Elias' voice broke the silence, low and hoarse. "Don’t find someone else."
Mira, standing on the steps just beyond the wall, covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed the sobs rising in her throat, her heart breaking with each passing second. Quietly, she turned and walked away.
In the bedroom, the faint light from outside spilled across the room, casting soft shadows on Mira’s red, swollen eyes. She stared blankly at the photo frame on the bedside table, her heart aching so painfully it felt as though it could shatter.
The photo was from the day of her high school graduation. It captured her and Elias in school uniforms, his arm around her shoulders. The moment the shutter clicked, she could still remember his soft whisper in her ear: "Mira, happy graduation. We’ll be together forever."
Elias' smile in the picture was as handsome as ever, and every time she looked at it, she couldn’t help but think back to the fire when she was fifteen. He had rushed in without hesitation, pulling her from the flames, saving her without a second thought.
The burn scars on his brow were still visible.
Wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes, Mira quickly composed a message and sent it off to a civil lawyer.
[Hello, my husband and I have no children or property disputes. Please help me draft a divorce agreement.]
Just as she pressed send, Elias walked through the door, hurriedly holding food in his hands.
“Mira, the neighbor said she saw you in the hospital yesterday. What’s wrong?” He asked, concern filling his voice.
Mira looked at his worried expression and replied calmly, “My digestion hasn’t been great recently. The doctor said it’s nothing to worry about.”
Elias visibly relaxed. “The prawns today are really fresh. I’ll make seafood porridge for you.”
“Okay.” She forced a smile, unable to meet his eyes.
As she watched him move around the kitchen, the image of two hours earlier flashed in her mind—him holding another woman, kissing her so effortlessly, so wantonly. The thought made her stomach twist.
Later that night, as they prepared for bed, Elias noticed Mira lying with her back to him. An unfamiliar emptiness filled his chest. He gently rolled her over, pulling her into his arms, his voice soft but searching. “Mira, are you worried?”