Deep Consuming Addiction

Chapter 113

✨The Space Between Homes✨

Elena Vale

Elena stepped out of the building just as her phone buzzed in her hand.

She didn’t even have to check the screen.

“Ari,” she answered, already smiling as she adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

“Security outside,” he said.

She slowed, spotting the familiar black car waiting at the curb, his security already stepping forward to open the door for her.

“Of course they are,” she murmured, slipping inside. “You don’t miss anything, do you?”

“I prefer not to,” he replied smoothly. Then, softer, “How was your day?”

She leaned back into the seat, exhaling. “Long. Loud. People asking questions I don’t feel like answering.”

“Did you answer them anyway?”

“Some,” she said. “The rest I ignored. You would’ve been proud.”

“I am,” he said, and she could hear it—that quiet approval he didn’t hand out easily.

The car pulled off smoothly.

She glanced out the window, then back down at her lap. “I need to stop by my apartment.”

A pause.

Then—“You’re leaving me?” he said, the slightest edge of complaint slipping into his tone.

Elena laughed, the sound light and real. “Relax. I just need to check on things. Make sure it still exists.”

“It exists,” he said. “I would know.”

“You’ve been keeping tabs on my apartment too now?”

“On everything that concerns you.”

She shook her head, smiling despite herself. “I’ll only be a little while.”

“So you’re coming back after,” he pressed.

She hesitated just enough to make him notice.

“Maybe.”

“Elena.”

She bit back a smile. “What?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting for now.”

A soft exhale came through the line. Not annoyed—just resigned. “You enjoy this.”

“A little,” she admitted.

Silence stretched between them for a second, but it wasn’t empty. It was familiar.

Then—

“Call me when you’re done,” he said.

“I will.”

“And Elena?”

“Yeah?”

Another brief pause.

“Don’t stay away too long.”

Something in her chest tightened—just a little.

“I won’t,” she said softly.

The line went quiet after that, but neither of them rushed to hang up.

She did it first.

The car slowed a few minutes later, pulling up outside her building.

“Thank you,” she told the driver, stepping out.

The door closed behind her with a quiet click.

And just like that—

She was back.

Her apartment felt different the second she walked in.

Quieter.

Still.

Too still.

Elena paused just inside the doorway, her hand lingering on the knob as if she hadn’t fully committed to being there yet.

It smelled the same.

Looked the same.

Everything exactly where she left it.

And yet—

It didn’t feel like hers the way it used to.

She slipped off her shoes, setting them neatly by the door out of habit, then walked further in.

The kitchen was clean. Empty.

No soft hum of movement.

No quiet voice calling her name.

No presence.

Ari’s housekeeper—Miss Daisy—wasn’t there, of course. The thought came and went quickly, but she felt it anyway. That small absence.

She hadn’t realized how used to it she’d gotten.

To him.

To his space.

To the way his world had slowly, quietly made room for her.

Her steps slowed as she reached her bedroom.

The door creaked open slightly.

The bed was neatly made. Sheets smooth. Pillows untouched.

Everything in its place.

But the room felt…

Hollow.

Elena walked in slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Her fingers brushed over the fabric absentmindedly.

No warmth.

No imprint.

No him.

She exhaled, long and quiet.

This used to be enough.

This space.

This life.

This version of her.

Now it felt like something she had stepped out of—and didn’t quite know how to step back into.

Her phone rang.

She glanced down.

Mom.

Elena hesitated for half a second.

Then answered.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Finally,” her mother’s voice came through, warm but familiar in its light scolding. “You remember you have a family?”

Elena smiled faintly, leaning back on her hands. “Work’s been crazy.”

“It always is with you.”

“I know.”

There was a pause.

“How are you?” her mother asked, softer now.

Elena looked around the room.

At everything that used to feel certain.

“I’m okay,” she said. “Just… busy.”

"And you?"

"Better hearing your voice."

They talked for a while after that.

About home.

About small things—neighbors, errands, things that needed fixing.

Her mother filled the silence easily, the way she always had.

And Elena let her.

It grounded her.

Reminded her of something steady.

Something untouched by everything else.

Then—

The question slipped out before she could stop it.

“Mom?”

“Yes, baby?”

Elena hesitated, her fingers tightening slightly against the bedsheet.

“How did you know?” she asked quietly.

“Know what?”

“That Dad was the one.”

Silence.

Not empty.

Thoughtful.

Then her mother spoke.

“I didn’t,” she said simply.

Elena frowned slightly. “You didn’t?”

“No,” her mother replied gently. “I knew I didn’t want anyone else more than I wanted him. And even when it got hard—because it will get hard—I still chose him.”

Elena swallowed.

Her chest tightening in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

“It wasn’t about certainty,” her mother continued. “It was about choosing him again and again… even when it wasn’t easy.”

Elena looked down at her hands.

At the quiet room around her.

At everything she had built.

And everything she was risking.

“Why?” she asked softly.

“Why what?”

“Why choose something that makes everything harder?”

A soft laugh came through the phone.

“Because the right person doesn’t just make things harder,” her mother said. “They make it worth it.”

Elena closed her eyes briefly.

And for the first time since she stepped into the apartment—

She knew exactly who she was thinking about.

Ari.

And suddenly—

The silence in the room didn’t feel peaceful anymore.

It felt like distance.

And she wasn’t sure she liked it but she wasn't giving up another part of what makes her, her.

They ended the call and she sat there.

Elena stared at his name for a moment before pressing call.

Her thumb hovered for half a second longer than necessary.

Not out of fear.

Not this time.

Out of awareness.

The phone rang once.

Then—

“Yeah.”

Her breath softened instantly at the sound of his voice.

“Ari…”

There was a slight pause on the other end.

Not distant.

Not guarded.

Just… attentive.

“You alright?” he asked, his tone quieter than usual, like he already knew something had shifted.

Elena leaned back into the bed, her eyes drifting toward the ceiling again.

“I just got home,” she said.

A beat.

“And?”

She smiled faintly.

He knew her too well.

“It felt… different,” she admitted.

Ari didn’t interrupt.

“It used to feel like my space,” she continued slowly. “Like everything made sense here.

Controlled. Predictable.” She exhaled softly.

“Now it just feels… quiet.”

A pause.

“Empty?” he asked.

Elena thought about it.

Then shook her head, even though he couldn’t see her.

“No,” she said. “Not empty.”

Another breath.

“Just not enough anymore.”

Silence settled on the line.

But it wasn’t heavy.

It felt like he was there with her.

“I talked to my mom,” she added.

Ari let out a faint breath. “That explains it.”

Elena huffed a soft laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She straighten you out?” he asked, a hint of amusement slipping through.

“Something like that,” she said, smiling to herself.

Ari didn’t push.

Didn’t ask for details.

He waited.

And that—

That made it easier.

"I think I will stay here tonight.You coming?" she asked softly.

Ari didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

"My father summoned me. I will come after."

And just like that—

Her apartment didn’t feel so unfamiliar anymore.

Because this time—

He was coming into it with her.

"What did you do?"

Ari chuckled. "What makes you think I did something."

"You usually do."

Ari laughed the way Elena love to hear him and they stayed on the phone a while longer.