Beyond The Gaze: A Love Unseen

Chapter 48

Elysia's POV:

My lips parted in shock. Aubrey seemed equally stunned seeing me.

"Elysia..." she uttered, a smile forming on her lips, but its warmth didn't quite reach her eyes.

I pressed my lips together, nodding curtly in response to her greeting. Despite the years that had passed since that day, I still couldn't forget the hurtful words she hurled at me when she believed I had betrayed her.

"You are the worst thing that happened to me, you traitor. You stole my only happiness. I wish you never find happiness in your life."

Those were her parting words that day, echoing in my memory. She kept screaming until her voice faded while I rushed out of the corridors.

"You didn't go inside?" I glanced behind Aubrey to see Ares approaching. Her smile froze at the sound of his voice, and she turned toward him, disbelief evident in her expression.

Ares' steps halted abruptly, his furrowed eyebrows and clenched jaw revealing his surprise and tension. His gaze shifted between Aubrey and me, then back to her, creating a palpable tension in the air.

My heart raced as I observed Ares' unreadable expressions. Aubrey looked at us back and forth, the resentment in her gaze shocked me; the intensity in her eyes suggested deeper animosity than I had anticipated.

Her chest heaved rapidly, jaw clenched firmly. She was about to speak when Ares briskly walked toward us, stopping right in front of me and blocking my view of Aubrey.

I craned my head, looking up at him in confusion. His expressions were inscrutable as he moved forward, causing me to step back involuntarily.

What was he doing?

He stepped forward again, and I followed suit. When I attempted to step back further, he placed his hands on my shoulders, preventing me from moving.

Once he ensured I was in place, he removed his hands from my shoulders and turned around to face Aubrey, effectively keeping me behind him.

Was he intentionally creating a distance between Aubrey and us?

"Yes, talk now," his voice sounded unfamiliar, frosty and ruthless, a tone I had never heard directed at me before. While Ares had been angry and yelled at me in the past, this was an entirely different demeanor.

"A-Ares, why are you with her? Elysia, what are you doing with my boyfriend—" Aubrey's voice rang out before Ares interrupted, glancing at his watch.

"Mind your words, woman! And snap out of your delusions." I tilted my head slightly to get a better view of Aubrey, who was now looking at Ares with watery eyes, hurt clearly etched across her face in response to his words.

What am I doing here?

I felt increasingly uncomfortable, realizing I was unwittingly caught in the middle of their personal conflict. They were a couple once, and I felt like an intruder in this tense moment. I wanted to leave but feared that Ares would notice.

"You're saying this because she fed you lies about me, didn't she? Ares, don't listen to her, please. She always wanted to break us—" My eyes widened at Aubrey's accusatory words. How could she make such baseless claims?

Ares' gaze sharpened as Aubrey attempted to approach us and her words trailed off. He emanated a commanding aura that seemed to freeze Aubrey in her tracks. The chilling intensity of his stare, paired with an unspoken warning, made Aubrey instinctively halt, realizing the futility of pushing any further. "Say one more word..." His icy voice carried a sharp, menacing edge, shutting Aubrey.