Chapter 4 A Heart Divided 💔

Chapter 4: A Heart Divided

The next morning, Amira stood by the balcony of Damien's penthouse suite, staring at the skyline that never seemed to stop glowing-even when her world had gone dark.

The call from Alina haunted her. Her sister was back. And she wanted what she'd left behind.

Damien.

Amira wanted to scream. Or cry. Or run. But instead, she sipped bitter coffee and waited for Damien to wake up.

He finally did.

He came out shirtless, hair tousled, eyes barely open-but the moment he saw her face, he froze.

"You didn't sleep," he said softly.

"No," she replied.

"What's wrong?"

She turned, hiding the storm in her eyes. "Alina called me last night."

His entire body went stiff. "...What?"

"She said she wants you back."

Damien looked like he'd been slapped. His lips parted, but no sound came out.

"I didn't even know she was still alive," he muttered. "She disappeared. I waited for months. She chose to leave."

"And now she's ready to come back," Amira said. "What will you do, Damien?"

Silence.

"I don't know," he admitted.

And that-that-was her answer.

---

The Goodbye Letter

Later that evening, Amira left him a letter.

She couldn't stay in a love triangle where she would always come second.

In the letter, she wrote:

> "You made me feel like I belonged somewhere for the first time in my life.

Even if it was temporary.

But I won't wait around while you figure out who you love.

I deserve someone who's sure about me.

Not someone who's torn between the woman who left him, and the one who stayed."

– Amira

She placed her wedding ring beside the letter and walked out of his life without saying goodbye.

---

One Month Later...

Amira had moved back to her small apartment, working at a modest bookstore.

She smiled for customers, laughed with kids, and cried when no one was looking.

Every night, she looked at her phone, hoping for a message that never came.

Until one evening, just as she was closing up...

A man walked in.

Black suit. Tie loosened. Eyes tired.

Damien.

She froze.

He stepped forward, a bouquet of wilted flowers in one hand and the letter she wrote in the other-creased, torn, but clearly well-read.

"I didn't choose her," he said. "I couldn't."

Amira's heart thumped. "Why?"

"Because I realized I didn't love her anymore." He stepped closer. "I loved you."

Tears welled in her eyes.

"You let me go," she whispered.

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought she deserved a second chance. But the whole time, I kept hoping you'd call. I broke the second I realized you wouldn't."

He handed her the flowers.

"They're dying," she said softly.

He smiled faintly. "So was I. Without you."

---

A New Beginning... or Goodbye?

Amira stood there, torn.

The man who once broke her heart was back-pleading, vulnerable, and maybe even... real.

"Please, Amira," Damien whispered. "Let me fix what I broke."

She closed her eyes.

And then said...

> "You have to prove it. Not with flowers. Not with words. But with time.

If you really love me, you'll wait.

Because I'm not the same woman who walked into your mansion.

I'm stronger now."

Damien nodded.

"I'll wait," he said. "Even if it takes forever."

---

Final Scene:

As Damien walked away, Amira looked out the shop window.

For the first time in weeks, the city lights didn't feel cold.

She wasn't broken anymore.

She wasn't "the substitute bride."

She was a woman finding herself.

And maybe... just maybe...

Love wasn't about who you ran to.

It was about who never ran away.