Chapter 89
They got home around midnight, the city was still alive with lights but the streets quieter than they’d been earlier in the evening. Dante pulled up to the penthouse gate and waited for it to open before driving through to the front entrance.
He put the car in park and turned around to look at Marcus and Elara in the backseat. “Alright, this is your stop.”
Marcus opened his door and climbed out, then walked around to help Elara. She took his offered hand but didn’t say anything, still radiating that cold anger from the car ride.
Mimi rolled down her window. “Text me when you get upstairs, okay?”
“Very funny, I will,” Elara said, her voice softening slightly when she looked at her friend.
Marcus leaned down to Dante’s window. “Thanks for driving, man.”
“No problem. See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we’ve got that meeting at ten.”
Dante nodded, then gave both Marcus and Elara a knowing look. The kind of look that said I know exactly what you two are about to do, don’t even try to hide it.
Marcus straightened up, and Elara caught the look too. She shook her head, trying not to smile.
“Drive safe,” Marcus said.
“Always do.”
Dante pulled away from the entrance, Mimi waving from the passenger window as they drove back through the gate and disappeared into the night.
Marcus and Elara stood there for a moment in the quiet, the tension from earlier still hanging between them like a physical thing. Then Marcus gestured toward the door.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.”
They walked through the entrance in silence, the security guard nodding at them as they passed. The elevator ride up to the penthouse was equally quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
When they finally got inside and the door closed behind them, Elara immediately dropped her bag by the entryway table and walked over to the couch. She collapsed onto it with a heavy sigh, her body sinking into the cushions.
“What a freaking day,” she muttered, reaching down to unbuckle her heels.
The strappy gold shoes had been beautiful but absolutely brutal on her feet. She’d been wearing them for hours now, and her feet were screaming for relief. She got the first one off and tossed it aside, then started working on the second.
A yawn escaped her as she finally freed her other foot. She pulled out her phone to call her mum, checking
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Chapter 89
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the time out of habit. But it was already past eleven. Way too late to be calling the hospital. Her mother would definitely be asleep by now.
She dropped the phone back into her bag and leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes for a
moment.
Marcus had disappeared into the kitchen. She heard the fridge open, the sound of a glass being filled with water. Then his voice called out from there, casual but loaded with intention.
“So is what we said earlier off now?”
Elara opened her eyes, confused. “What did we say? How?”
“I mean what we said on our way to the event.” There was a pause, the sound of him drinking. “The part about me eating you out and fucking you when we got back home.”
“Ohhh, yeah.” Elara tapped her finger against her forehead like she was trying to remember something from weeks ago instead of just hours. “Yeah, about that. The mood’s been ruined. I don’t think I want to have sex anymore.”
Marcus appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, glass of water in hand, his expression already knowing. “Is it about Aurora?”
Elara looked at him like he’d just asked the dumbest question in history. “Of course it’s about Aurora. Who else would it be about?”
She stood up from the couch, gathering her heels in one hand. “You know she put me in a hard spot by asking like that. Her reason was quite reasonable, I’ll give her that. But how do you think I’m supposed to feel knowing your ex-girlfriend will be living in the same house as me? In our home?”
“She’s in the guest house,” Marcus said weakly. “It’s separate.”
“It’s still on the property, Marcus. It’s still too close.” Elara shook her head, frustration bleeding into her voice. “But that’s not even the main issue here. The bone of contention is that I told you she said something to me earlier, and you didn’t believe me. You kept looking at me like I was some mad woman piping up over nothing.”
“I asked you what she said, but you didn’t reply,” Marcus countered.
“Well, I’m supposed to tell you what she said before you believe me?” Elara’s voice was rising now. “You’re supposed to just believe me, Marcus. That’s what trust is. I shouldn’t have to prove myself to you every time something happens.”
She picked up her bag and started walking toward the stairs. “I don’t think there’s any need to continue this conversation.”
Marcus moved faster, crossing the distance between them in a few quick steps. He caught her hand and pulled her back, spinning her around to face him.
“Let’s not fight over this, please,” he said, his voice softer now. “We just settled an issue less than three days ago. I can’t afford to have a quarrel with you right now. I don’t want to keep doing this.”
Elara looked up at him, her expression still guarded.
Chapter 89
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“I’m sorry, okay?” Marcus continued. “I’m sorry that I was inconsiderate of your feelings. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you the way I was supposed to. I should have trusted you when you said Aurora said something. I should have had your back instead of questioning you.”
He pulled her closer, his hand coming up to cup her face. “Will you forgive me, my princess?”
Then he did something completely unexpected. He widened his eyes and looked up at her like a puppy, all innocent and pleading. The expression was so ridiculous, so unlike the usual stern, controlled Marcus Thorne, that Elara couldn’t help it.
She smiled. Then she laughed, the sound breaking through the tension that had been suffocating them all evening.
“You look ridiculous,” she said, but there was affection in her voice now.
“But it worked, didn’t it?”
She stepped into his arms and hugged him, her face pressed against his chest. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close, and for a moment they just stood there in the quiet of their home.
“It’s fine,” Elara whispered. “I forgive you.”
Marcus’s hand moved to the small of her back, his thumb tracing slow circles there. Then he leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered.
“So are we still fucking tonight?”
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