(Kael's Perspective)
Their Mercedes glided silently through the brightly lit city streets. Kael gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white. The silence in the car was more torturous than the most awkward conversation at the gala.
He stole a glance at the passenger seat. Clara sat facing the window, staring out at the blurry city lights. Her usually calm face now looked pale, her eyes glistening.
"Are you okay?" Kael finally asked, his voice hoarse.
Clara didn't answer immediately. She took a deep breath before turning to look at him. Her clear eyes were now full of unasked questions.
"Earlier tonight..." Clara said softly. "When you complimented Elara... you seemed different."
Kael's heart raced. "I was just being polite."
"That's not what I meant,"Clara shook her head gently. "Your voice... it had a tremor. Like..." She paused, as if searching for the right word. "Like a long-buried emotion."
Kael felt his throat go dry. He tried to focus on the road, but all he could see was the image of Elara in that green gown.
"You know her, don't you?" Clara asked suddenly, her voice still soft but piercing. "Before tonight. Not just as David's friend."
The car suddenly felt claustrophobic. Kael wanted to deny it, but lying felt like an even greater betrayal.
"She..." Kael stopped, searching for words. "A long time ago... before we were married."
"Ah," was all that escaped Clara's lips. A sigh full of meaning. "So it's her."
"Clara, I—"
"Don't," Clara cut him off, her voice suddenly firm. "Don't say anything yet."
They were enveloped in silence again. But this time, it was different. Heavier, more bitter.
At a red light, Clara spoke again, her voice trembling. "I've always felt there was a wall between us, Kael. A part of you that you never fully gave to me. Now I understand."
She turned her body to fully face Kael. "All this time... throughout our marriage... have you been thinking of her?"
The question hung in the air like a death sentence. Kael couldn't answer. His inability to speak became the most honest answer.
Tears finally streamed down Clara's face. But she didn't sob. Her crying was silent, like a disappointment too deep to be voiced.
"So that's the reason," she whispered. "The reason why you often zone out. Why sometimes you look at me as if searching for someone else."
"Clara, I—"
"Please," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "Don't lie to me now. Not after all these years."
They arrived in front of their house. Kael turned off the engine, but no one moved. The darkness inside the car mirrored the darkness in their hearts.
"I never meant to hurt you," Kael said finally, the most honest statement he could muster.
"But you did anyway," Clara replied. She opened the car door. "By never fully being mine."
Before getting out, she looked at Kael one last time. "I need time, Kael. To think about... everything."
Kael was left alone in the dark car, with a guilt more crushing than ever before. He had lost Elara for the second time, and now he might lose Clara—the woman who had always been there for him, whose love he had neglected for a shadow from the past.
In that silence, he realized the bitter truth: he hadn't only destroyed his own heart, but also the heart of a good woman who didn't deserve any of this.