Page 73 of So Close to You
Seraphina looks up and meets his gaze directly.
“Elliot…”
“Let me finish, please,” he asks, raising a hand. “Do you know what the worst part of all this was? Realizing that I’d been ignoring the reality right in front of us for years. I’d convinced myself that everything was fine, that it was just a phase.”
The confession hangs between them. Seraphina feels a lump in her throat that makes it hard to swallow. Because it’s true. And because hearing it said out loud is painful, like ripping a bandage off an old wound.
Elliot runs a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes wearily.
“We became excellent partners, people who knew how to handle crises and make difficult decisions.”
“Yes, that’s true,” she replies.
“Responsible parents, dedicated to giving Oliver and Ivy the best.”
“Yes.”
“A perfect couple for photo ops and galas.”
That phrase brings a sad smile to both their faces, the first of the entire conversation.
“But we stopped being husband and wife a long time ago.”
Seraphina keeps her gaze fixed on him, feeling her emotions rise inside her.
“I’m so sorry, Elliot. It was never my intention to let things get this far.”
“I know,” he replies sincerely. “I’m sorry, too.”
“I didn’t want to hurt you. I tried to avoid it for a long time.”
“I know that too.”
Seraphina feels an unexpected pressure behind her eyes, a stinging sensation that threatens to turn into tears.
“You were right, Seraphina,” Elliot continues, softening his gaze. “This was broken a long time ago. Our relationship gradually grew cold, without either of us wanting to admit it. I just didn’t want to be the first to turn off the light. I preferred to hold on to the illusion a little longer.”
Seraphina lowers her head, and the sincerity of his words hits her hard. Because they reflect exactly what she, too, has felt for years: the fear of being the first to acknowledge the failure.
“I didn’t want to hurt you either,” Seraphina murmurs. “But I couldn’t keep living in the dark, pretending everything was fine when inside I felt empty.”
Elliot watches her closely, and for the first time since it all began, he seems to truly see her. Not as the ruthless CFO, not as the perfect wife who fulfilled every role, not as the unwilling protagonist of a media scandal. Just as an exhausted woman who has carried too much for far too long.
“I know. And I accept it.”
A sad smile appears on Elliot’s lips as he leans forward.
“Let’s talk about the kids.”
Seraphina feels the nerves returning.
“We’ll have to get organized. The press will keep bothering us for months, making up stories and hounding us. Oliver is angry, though he’s constantly worried about you. Ivy is too, though she expresses it differently, drawing families in her notebooks.”
Tears threaten to spill over for the first time, but Seraphina manages to hold them back by taking a deep breath.
“I miss them with all my heart, too.”
“I know. That’s why we have to do this right,” Elliot says, extending his hand across the table in a conciliatory gesture. “We have to explain this separation to them without turning them into victims of a war that has nothing to do with them.”
