Chapter 9
The moment the last trace of light vanished, every remnant of my presence faded from the office–completely, irretrievably gone.
Silence.
A silence more suffocating than a vacuum, pressing in from all sides.
Jared knelt on the cold, unyielding floor, his body wracked with violent
tremors.
His outstretched hand still hung motionless in the air.
“Amy…”
A broken sob tore from deep in his chest, and then came a flood of grief he could no longer hold back.
Tears streamed down, splattering onto the floor, leaving dark, spreading
stains.
In his cries, there was no anger, no resentment only absolute despair and… acceptance.
I was gone.
Truly gone.
Gone in a way he could never understand, never reach–a return to that “world” I’d spoken of, a place forever out of his grasp.
I took with me my universe of stars and dreams, my new identity- Aurelia
Chapter 9
And he was left behind, forever anchored to this spot.
Trapped in a tomb that no longer held me.
On the desk, the design magazine with Aurelia’s radiant smile on the cover–every letter on that page felt like a steel needle, driving straight through his heart.
“This is who I am.
“Not the Amelia who lived under the shadow of Mrs. Hurlow, not the bitter woman trapped between you and Siena.”
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My words echoed in his mind, again and again, shattering the last fragile layer of self–deception he’d tried to wrap himself in–confession and regret no longer enough to shield him.
Which Amelia did he love, after all?
Was it the girl with clear, unwavering eyes, reaching out to him from that rundown attic?
Or the woman who, under the weight of the Hurlow name, slowly lost herself, growing sharp and wounded by his betrayals?
Or was it simply a twisted sense of possession–an inability to accept losing control?
He had no answer.
All he knew was that he had lost her.
In the most complete, irreversible way.
He had pushed away the girl whose eyes once held only him, the one who pulled him out of hell, and sent her back to where she came from.
And then, with two years of obsession and regret, he’d driven the reborn,
Chapter 9
brilliant Aurelia even further–so far, there was now an entire universe
between them.
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The assistant, startled by the strange sounds from inside, burst in, panic etched across his face. “Mr. Hurlow? Are you—”
The words died in his throat.
He stood frozen, stunned by the sight. The legendary Mr. Hurlow, the titan of industry, now collapsed on the floor, shoulders shaking, wracked by a grief so raw it seemed to tear him apart.
It was the kind of despair that comes from losing your entire world.
The assistant had never seen Jared so undone, so… fragile.
He quietly retreated, closing the door behind him with a gentle click.
Leaving that suffocating sorrow to the man, utterly broken within.
Time lost all meaning.
Jared had no idea how long he had knelt there.
Not until his tears ran dry, until his knees went numb and lifeless, until the city’s lights flickered on outside the windows.
He braced himself against the desk, forcing his tall frame upright. In the vast emptiness of the office, he looked small, hunched, and utterly alone.
He staggered to the massive window.
On the glass, that old, faded photo was still taped there.
The girl’s smile was dazzling, and the boy’s eyes were full of hope.
He reached out, his hand trembling as he brushed the girl’s face in the picture.
Chapter 9
The cold bit to the bone.
“Home…
“Amy… you’re home now…
”
11
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He murmured, his empty gaze piercing his own reflection in the glass, searching the endless night beyond.
The direction where I had disappeared.
A strange calm—almost a kind of release–crept over his tear–stained face, mingling with the infinite silence.
Then, with slow, deliberate care, he straightened his rumpled collar.
The gesture was solemn, almost ceremonial in nature.
And then, in the hush atop the city–where no one could see–he spread his arms wide, closed his eyes, and felt the night wind rush past.
