YOU'RE LOSING ME ; MILEVEN AU

024.

a small tired smile rested on els lips as she sat in the clinic, waiting for mike and their session.

she stared down at her phone, scrolling through numerous photos of novah from when she was way younger.

she heard the door open, hearing it jingle before she looked up, seeing mike rush in and sit next to her. "i'm not late,"

"i never said you were,"

"i know... i was just..."

she looked up, ignoring him, waiting for the door to open. as her gaze narrowed, the door opened and she sprung to her feet.

without waiting for him, she walked into the small office and took her usual seat on the couch, putting her bag to the side.

mike followed slowly, sitting next to her as their counsellor sat at his usual spot across them.

his gaze adverted from her to him, smiling gently. "this is our last session, yes?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"yeah... uh..." mike went to answer. "we're... after this, we will... if it doesn't work, i'm going to sign,"

ivan's gaze travelled to el. "how do you feel about that, el?"

"great," she let out sarcastically. "finally this can end, no?" she asked quietly.

mike gulped at her tone. "you know... this may be the last time we see each other,"

"and?" her tone was lazily, clearly indicating she didn't want to be there.

"so let's get everything out. you're gonna take novah from me, right? you're gonna leave then take me to court, no? so let's talk it all out. nothing to lose anyways,"

she didn't respond.

he angled his body to face her better. "el, i love you. i know i've been absent and i can do better—"

she snapped her head towards him. "do better? do better?" she mocked with a laugh. "you keep saying that but have you done better? you're never here. you don't care. if you cared you would have came home to me."

"but don't you get that i work so hard because we have nothing, el? we built our entire family from my business. i built my business from the ground up,"

"and i was there for you. you were there for me till novah was born and you thought, let me stay overnight at my office as my wife cried at home with blood between her legs. do you know how hard it was after novah was born!? my stitches ripped, my back hurt. i couldn't even shower! the housekeeper tended my wounds as you had high class meetings with middle aged men in expensive suits." she snarled, tears building before they fell. "i hurt and you never knew. you didn't even care to know. i cook you breakfast, dinner and you give me a look over the shoulder,"

"you don't even want to speak to me when i come home,"

"because i can't waste another breath on you. i am tired. i am exhausted from all this."

"you never tell me why you're hurting or mad. you just go and sleep on the couch,"

"why can't you just love me enough to know?" her voice cracked brokenly as she pleaded.

"i do love you,"

"no, you don't," her head shook. "you don't, you don't." she whispered over and over again before her head hung low. "you don't love me anymore,"

when he didn't reply, ivan cut in to ask her. "why do you feel that way? mike has expressed that he does but why won't you believe it?"

her breathing became ragged when the memories ran through her head. you don't come home. what if he already knows? he knows....