Chapter 6
“Elara, please.”
Damian’s eyes were rimmed red, his sight swimming with tears. “Don’t go.” He planted himself in the doorway, a barricade made of
regret. “I know I was wrong. I know I hurt you.” His voice shook. “But we can repair this. We can begin again.”
“Begin again?” A sound slipped from my throat–hollow, frostbitten. “On what ground? Another layer of lies?”
“No. On honesty.” He reached out; I recoiled. “I’ll tell you everything. Scarlett-”
“Stop.” I cut him clean. “I don’t want to hear her name again.”
“Then what about us?” He searched my face, frantic. “Elara, think about our empire. Everything we built.”
“That was your empire,” I corrected quietly. “Never mine.”
“No–ours!” He seized my arm. “I’m nothing without you. You made me sharper. Stronger. You’re my queen.”
A memory rose, cold and precise.
A year ago–Valentina Rossi, a rival family’s daughter. Damian had crossed a line during a deal. Photos surfaced. A month–long
stalemate followed, ice between us. Scarlett had held me then, murmuring, All men do this. It’s business on the surface. If his heart is
yours, that’s what counts.
Only now did the meaning sharpen. She already knew. Because she was the one.
“Do you remember Valentina?” I asked.
He stiffened. “That was different-”
“It was identical.” I met his gaze. “You called it business. A performance. You swore you’d never betray me.”
“I didn’t betray you!”
“Didn’t you?” My words cut. “Then who was in the club?”
His mouth opened. Nothing came.
“You know how your mother died,” I continued. “The cost of treachery in your world. And you?” My voice dropped to steel. “You broke
our vows.”
“Elara-”
“This wasn’t Scarlett. This wasn’t a rival house.” I held him there with my eyes. “This was you. You ended us.”
Tears streamed down his face–raw, unguarded. “I love you,” he sobbed. “I can’t live without you.”
“Love?” I shook my head. “You don’t know what that word means.”
“I do–more than anyone!” He fell to his knees, clutching my legs. “I’m begging you. One last chance.”
I should have felt triumph, watching a king reduced to ash. I felt only revulsion.
“Damian Grayson,” I said, looking down at him. “Our engagement is over.”
I pushed past and went for the door.
“You’re not leaving!” He scrambled up, wild. “I won’t allow it!” He lunged again.
Chapter 6
Something inside me snapped.
“Fine,” I said, calm as a blade. “I won’t leave.”
I walked to the photo wall, seized the nearest heavy chair, and swung.
Glass detonated. Frames cracked. Smiles shattered. I erased every polished memory.
“No–stop! Don’t destroy them! Don’t destroy our past!”
He collapsed, scooping broken glass and torn faces into his hands, as if grief could be reassembled.
I shut out his wails and stepped outside.
Scarlett waited there, her motorcycle blocking my way. Blood streaked her cheek; her hair hung in chaos. Her eyes burned brighter
than ever.
“You think you’ve won?”
I walked on. She shadowed me, jeering. One glance told me the truth.
He’d discarded her.
“I never wanted to win,” I said evenly. “I wanted the truth.”
“The truth?” She sneered. “Which truth?”
“When did you start wanting my man?”
“A long time ago,” she replied, unashamed. “Longer than you imagine.”
My chest ached. I kept my face still. “Why?”
“Why?” Venom flashed in her eyes. “Because I was done being your shadow. Done watching you take everything.”
“I owe you my life,” she went on. “But you never saw me–just another charity case.”
“I loved him too!” she screamed. “We’re the same, he and I–clawed up from the same gutter. But he chose you. His spotless saint. His
queen.”
“So I took back what should have been mine.”
I pressed my hands over my ears.
If Damian’s betrayal humiliated me, Scarlett’s hatred hollowed me out. Ten years–ten.
I tried to outpace her voice. Then she said my name.
“Elara.”
I turned.
Her hand arced.
Crack.
Pain bloomed across my cheek,
Chapter 7
