary handover documents. Robert, his loyal assistant of ten years, stood with a serious expression.
"Are you sure about this, David?" Robert asked. "Transferring control temporarily in a crisis like this..."
"Precisely because it's a crisis, I need clear time," David replied, signing the final document. "The company will be safe in your hands, Robert. I trust you. I have to... fix what's more important."
Robert nodded in understanding. "Good luck, David."
After Robert left, David stared at the photos on his desk. Their wedding photo. Elara laughing with Alisha in the garden. A photo of the three of them at the beach when Alisha was still a toddler. Each image was like a knife slowly cutting into him.
Suddenly, from downstairs, came the sound of the front door opening. Then, the sound of high heels he knew so well—confident, firm steps, but this time sounding faster, more final.
David's heart raced. Elara.
THE MEETING IN THE FAMILY ROOM
David quickly descended. Elara was standing in the middle of the family room, looking around as if saying goodbye to every memory. She wore a simple white pantsuit with a blue blazer, her hair neatly tied back. No jewelry. No heavy makeup. She looked like the old Elara, but her eyes—her eyes were like ice.
"Elara," David stopped a few steps from her.
"I came for Alisha,"Elara said without preamble. Her voice was flat. "She'll be staying with me for a while."
"You didn't tell me."
"You weren't in a state to talk,David. Every time we talk, it ends in shouting."
"Because you don't give me a chance to explain!"
Elara finally looked at him. "What else is there to explain? I've seen the photo. I've read her messages. I've heard the story from you yourself—you were drunk, you were unconscious. But you still did it."
"Natasha manipulated me!"
"And you let yourself be manipulated!"Elara's voice began to rise. "You went to the club without bodyguards. You drank excessively. You let your ex-girlfriend take you to her apartment. Where was your common sense, David? Or perhaps, somewhere in your mind, you actually wanted it to happen?"
The words felt like a slap. David took a step back. "Don't say that. You know that's not true."
"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ANYMORE!" Elara screamed, tears finally bursting forth. "I don't know who you are! My husband would never do that! My husband would fight to the death not to betray me!"
David approached, wanting to hug her, but Elara thrust out her hand like a shield.
"Don't touch me. I can't bear it."
"Elara,please," David's voice trembled. "I've cleared my schedule. I've handed the company to Robert. I'll do anything—therapy, counseling, anything—to fix this."
"You think this can be fixed with therapy?" Elara laughed bitterly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "David, you slept with another woman. You gave your body to someone who wasn't me. How can I forget that? Every time you touch me from now on, I'll imagine you touching her. Every time you kiss me, I'll wonder—did you kiss her like this?"
"Don't..."
"I CAN'T!"she cried. "I tried, David. Last night I sat in my hotel room and tried to forgive you. But that image... that photo... she was smiling, David. She was smiling as if she had won something. And you? You were sleeping like a baby next to her!"
David knelt. "I'm sorry. I know it's not enough. But please, don't take Alisha away. She needs both of us."
"Alisha needs stability. She needs an environment where her mother isn't crying every night. She needs to see an example that a woman doesn't have to stay in a painful marriage just because of a child."
"So you're leaving me?"
"We're over,David. I only came to take Alisha's things and some of my personal belongings."
HEART-WRENCHING SCENE: THE EMPTY HOUSE THAT ONCE GLOWED
As they were arguing, Alisha came down from her room holding her favorite teddy bear. She saw her parents, her little face pale.
"Mommy? Daddy? Why are you shouting again?"
Elara immediately approached,kneeling to hug Alisha. "Sweetheart, Mommy is taking you on a little vacation. We're going somewhere fun."
"But I want Daddy to come too."
David felt as if a hammer had struck his chest."Sweetheart, Daddy will catch up later. You and Mommy go first."
But Alisha—the intelligent seven-year-old—suddenly said in a small voice, "Are you going to get divorced like Kevin's parents at school?"
The air in the room instantly froze. David and Elara looked at each other, both seeing the same pain in each other's eyes.
Elara stroked Alisha's hair. "Mommy and Daddy... need some time alone first. But we both still love you, sweetheart. Always."
"But Kevin said when parents get divorced, the child has to choose who to live with." Alisha cried. "I don't want to choose. I want to live with both Mommy and Daddy."
David couldn't bear it any longer. He approached, also knelt, and hugged both Elara and Alisha in his arms. For a moment, Elara didn't resist. The three of them hugged for the last time as a complete family.
"We won't make you choose, Sweetheart," David whispered, kissing Alisha's head. "You can stay with Mommy, and Daddy will visit you every day. I promise."
But the promise felt hollow. They all knew something had broken forever.
THE DEPARTURE
After collecting Alisha's things, Elara headed for the door. At the threshold, she stopped, without turning around.
"David."
"Yes?"
"Don't follow us.Don't send me messages. I need space to breathe. If there's anything to discuss about Alisha, go through my lawyer."
"Elara, wait—"
"Goodbye,David."
The door closed. The sound wasn't loud, but to David's ears, it was like the sound of a coffin lid closing.
David remained kneeling on the family room floor, listening to the sound of Elara's car fading away. The house that usually felt warm and alive suddenly felt like a cold museum. Every item reminded him of Elara. Every corner whispered of his failure.
He saw Alisha's forgotten toy on the sofa. The storybook Elara used to read to Alisha. The family photo above the fireplace.
Moving slowly, David crawled to the small bar and took a bottle of whisky. He didn't pour it into a glass but drank directly from the bottle, hoping the alcohol could numb the pain that was too sharp.
Outside, the twilight sky began to turn orange. Light streamed through the window, illuminating dust particles floating in the air—like particles of memories that had worn thin.
Meanwhile, in the car, Elara stared at the road ahead through the rearview mirror, watching their house grow smaller. Alisha slept in the back seat, still holding her teddy bear.
Elara's tears fell again, but this time silently. She had to be strong for Alisha. Had to keep moving forward.
But somewhere deep in her heart, a voice asked: Is this right? Or have I just destroyed the only true love I had because of wounded pride?
Yet the image of David and Natasha in that bed reappeared. And that pain, like a knife always ready to slice her every time she breathed.
The car drove faster, away from the house, away from the past, toward an uncertain future.
And in the empty house, David still sat on the floor, the whisky bottle now half empty, his eyes fixed on their wedding photo.
"Forgive me, Elara," he whispered to the empty room. "I will fix this. I will prove to you that our love is worth fighting for."
But was there any love left in Elara's heart? Or had she left forever, leaving only shadows in the house they once called heaven?