chapter 91: The silence after the storm
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Chapter 91 – Arya's POV
"The Silence After the Storm"
The world became quiet.
Too quiet.
Days passed in a fog of gray skies, untouched meals, and the sound of my own heartbeat echoing in the hollow of my chest. I didn't paint. I didn't read. I didn't speak unless I had to.
I just… existed.
A shell of who I used to be.
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Sophia didn't just succeed in sending photos.
She succeeded in breaking something inside me that I had fought so hard to rebuild. My strength. My self-worth. My ability to trust.
She reached into my chest and squeezed until all the light bled out of me.
And now, I couldn't look at Damon without shaking.
Couldn't smile at Liam without guilt gnawing at me.
Couldn't even fake it for Ethan or Amara, no matter how hard they tried.
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Amara came over every day.
She sat beside me in silence, sometimes brushing my hair, other times just holding my hand while I stared blankly out the window.
"You don't have to talk," she whispered once. "But you're allowed to cry, Arya."
But I didn't cry.
I didn't scream.
There was no energy left to break.
Just the numbness.
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Ethan brought me warm tea one evening, setting it gently beside me on the couch.
He knelt in front of me, searching my face for a flicker of anything.
"I know Sophia's poison," he said gently. "And I know what it feels like to love someone who keeps hurting you. But you can't let her win, Arya. You can't let her destroy the best parts of you."
I blinked.
Nodded.
Sipped the tea.
But said nothing.
Because even though I heard him… I couldn't reach that part of myself anymore.
The part that believed people could change.
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Liam.
God, my sweet Liam.
He was trying so hard to make me smile. Leaving drawings on my pillow. Playing soft music when I sat on the porch. Reading to the baby bump when he thought I was asleep.
One night, I heard him whisper, "Don't worry, baby. Mommy's just sad. I'll fix it."
And I broke.
Not loudly. Not all at once.
Just a silent shattering inside me.
Because my pain had spilled onto my son.
And I didn't know how to bring myself back.
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I avoided Damon.
If he came into the room, I left. If he spoke, I turned away. If he touched my hand, I pulled back like it burned.
He stopped trying after a while.
I could feel his eyes on me constantly—watching, waiting, hoping I'd soften. Hoping I'd remember that he chose me. That he didn't kiss her. That he didn't cheat.
But choosing me wasn't the same as protecting me.
He hadn't protected my peace.
And I couldn't forget that.
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It was Ethan who finally said it out loud.
"She's fading, Damon," he told him one afternoon when they thought I wasn't listening. "And you're letting her slip."
"I don't know what to do," Damon's voice was hoarse, broken. "Everything I say pushes her further away."
"Because you're trying to fix it with words," Ethan said. "But she doesn't need words. She needs to feel safe again."
Damon didn't reply.
Neither did I.
Because nothing felt safe anymore.
Not even him.
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I sat on the edge of the bed that night, staring down at my stomach.
The baby kicked.
Softly. Like it was reminding me it was still here.
Still alive.
Still growing in a mother who didn't know how to be strong anymore.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice finally cracking. "I don't know how to be okay."
I ran my fingers over the swell of my belly.
"I was better. I swear I was better. I loved again. I trusted again. And she took that from me. Again."
Tears finally came.
Quiet. Hot. Endless.
I buried my face in my hands and let them fall.
For the first time since the photos arrived, I cried until my body shook and my chest burned.
And in the darkness, I finally said it out loud:
"I don't want to see him again. I can't… not right now."
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Damon stood just outside the doorway.
I knew he'd heard me.
I felt it in the way the air shifted. In the sound of his retreating footsteps.
He didn't knock.
Didn't ask to come in.
Didn't try to argue.
He just… left.
And somehow, that hurt most of all.
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End of Chapter 91 – Arya's POV