Chapter 35: Without Taking Anything Away

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Nayara Wardhana has spent three years married to Arven Mahesa, in a marriage that looks flawless to everyone around them. A cozy home. Every household expense paid. A husband who is never cruel and always meets his obligations. There is just one thing Nayara has never been given: love. No kisses, no closeness; they have slept in separate rooms since the very first night of their marriage. Nayara keeps telling herself that Arven is simply a cold man, and that if she stays patient enough, gentle enough, and asks for little enough, he will someday open his heart to her. Until a box of old letters shatters that belief. Inside them, Nayara finds an Arven she has never met: a man capable of yearning, of loving, of pouring his feelings warmly onto the page, all for a woman named Almira Hadinata. So Arven was never incapable of love. He simply chose not to love his wife. When Nayara starts digging into the real reason behind their three years together, what she uncovers is far more painful than the mere existence of an ex. Her marriage, it turns out, may never have been built on love for her at all. Now she has to choose: remain the wife still waiting to be seen, or walk away and risk everything she has ever known. The trouble is, the moment Nayara finally stops begging for his love, Arven realizes something much too late. She truly can leave his life, and winning her love back a second time may prove far harder than he ever imagined.

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