Gel stood frozen, like a statue rooted to the ground. Her chest tightened; her throat dried up—she couldn't do anything but stare at the ghost from her past. She never expected to see the man who had once been her entire world again, the man she had loved completely, and the memory of a life she could never return to.
"Why?" Darius swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Out of all the women in the world, why you? Why did it have to be you?!"
Every word was like a dagger piercing her heart, stripping away every piece of courage she had built over the years. She couldn't bring herself to answer. She couldn't explain.
"Why did you disappear? Why didn't you tell me anything?" Darius's voice was now filled with pain. "Was I really that worthless to you? Was I so unimportant that you could just leave without a word?" He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Did you ever really love me?"
Each question struck Gel's chest like a blow, pushing her to the edge. She wanted to scream out the answers, to explain everything, but the words remained trapped in her mind.
"If only you knew… If I had a choice back then, I wouldn't have left you. I loved you so much. But I had to choose them… my family."
Gel closed her eyes, holding back the tears threatening to fall. She knew no words could undo what had already happened. It was over. There was no going back.
"Still, I don't regret choosing to be with my parents. Because those turned out to be the last moments, I'd ever spend with them, so I'm sorry," Gel whispered to herself. Because there was no point in saying it out loud anymore.
It was clear on the face of the man she once loved that there was no hope he would ever listen to anything she might say.
Darius clenched his fists. "You made a fool out of me!" he shouted. At the same time, he punched the wall right beside Angela's head, making the woman flinch and close her eyes.
But despite the intense pain, what greeted Gel was something even more painful than any word—the eyes that once looked at her with love now burned with rage. The lips that once spoke sweet promises now spoke only blame and hatred.
She swallowed quietly, trying not to shatter the last shred of dignity she had left. There was nothing she could do but accept everything. Because no matter how much she tried to explain, it wouldn't change the truth—their old world was gone.
And in a blink, Darius turned around and walked away without even looking back.
That's when Gel finally broke. As her body collapsed to the floor, the tears she had been holding back poured freely.
And along with them came the uninvited return of memories from the past—the memories of a man who had once held such a large place in her life.