Contract marriage: broken vow

the ice that settled in his chest. Lily's words echoed in his mind, each one sinking like a stone

he have be

and he had seen Lily as little more than an obligation. But standing here now, seeing the

m the view. He felt raw, every defense stripped away, eve

end. He couldn't. Not afte

could somehow reach her across the distance. She wanted to cry, to scream, to release the pain that had been buried for so lon

ack to the days following their wedding. How she'd waited, hoping he'd change, hoping he would finally see her. But he never did. She had b

y. Her career had become her salvation, her way out of a life that had drained her of everything she once believed in. And now, she was b

ering who could be visiting this late. She wasn't in the

ce shadowed, his posture tense. She felt her heart skip,

doing here?" s

ice low, the regret still thick within i

s a vulnerability she hadn't seen before, a desperation that hinted at something real. A

could suffocate them both. He stood by the window, looking out into the city lights, b

Daniel," she said, keeping

d of the arrogance and control he usually carried. "Lily... I can't ch

w arching in skepticism. "Conve

g. "But it's the truth. Losing you made

You didn't lose me, Daniel. You di

so focused on what I thought I wanted that I didn't see what was right in front

. "Regret is easy, Daniel. Living with th

"Let me prove to you that I've changed. I know I don't de

n her chest despite her resol

ruth, Lily. If you didn't care, you wouldn't be this angry. Y

ut to let him know that. She had built walls around herself, walls that had tak

is about what you did. About the way you treated me. You don't get to just waltz

"I know. And I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm asking for a c

ked it with a hard look. "What changed, Daniel? What m

onflict in his eyes, as if he were gr

t how much I underestimated you. You're stronger than I ever gave you credit for, a

spark of hope he ignited. But she couldn't forget the years of silence,

after everything you put me through. You can't just decide I'm valuable because

ze. "I know I don't deserve it, but I want to make thi

he vulnerability that threatened to break her resolve. "And what makes you think I want

an look me in the eye and tell me you feel nothin

oward him. She opened her mouth, intending to tell him exactly what he wanted to hear, but the words caught in her throat. She w

gan, but her

ng, as if afraid she would pull away. "Lily, please. L

dn't meant to shed. She shook her head, wipi

onto hers. "But I'm willing to do what

er heart. She could feel her walls crumbling, feel the weight of the years they had lost pressing

pered, "You have

mained respectful of the distance she had put between

a look that was equal parts defiance and vulne

his gaze never lea

th unspoken promises, with the weight of years lost and the p

suite, Lily felt something she hadn't felt i