Bonds

Chapter 106

-Maya’s POV-

My mind went blank. Everything, the room, the unanswered questions about the break–in, the fear for the twins, all of it just… faded. My body froze in place, stuck in a single moment, unable to react. “What…?” The word escaped my lips in a choked whisper, barely audible even In the silence of the room. He couldn’t be serious. Not now. Not when my world was already crumbling around me, each piece of my carefully constructed life falling away like dust.

He stared back at me, his own eyes filled with a sadness that mirrored the cold dread blooming in my gut. “I have tried, Amaya,” he said, his voice thick with what sounded like genuine pain. “I really have. But it seems like no matter what I do, it will never be enough.” His words were punctuated by a ragged sigh, a sound of defeat that echoed the one building in my own chest.

“Enough for what?” I wanted to ask, the question burning a hole in my throat. But the words wouldn’t come. My brain, usually quick and sharp, felt sluggish, stuck processing the sheer impossibility of what he was saying.

“For you to let him go,” he continued, his voice barely above a whisper now. “It’s tiring, Amaya. It’s exhausting, constantly feeling like I’m competing with a ghost but it is worse than that because he is constantly there.” He winced as if the words themselves caused him physical pain.

“I hate that I’m doing this now,” he mumbled, trailing off. He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Please stop crying,” he pleaded, his voice cracking slightly.

I hadn’t even realized the tears were already streaming down my face, hot and silent tracks etching themselves down my cheeks. Suddenly, the image of my life without him slammed into me, a terrifying vision of empty spaces and echoing silence. Ivan had become a constant, a presence so woven into the fabric of my daily life that I couldn’t imagine it unraveled.

What would I do if he wasn’t there anymore?

How would the twins take it, these little people who had come to love him as their dad, even if he wasn’t their biological father?

The thought sent a fresh wave of panic crashing through me.

“Please,” I found myself saying, the word a weak plea escaping my lips. It was the only thing I could process in the face of this overwhelming emotional storm. “Please don’t do this to me. Please, I’m begging you.”

I had. Didn’t he see how much pain he was causing me? Here I was again, begging a man not to leave. A horrible

voice low and rough. “I know

Pive.

you let Alex go?” he asked, his voice laced with a frustration that mirrored

Why couldn’t I let him go? The answer was as elusive as ever, tangled in the messy web of emotions and past experiences that had

let down my walls for you, Amaya. I believed you,

air, a reminder of the vulnerability he’d shown me, the trust he’d placed in my hands. And here I was, failing him

words out like a prayer, his voice dropping back down to a pained whisper. “Why? I thought we could move past it, build something new together. But I see it now. You’re never going to let him go, and I need

tears were flowing freely now, a torrent of emotions I couldn’t contain. And through the blurry haze of my

had it gotten to this point? How had we, two people who cared about each other, reached such a

chasm opening

through the oppressive silence. “Do

rooting me to the spot like a

a pathetic croak against the crushing silence. The truth was a tangled mess, a knot of unresolved feelings and past hurts that I couldn’t untangle in this moment of emotional upheaval. Did I still love Alex? The question hung heavy in

scream no, to shout it from the rooftops until the echo drowned out the doubts gnawing at the edges of my sanity. But the words wouldn’t come. They stuck in my throat, a physical

flicker of despair replacing the raw pain that had been etched there moments before. He shook his head slowly, the

clawed at my insides, a frantic need to reach out, to grab him before he walked away and took a piece of

over the doorknob. Maybe, just maybe, a part of him was hoping for a

the words remained trapped, tangled in the web of my own insecurities. How could I confess the truth, the messy reality of emotions! didn’t fully understand, when my silence had

doorknob, the familiar click echoing in the suffocating

rest until they find whoever is responsible for this. But until we sort things out, and figure out a way to finalize the end of things, I think it’s best if I stay

the storm raging inside me. But the undercurrent of hurt was unmistakable, a raw