Chapter 129
Chapter 129
Elara’s POV
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Elara stood at the bedroom window staring down at the guest house. The lights were still on. She could see shadows moving behind the curtains, two distinct figures that were unmistakably Marcus and Aurora.
It was past midnight and her husband was spending the night with his ex-girlfriend.
She knew why. Understood the logic. Aurora had a concussion, needed monitoring, couldn’t be left alone. It made perfect sense on paper.
But standing here watching the guest house like some pathetic stalker, Elara didn’t feel logical. She felt like she was losing her mind.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Mimi’s name lit up the screen.
“Hey,” Elara answered, her voice flat.
“Babe, I just saw your location. You’re home? I thought you were planning the romantic evening for Marcus.”
“Plans changed.”
“What happened?”
Elara walked away from the window and sat on the edge of the bed. “Aurora had an accident. Hit her head. Paramedics came. She has a concussion.”
“Oh my God, is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Fine enough to convince Marcus to spend the night with her in the guest house to monitor her
symptoms.”
There was a long pause on the other end. “He’s doing what now?”
“You heard me. He’s down there right now. Has been for hours. Probably will be there all night.”
“Elara..”
“Don’t. Please don’t tell me it’s innocent or that I’m overreacting. I can’t hear that right now.”
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Mimi’s voice softened. “I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say this is some bullshit and Aurora is playing games.”
Something in Elara’s chest cracked open. The tears she’d been holding back since Marcus called started falling, hot and fast down her cheeks.
“I don’t know what to do,” Elara said, her voice breaking. “I was so ready to fight for him. To show him how I feel. And then this happens and I just feel so stupid. Like no matter what I do, she’s always going to be there. Always going to have some crisis that pulls him back to her.”
16:52 Mon, May 11
Chapter 129
“This is not your fault-”
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“Isn’t it? Maybe if I wasn’t so insecure, if I just trusted him more, he wouldn’t feel like he had to prove himself by running to her rescue every time something happens.”
“Or maybe,” Mimi said firmly, “Aurora is a manipulative bitch who’s creating these situations on purpose. A concussion? Right after the towel incident didn’t work? Come on, Elara. You’re smarter than this.”
“You think she faked hitting her head?”
“I think she saw an opportunity and took it. Real concussion or not, she knew exactly what asking Marcus to stay would do to you. To your relationship.”
Elara wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I told him to do whatever he thought was right. What else was I supposed to say? If I said no, I’m the heartless wife who doesn’t care if someone dies.”
“You’re in an impossible situation. She made sure of that.”
They talked for another hour, Mimi doing her best to keep Elara’s spirits up. But when they finally hung up. Elara felt just as hollow as before.
She tried to sleep but couldn’t. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured Marcus and Aurora in the guest house. Were they talking? Laughing about old memories? Was Aurora making her move, using her “injury” to get close to him?
Elara got up and went back to the window. The lights in the guest house were off now. She checked her phone. Two thirty in the morning.
Marcus was probably asleep on the couch. Aurora was probably in the bedroom. Perfectly innocent. Perfectly
reasonable.
So why did Elara feel like her world was falling apart?
She must have dozed off eventually because when she opened her eyes again, sunlight was streaming through the windows. Elara sat up, her neck sore from sleeping in the chair by the window.
Her phone showed six missed calls from Marcus. All from around 6 AM. She’d been so exhausted she’d slept through them.
There was one text message: Coming home soon. We need to talk.
Elara’s stomach twisted. She stood up and looked out the window.
The guest house was quiet. No movement. No lights.
She was about to turn away when the door opened.
Marcus stepped out first, looking exhausted. His shirt was wrinkled, his hair messy. He said something over his shoulder to someone still inside.
Then Aurora appeared in the doorway.
16:52 Mon, May 11
Chapter 129
Elara’s heart stopped.
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Aurora was wearing Marcus’s shirt. His white dress shirt from yesterday, the one he’d been wearing at the office. It hung on her like a dress, the sleeves rolled up, the hem hitting her mid-thigh.
She looked like she’d just woken up in her boyfriend’s bed.
Aurora said something that made Marcus shake his head. Then she reached up and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a embrace that lasted way too long.
Marcus pulled away first, taking a step back. But the damage was done.
Elara watched as Marcus started walking toward the main house. Aurora stood in the doorway of the guest house, still wearing his shirt, watching him go with a small smile on her face.
When she looked up at the penthouse windows, Elara swore their eyes met. Aurora’s smile widened.
Elara stumbled back from the window, her hand over her mouth. She felt sick. Actually physically sick.
She heard the front door open downstairs. Marcus’s footsteps on the stairs. Getting closer.
Elara stood in the middle of the bedroom, her hands shaking, her heart racing.
The bedroom door opened and Marcus walked in. He looked terrible. Exhausted, stressed, like he hadn’t slept at all.
“Elara,” he started, “I know how this looks-”
“Why is she wearing your shirt?”
曲
AD
