Rain tapped gently on the windows of the Sinclair penthouse. The kind of night that felt too quiet… like the world was holding its breath.
Elina stood in the kitchen, barefoot in his shirt, staring into the empty glass of wine she hadn't refilled. Damon was behind her, silent, tense.
Too much had gone unsaid between them lately.
She turned to him.
"Why didn't you ever talk about it before?" she asked softly.
"The accident," she added.
He looked at her—really looked. The guarded expression was gone. What remained was exhaustion. Guilt. Something deeper.
"I tried to forget it," he said. "For years, I pretended I didn't remember it clearly."
"But you do," she pressed.
His hands clenched at his sides. "I remember everything."
He walked closer, close enough for her to feel the heat of his breath.
"I remember the sound of the crash. The color of the car. The blood on the windshield. I remember... running."
Elina's breath caught.
She'd never heard him say this out loud. Not like this.
He wasn't denying.
He was confessing.
"I went back," Damon whispered. "After I fled. Hours later. The wreckage was still there. And I saw them."
Elina's fingers curled tightly around the countertop.
"You saw their faces?" she asked, her voice barely there.
He nodded slowly.
"Did you—" her voice cracked. "Did you ever find out who they were?"
Damon hesitated. Something flickered in his eyes. Pain. Regret.
Then: "Yes."
He stepped back. Like the truth was too heavy between them.
"I did. A few years later, I asked someone to find out. Their names were Nathaniel and Serah."
Her world stopped.
He knew.
He'd always known.
She turned away, blinking fast, trying to breathe past the storm building inside her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.
"I didn't know how," he said. "I thought maybe if I buried it deep enough… it wouldn't matter. And when I saw you again—when I realized who you were—I wanted to fix it. But I didn't know where to start."
"You should've started with the truth," she snapped, tears shining in her eyes.
"I know," he whispered. "But I was afraid it would make you hate me."
Elina stared at him, broken and angry, her heart betraying her mission with every beat.
"I already did," she said. "I just didn't expect to love you too."