"Madam?" James called, noticing the shift in her stance. "Please—" But Amara was already moving. Her steps quickened, cutting across the pavement before she had fully decided to.

"Miss, please, madam!" James’s voice rose now, urgency threading through it as he stepped after her. "Come back to the car!"

She didn’t stop. Didn’t turn. Because the closer she got. The clearer the outline became. Broad shoulders. Familiar stance.

A presence she had felt before without understanding why. Her pulse quickened. Her jaw tightened because something deep inside her was reacting, not just to the moment. But to something buried.

Something unresolved. "Please get in the car, Amara!" James called again, faster now, closing the distance behind her. But Amara kept going.

"Stay there, James. Don’t follow me." Amara didn’t even turn when she said it.

Her voice wasn’t loud. But it carried enough authority to stop him in his tracks.

"Madam..."

"Stay." That was final.

James froze at the curb, his eyes locked on her as she stepped off and crossed the road, the fading light catching the sharp tension in her face.

Across the street, the soft glow of a coffee shop spilled onto the pavement. And just outside it. Him. Seb.

He had just stepped out, the door swinging shut behind him with a soft chime that felt far too normal for a moment like this.

Too ordinary. Too calm. Amara stopped a few feet away from him. Close enough to see him clearly now. Close enough to feel it. That unsettling familiarity. Her chest rose sharply.

"I know you have no business on this side of the city," she said, her voice cutting through the quiet street. "So what are you doing here?"

No greeting. No restraint. Just anger. Raw. Direct.

"What is it, Seb?" she demanded, her eyes blazing now. "What will I have to do for you to stop?" The words hit harder than she expected.

Because beneath them. There was something else. Frustration. Confusion. Something she couldn’t name.

Seb didn’t flinch. Didn’t step back. He stood there, calm in a way that only seemed to fuel her more.

"I was just—" he started.

"You were just what?" Amara cut in immediately, stepping closer, refusing to let him hide behind unfinished words. For a moment. A brief, fragile moment. His composure wavered.

Then he answered. "I wanted to see how you and the baby were doing."

The air shifted. Just slightly. Amara’s expression tightened.

"I didn’t mean to upset you," he continued, his voice quieter now, but steady. "I was just leaving."

There it was again. That calm. That control. As if he hadn’t just stepped into her space. Into her life. Without explanation. Without permission.

Amara let out a sharp breath, shaking her head slightly, disbelief flashing across her face.

"Do you hear yourself?" she said, her voice dropping, but no less intense. "You just show up wherever I am, say things that don’t make sense, cross boundaries, and then you say you were just leaving?"

A step closer. Too close now. "You don’t get to do that," she added, her tone firm, unwavering despite the exhaustion pulling at her. There was a crack in her anger.

Not weakness. But something more dangerous. Because this wasn’t just about him showing up. It was about what his presence did. The way it unsettled her. Her gaze locked onto his.

Searching. Demanding. "What the hell do you want?" she asked, the question slipping out before she could stop it.

And just like that. The moment shifted again. From confrontation... To something far deeper. The words hit like a breaking dam.

"You were just leaving, after messing my life up again and again?" Amara’s voice shook, not from weakness, but from everything she had been holding back finally spilling over. "You think it’s not enough? Or is it about time you just leave me the hell alone?"

Her chest rose sharply, breath uneven, anger cutting through the exhaustion that had barely settled moments ago.

Seb stepped forward instinctively. "Amara, calm down, you’re getting upset, and it’s not good for the baby..."

"What did you just say to me?" Her voice dropped. Not louder. Worse. Colder.

"Calm down?" she echoed, disbelief flashing across her face. "Wow."

She let out a short, bitter laugh, shaking her head as if she couldn’t quite believe he was standing here, saying these things, as if the past hadn’t happened.

"Tell me one thing, Seb," she pressed, her eyes locking onto his. "What is this now? We spent ten years together."

Her voice cracked, not loudly, but enough.

"You stole ten years from me." A beat.

"Is that not enough?" For the first time, the air between them felt too tight to breathe. Seb didn’t look away.

"I love you, Amara." The words came out steady. Certain. Dangerously sincere.

"And all those ten years... they were never a lie. You know that." His voice softened, but it didn’t lose its weight. "You were the only one in my heart."

That. That broke something. Not gently. Not slowly. It shattered. Amara let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh, anger surging back stronger than before.

"What a hypocrite you are," she snapped, her voice rising again. "You married Elara, and had a fake wedding with me!" Her hand lifted slightly, as if trying to physically push the memory away.

"Let that settle in for a while," she continued, her tone cutting, relentless. "And then tell me that was nothing." Seb’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Didn’t defend. Didn’t deny. And that only made it worse.

"It’s not like it matters anymore," she went on, her voice trembling now, not with uncertainty, but with the weight of everything she had carried alone. "But even if she was the one who saved you, did you have to marry her to thank her?"

A step closer. Her eyes burned.

"What happened to giving her money? Taking care of her?" she demanded. "Did you have to marry her? Did you have to turn me into a joke?" Another step.

"And when you married her, did you have to fake a life with me?" The question hung there, raw and unfiltered.

"Do you know how sick that was?" she said, her voice dropping again, quieter now, but far more devastating. "Do you even understand what you did to me?" Silence followed. Heavy.