EPISODE 18%
Lucas stared at me as if I had just gutted him with a blade he never saw coming. His mouth parted, but no sound came out. When he finally managed to speak, his voice cracked.”
“What… what do you mean by that?“#
I met his gaze with steady calm.
“There was never a bond between us, Lucas,” I repeated. “No ceremony. No mark. No connection, not the kind you’re talking about.” “That’s not possible,” he whispered, as if saying it louder might make it true. “We were married. The bond should have formed the night we marked each other.“W
I let out a short, dry breath.”
“There was no marking,” I said. “Not on our wedding night. Not ever.“”
The crowd shifted, hushed murmurs rising like a tide. Eyes flicked between us, some sympathetic, some stunned, some barely hiding their satisfaction.
“You were too heartbroken to go through with it,” I added, softer this time. Not out of kindness, but out of pity. “I waited, thinking the day would come. That you would heal, and we could form that bond for real. But you never did. Not once in five years.“}]
Lucas took a step back, looking as though the floor had crumbled beneath his feet. His eyes dropped to the ground. His lips trembled slightly, as if the truth had physically wounded him.”
“I didn’t know,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. “I thought… I thought it just needed time.“}
My gaze didn’t waver. “Time doesn’t heal what you refuse to face.“M
His expression crumpled briefly. Then the mask returned, a wall built from denial and pride.
Ulysses extended his hand toward me, wordless. I took it. Together, we walked away, leaving behind the whispers, the stares, the ruin that used to be Lucas.
The rest of the gala passed in a blur of glittering lights and murmured congratulations. News of my divorce from Lucas seemed to have spread across the room, but no one dared speak of it openly under Ulysses’s watchful presence. Instead, they maintained their professionalism and greeted us as if nothing had happened.”
He didn’t leave my side. Not even for a second. His hand never once let go.”
We danced once. Just once. Beneath the soft glow of chandeliers, my palm rested against his chest, his arm secure around my waist. It felt grounding. Safe. Like I was exactly where I was meant to be.”
During the waltz, he leaned in, his breath brushing my ear.”
“You held yourself well back there.“”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I whispered. “Someone had to.”
There was a pause, brief but heavy. Then his thumb grazed the back of my hand, and he murmured, “He didn’t deserve you.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. The silence between us spoke loudly enough.
The music faded, replaced by the distant echo of laughter and clinking glasses. I watched the others dance, but for once, I didn’t envy them. My world was quiet. And I welcomed the peace.
When the night finally wound down, Ulysses led me out into the crisp evening air, his coat already draped over my shoulders. We didn’t speak. The cold brushed against my skin, but I barely felt it. He walked close beside me, his warmth a steady anchor.”
The ride home was quiet at first. Only the low hum of the engine filled the space between us. Outside, city lights blurred past like fleeting stars.
Then Ulysses spoke.”
“Earlier…,” his voice was low, contemplative. “Was it true? What did you say about the bond?”
I turned my head slightly to look at him. “What do you mean?”
He kept his eyes on the road, but I saw the slight tension in his knuckles where his hands gripped the wheel.
“That there was never a bond between you and Lucas.”
I looked down at my lap, my fingers knotting together. For a long moment, I said nothing.
Then, quietly, I replied, “There was a bond.”
He glanced at me briefly, surprise flickering across his face before returning his focus to the road.
“But you said-”
“I broke it,” I said softly, interrupting him. My voice barely rose above a whisper. “I broke the bond the moment I lost the baby.”
Silence filled the car, thick and suffocating.”
P
Ulysses didn’t speak, but I felt the shift in his presence. The weight of my words seemed to sink deep into the space between us, heavy and raw.
“I was already barely holding on,” I murmured. “But after that… something inside me just snapped. I didn’t want to feel connected to
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anyone anymore. Especially not him.”
The memory surged forward were unwelcomed and sharp. The sterile white hospital room. The antiseptic sting in the air. The rhythmic beeping of machines. And then the quiet that followed the doctor’s words. A silence so loud it echoed in my bones for days.
“I remember how empty I felt,” I continued, my voice faltering. “Like everything inside me had been carved out. The only thing left was pain. And anger. And grief. I couldn’t hold onto him after that. I didn’t want to.“%
Ulysses said nothing. But I could sense it… his restraint, his quiet fury on my behalf, the sorrow that stirred beneath his silence. My throat tightened. “It wasn’t just the miscarriage. It was everything after. Or the lack of it. He wasn’t there. Not when I needed him most.“N
My voice cracked. I hated how vulnerable I sounded, but I couldn’t stop it.”
“I had to bury my grief alone. So, I severed the bond. It was the only way I could survive.“}
There was a long silence. Then, without a word, Ulysses reached across the center console and took my hand. Just held it. His grip was warm, firm, but not demanding. There was no pressure, only presence.}}
I hadn’t realized how badly I needed that touch until then. My breath caught in my throat, and I squeezed his hand back.”
The car slowed as we neared the estate gates, headlights sweeping across the darkened path ahead. Gravel crunched beneath the tires.
But just before Ulysses turned into the driveway, he spoke again. His voice was calm, steady but weighted with something that made my heart falter.N
“Would you be willing to form a bond… with me?“N
