Page 59 of Breaking the Annulment

“Shh,” Michalis murmured, his arms wrapping around her. He pulled her close, his hand cradling the back of her head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re safe.”

The ride back to the estate was silent, the tension in the car thick and suffocating. Aurelia sat beside Michalis, her hands trembling in her lap. She wanted to speak, to explain, but the words wouldn’t come.

When they arrived, Michalis stepped out first, his movements stiff and deliberate. He turned to one of his guards,his expression cold and unreadable. “Take her wherever she wants to go,” he said, his voice flat.

Aurelia’s heart sank. “Michalis, wait?—”

He cut her off with a sharp look. “I don’t ever want to see you again.”

The words pierced through her like a knife. She watched as he turned and walked away, his shoulders rigid, his hands clenched at his sides. Her tears spilled over as the guard gently guided her into another car.

“Where would you like to go, Mrs. Giannopoulos?” the guard asked softly.

Aurelia’s voice was barely a whisper. “Houston.”

24

The familiar streets of Houston stretched before Aurelia like a bittersweet memory, the city’s vibrant energy a sharp contrast to the hollow ache in her chest. The guard dropped her off at her small apartment, the building as unassuming as she remembered.

The air inside was stale, the apartment untouched since she’d left two months earlier. Dust coated the furniture, and a faint mustiness lingered in the air. She set her bag down, the sound echoing unnaturally in the silence.

The days blurred together as she tried to settle back into her old routine. She went to work, picked up groceries, and cleaned the apartment, but everything felt wrong. She couldn’t escape the memories of Michalis—the way he’d looked at her, the way he’d held her after the rescue, the cold finality of his words when he told her to leave.

At night, she lay awake in bed, her hand resting on her belly. The baby was her only solace, a fragile connection to the man she couldn’t stop loving.

Aurelia sat on the worn couch in her Houston apartment. The silence wrapped around her, heavy and suffocating. The sunstreamed through the dusty blinds, casting lines of light and shadow across the floor. She hadn’t left her apartment in days, her attempts to resume her old life dissolving into a haze of regret and longing.

A knock on the door startled her. She frowned, her pulse quickening. She wasn’t expecting anyone.

When she opened the door, her breath caught. Dimitris stood on the threshold, his broad frame taking up the doorway. His face was unreadable, but his piercing gaze pinned her in place.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dimitris said, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. He glanced around the apartment, his sharp eyes taking in the sparse furnishings and half-empty boxes. “So this is it? Your grand escape?”

Aurelia folded her arms across her chest, her voice defensive. “Michalis doesn’t want me anymore. He told me to go. I’m just doing what he asked.”

Dimitris snorted, crossing his arms. “You think Michalis doesn’t want you? You think he’s not completely miserable without you?”

She flinched, his words hitting harder than she expected. “He said he never wanted to see me again,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I destroyed everything.”

Dimitris shook his head, his tone firm. “You didn’t destroy anything. Michalis thinks he’s protecting you by letting you go. That’s what he does—he protects the people he loves, even if it kills him.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “He doesn’t love me anymore. How could he?”

Dimitris stepped closer, his voice softening. “Do you love him?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Then fight for him,” Dimitris said, his tone sharpening. “Fight for what you want. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

Aurelia stared at him, her mind spinning. She thought of Michalis, his blue eyes burning with pain as he told her to leave. She thought of the way he’d held her after the rescue, the love in his touch even when his words were cold.

“I can’t undo what I did,” she said, her voice trembling. “What if it’s too late?”

“It’s not too late,” Dimitris said firmly. “But you have to make him see that you’re serious. That you’re not running anymore. You want Michalis? Then show him.”

Aurelia swallowed hard, her heart pounding. Dimitris was right. She couldn’t let fear stop her. She couldn’t let Michalis believe she didn’t want him. She had to fight.

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