Stories Hidden in Shadows By Julian Blake 17

Stories Hidden in Shadows By Julian Blake 17 Summary

 

After returning home, Nicholas tended carefully to Elara’s injuries, overwhelmed by guilt and remorse. He refused to leave her side for days, his constant presence a silent apology. However, Elara remained distant and emotionally withdrawn, her reactions minimal and unreadable.

 

One night, Elara secretly entered Nicholas’s study and discovered a journal filled with harsh, self-directed insults written by him. This revelation deepened the tension between them. When Nicholas found her there, he expressed concern and worry, but when Elara directly asked if he wanted to tell her something, he denied it, choosing silence over honesty. This moment marked a painful disconnect between them.

 

The next day, Elara began systematically erasing their shared memories—cutting up old photos, disposing of belongings, and donating gifts Nicholas had given her. She offered practical explanations for her actions, but Nicholas sensed the deeper emotional significance and felt helpless as their home gradually emptied.

 

On the anniversary of her parents’ death, Nicholas accompanied Elara to the cemetery. Her quiet, different tone during the visit unsettled him. Their moment was abruptly interrupted by Valentina, who appeared injured and in need of help. Nicholas immediately offered assistance, leaving Elara alone by the gravesite, highlighting the growing emotional distance and isolation between the couple.

 

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Chapter 7

When they finally returned home, Nicholas took great care to clean and dress every scrape and bruise that marked Elara’s skin. The weight of guilt pressed heavily on his chest, gnawing at him relentlessly. He felt as if he were drowning in remorse for what had happened.

For several days afterward, he refused to leave the apartment. He remained steadfastly by her side, unwilling to be apart even for a moment. His constant presence was a silent apology, a desperate attempt to make amends without words.

Elara, however, remained almost indifferent to his vigilance. Her reactions were minimal, her expression unreadable, as if she had retreated somewhere deep within herself.

One night, long after Nicholas had gone to bed, Elara quietly wheeled herself into his study. The dim light cast long shadows across the room, and the air felt thick with unspoken tension. She moved carefully, searching until her fingers brushed against a worn journal he had thought hidden well enough to escape her notice.

She opened it, curiosity mingling with something darker.

The page she found was covered entirely by the same phrase, scrawled repeatedly in furious handwriting:
“You’re such a piece of shit, Nicholas. You’re such a piece of shit. You’re such a piece of shit.”

Her heart twisted at the harshness of those words. Slowly, she closed the journal and returned it to its place, the silence in the room pressing down on her like a weight.

No sooner had she left the study than the bedroom door burst open. Nicholas appeared, shirt half-buttoned, barefoot, his hair tousled as if he had just been jolted awake from a nightmare.

When he saw she was unharmed, he let out a long, shaky breath. “Elara—Jesus, it’s two in the morning. What are you doing out here?”

She averted her gaze, then offered a calm, practiced lie. “Thirsty. Just getting some water.”

Without hesitation, Nicholas hurried to the kitchen, filled a glass, and handed it to her. His voice trembled with worry. “Next time, just wake me up, okay? If something happened to you and I wasn’t here… God, I don’t even want to imagine it.”

Elara met his eyes, steady and unwavering. “Nicholas. Is there something you want to tell me?”

For a moment, he froze, caught off guard by her directness. Then he shook his head. “No. Why?”

All it would have taken was honesty. One simple truth spoken in that moment could have changed everything.

But still, he remained silent.

She closed her eyes briefly, a faint, bitter smile curving her lips to mask the sting of disappointment.

The next morning, Elara dragged out all their old photo albums, spreading them across the living room floor without any attempt at discretion.

Without hesitation, she began cutting every single photograph into pieces.

Nicholas walked in and stared in stunned silence at the pile of shredded memories scattered across the floor. “Why… why would you do that?”

Elara didn’t bother to fabricate a convincing excuse. She simply said the photos had gotten water-damaged and warped. There was no point in keeping them. They could always take new ones later.

The casual way she said it made Nicholas’s chest tighten painfully. He wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not.

The following day, she hired a housekeeper to box up the rest of their belongings—matching mugs, scarves, shirts, keychains—and then she threw everything into the dumpster.

When Nicholas noticed, he asked about it. She told him the items had become moldy from the humidity. He seemed to accept the explanation.

A few days later, Elara donated every gift Nicholas had ever given her to a local charity. She told him the styles were outdated anyway and that he could get her something new if he wanted.

Bit by bit, the apartment grew emptier.

Everything that had once belonged to Elara—her clothes, books, photos, and trinkets—slowly vanished.

Nicholas, distracted and overwhelmed, hardly noticed the gradual disappearance.

On the anniversary of her parents’ death, Nicholas accompanied Elara to the cemetery.

As he stood beside her, listening to her speak softly to their graves, something felt off.

“Mom, Dad… I hope you’re doing okay up there. Don’t worry about me. I think we’ll see each other again soon…”

Nicholas recalled previous visits, when she had talked openly about how much she missed them, about how life was going. Those moments had felt normal, comforting even.

But this… this felt different.

He was about to ask her what she meant when a voice interrupted from behind them.

“Nicholas? Elara? Oh wow, small world.”

The moment shattered. Nicholas turned around, confused.

Valentina stood a few feet away, pale and unsteady on her feet, favoring her left ankle.

Concern immediately flooded Nicholas’s face. “Valentina? What are you doing here? What happened?”

“I was visiting my grandma’s grave. It’s so slippery from the rain—I twisted my ankle pretty badly,” she said, her voice trembling.

Without thinking, Nicholas stepped forward to steady her.

Valentina looked up at him with watery eyes. “Nicholas… could you maybe take me to urgent care?”

He didn’t hesitate for a second. “Yeah, of course.”

He barely glanced back at Elara.

“Babe, take your time. I’ll be right back.”

Neither of them asked Elara if she was okay with this. They simply left her alone there, standing quietly by the graves, isolated in the cold cemetery air.

Conclusion

 

The chapter closes on a poignant note of distance and unspoken pain, where the physical and emotional spaces between Nicholas and Elara grow ever wider. His guilt and desperate attempts to care for her clash with her quiet withdrawal and subtle acts of erasure, as if she is trying to dismantle the life they once shared piece by piece. The silence between them, heavy with things left unsaid, underscores the fragility of their bond and the deep wounds that remain hidden beneath the surface.

 

Amidst the shadows of grief and regret, the encounter with Valentina becomes a stark symbol of Elara’s isolation, left standing alone as Nicholas turns away, drawn to another. The chapter captures the bittersweet tension of love strained by secrets and pain, leaving readers suspended in the quiet ache of what might have been, and the uncertain future that lies ahead for both of them.

 

What to Expect in Next Chapter?

 

The next chapter promises to delve deeper into the fragile and tense dynamics between Nicholas and Elara, as the cracks in their relationship grow more pronounced. Elara’s quiet withdrawal and the symbolic erasure of their shared memories hint at a brewing storm beneath her composed exterior. Nicholas’s guilt and desperation to bridge the widening gap between them will be tested further, especially as secrets and unspoken truths threaten to surface.

 

Meanwhile, the unexpected arrival of Valentina introduces a new layer of complexity and potential conflict. Her presence at such a vulnerable moment raises questions about loyalties and intentions, stirring emotions that Nicholas and Elara may not be ready to confront. As these intertwined lives inch toward an uncertain future, readers will be drawn into the emotional undercurrents that could either unravel or redefine their connections in ways no one anticipated.