"You caused all of this, Elena." Adrian repeated coldly and Elena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion mixed with sadness.
Then Adrian began to explain:
"You forced me to love you when I was at my weakest."
Elena blinked and staggered back at the revelation.
"What? I... I forced you?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes, You showed up when I was grieving the loss of my first love. You took advantage of that but now I am seeing clearly now." Adrian said, his eyes hard and unrelenting.
For a moment, Elena forgot how to breathe. She was dumbfounded.
"That is not true!" She protested in a trembling voice when she finally breathed again and found her voice.
"Adrian, think back to when we met. I didn't force you. It wasn't like that." She added, persuasively.
"Oh really?" Adrian scoffed in annoyance.
"Yes! We met at a party. Don't you remember?" Elena yelled desperately, her eyes filled with tears.
Adrian remained silent, his gaze fixed on her.
*FLASHBACK*
Eleven years ago; the room buzzed with laughter and music.
Elena stood by the corner, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. She didn't want to be there, but her roommate had insisted.
"It would be the biggest party of the year. You know we are graduating next week, you really should loosen up and enjoy life as a student before entering the main world full of struggles." Her roommate had maintained, literally dragging her out of the house.
"I shouldn't have come." Elena mumbled to herself, glancing around uncomfortably. Her roommate had gone to the dance floor, and being antisocial, Elena couldn't blend into the crowd or be free to enjoy the party.
Across the room, Adrian was slumped on a couch, a half-empty bottle of hard alcohol in his hand.
"Stupid love! Stupid party!!!" Adrian muttered sullenly.
His first love had just left him, and every drink burned his heart with the memory of her betrayal.
After a moment of wallowing in sorrow and drinking like there wasn't tomorrow, he had staggered to his feet, the alcohol clouding his senses. As he made his way across the room, he bumped into Elena, who had decided to leave the party.
"Watch where you are going." Elena said, steadying herself.
Adrian looked at her, his eyes glassy. For a moment, he froze when he saw her face.
"You... You look like her." He slurred.
"What are you saying?" Elena asked with a frown.
"My first love... She left me... but you..." Adrian muttered unintelligibly.
Elena stared at him, not understanding what he was saying and what to reply with.
"Can I love you instead? Can I spoil you silly? Make you forget the world? Show you that I am capable of loving a woman?" Adrian asked, his voice husky.
Elena's eyes widened in shock. Before she could respond, Adrian leaned in and kissed her, his lips tasting of alcohol and sadness.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Elena wiped a tear from her cheek after she relived that night.
"Adrian, that night... we connected. There was no force. Our love blossomed from there." She pointed out weakly.
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"No, Elena. That night was the mistake of my life. I regret every minute of it." He snapped.
Elena's heart sank.
"Mistake?" She whispered in disbelief.
"Yes, I thought I loved you. I convinced myself I did. But I was wrong." Adrian said bitterly.
"How can you say that? We built a life together. Ten years, Adrian! We have two kids! You were my first love... The one and only man I gave my heart and loyalty to." Elena cried out.
"Well, you wouldn't blame me. I was a sad man who wanted an escape from heartbreak. So, I thought it was love at first sight, but not until recently when I found out it wasn't love at all." Adrian said.
Elena's stomach churned.
"What does that even mean?" She questioned.
Adrian hesitated for a moment, then spoke with cold precision.
"I met the love of my life."
Elena felt her entire world crumbling at the declaration.
"No… No, you didn't. You are lying." She shook her head in denial.
"Are you drunk right now? Because there is no way you would mean this." Elena said, her voice breaking.
Adrian's eyes flared with anger.
"I'm not drunk, Elena. But I was that night when I met you and that was my biggest mistake." He yelled.
Elena gritted her teeth, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"A mistake? After everything we have been through? After everything we built?"
"Adrian, how can you say that? Ten years of my life, Adrian. How about our children—" Elena trailed off, tears streamed down her face.
"I never loved you. Not the way you think. It was never real." Adrian maintained cruelly.
Elena scoffed in disbelief, her knees buckling.
"So why are you telling me this now? What do you want now, Adrian?" She managed to steady her voice and asked.
"I want you to disappear from my life." Adrian stated, emotionlessly.
Elena's breath caught in her throat.
"Disappear?" She repeated unsurely.
"Yes. Just leave. Be gone." He retorted. And with that, he grabbed his briefcase and headed out of the house.
Elena stood frozen, tears blurring her vision.
"Adrian..."
But he didn't turn back.
Elena's chest heaved with sobs. Her mind raced, her heart shattered beyond repair.
For few minutes, she stood still, just sobbing.
"Disappear?"
The word rang in her head. Without realizing what she was doing, she found herself stumbling towards the stairs.
"Maybe that's what I should do... disappear. To make him happy." She mumbled.
Her steps were shaky as she climbed to the top floor of the mansion.
She reached the rooftop and stood at the edge, looking down at the world below.
Her mind whispered dark thoughts.
"Just end it now! A mistake shouldn't exist!"
Tears blurred her vision as she whispered to herself:
"Adrian... was I really just a mistake
to you?"
With a final, trembling breath, Elena stepped forward.
As she leapt, her heart shattered completely.
"Is this... really my end?"