Daniel's eyes widened the moment he recognized Elias.
"You?" he spat, the word sharp like a slap. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Elias stood still. Calm. Unshaken. His eyes didn't move from Daniel's, not even a blink.
Daniel turned sharply toward Maya, his voice already rising. "Is this why you left? Were you seeing him behind my back? Is that what this is?!"
Maya flinched. Her stomach twisted at the accusation. "What are you talking about?"
Daniel's voice turned rough, filled with disbelief and rage. "Don't play dumb, Maya. You disappear without warning. Now I find you here… alone with him? Of all people? Do you think I'm stupid? Was this going on the whole time? Was the divorce just a cover for your affair?"
"Stop it," she said, voice low but shaking. "That's not what happened."
But Daniel's anger had taken over. He took a step closer, ignoring the tension in the room. "I gave you everything. And this is how you repay me? You leave me. You humiliate me. And now I see you getting cozy with the man who's been trying to destroy my business for years."
Elias's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"You've always hated me," Daniel snarled at Elias. "You couldn't beat me straight, so you went after her instead."
Elias finally spoke, voice calm but ice-cold. "I came here for a gown order. That's all. Don't twist it into something it's not."
Daniel laughed bitterly. "How convenient. You just happened to show up right when she's most vulnerable. You expect me to believe this isn't planned?"
"You should be careful," Elias said, still composed. "Accusing people won't fix the mess you made."
That pushed Daniel over the edge. His voice turned cruel. "You think I don't see it? Maya knows everything about my company. Maybe she gave you insider information. Maybe that's how you've been winning deals."
Maya gasped, her fists clenched tight at her sides. "Enough!"
But Daniel ignored her, pointing a finger at Elias. "You're a snake, always hiding behind polite smiles. But I see through you now."
"I said enough!" Maya's voice cracked through the air like thunder.
The studio fell silent for a second.
Daniel turned to her, face twisted in confusion and pain. "Why are you defending him?"
Her eyes were blazing now, full of fire and heartbreak. "Because you're wrong."
His voice dropped to a growl. "So now I'm the bad guy?"
"You've always been the bad guy," she said, shaking with emotion. "You cheated. You lied. You and Lena betrayed me and hid the truth about Jamie. And now you have the nerve to stand here and accuse me of betrayal?"
Daniel opened his mouth, but no words came.
"You broke our family," Maya said, voice breaking. "You didn't just destroy our marriage—you destroyed my trust, my peace, everything I believed in."
Elias stood still beside her, silent, but his presence was solid. Steady.
"And don't you dare bring Elias into this," Maya said. "You never respected my dreams. Every time you lost a contract to him, you came home and made it my fault. You'd rant, complain, blame the world—but never once did you look in the mirror and accept the truth: he worked harder, and you just couldn't handle it."
Daniel's face turned pale. The anger was still there, but now it was mixed with something else—shame.
"You've changed," he whispered.
Maya nodded slowly. "Yes. I have. Because I had to. If I stayed, I would've lost everything—not just my career, but myself."
Daniel stepped forward, his voice softer now. "Jamie misses you."
Maya froze. Her chest tightened painfully.
"He asks for you every night," Daniel continued. His voice cracked, just a little. "He cries for you."
Her lips parted, but no sound came. Her heart screamed inside her chest. Jamie.
"You think I don't see it?" Daniel's voice broke. "He's not the same without you. Neither am I."
Elias stepped forward then, slow but firm. "Don't use your son to pull her back. That's manipulation, not love."
Daniel turned sharply, rage flickering in his eyes. "Stay out of this."
But Elias didn't back down. "You've said enough. You betrayed her. You don't get to rewrite the story now just because you're feeling the consequences."
Maya's voice was soft but full of pain. "You don't get to say his name like that."
Daniel blinked.
"If you cared about Jamie," she continued, "you would've thought about him before you destroyed our home. You would've thought about him before sleeping with Lena. Before letting her steal the truth about who his mother really is."
Daniel looked at her, his face falling. "Maya—"
She stepped back. "I said leave. You have no right to be here."
For a moment, Daniel just stood there. A shadow of the man he once pretended to be. Then, without another word, he turned and walked out.
The door swung shut behind him.
Silence followed—heavy and full.
Maya stood frozen for a moment, staring at the door. Her breathing was uneven, her eyes glossy with held-back tears. She wrapped her arms around herself like she was trying to hold all the pieces in.
Elias stepped closer, his voice low. "Are you okay?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes stared blankly at the window, blinking slowly as if coming back from somewhere far.
"I'm sorry," she whispered finally. "You didn't deserve to be dragged into that."
Elias shook his head. "I'm not sorry. You needed to say those things. And you did."
Her shoulders trembled. "Hearing Jamie's name like that… it hurt. So much."
"I know," he said gently. "But don't let Daniel use him to keep control over you. You're stronger than that."
Maya turned to look at him, eyes filled with quiet pain but also something stronger—resolve.
"You think I'm still strong?"
"I don't think," Elias said, meeting her gaze. "I know. You're standing, aren't you? After everything—after being torn apart, erased from your own life—you're still here. Building something new."
Maya took a deep, shaky breath. For the first time, she believed him.