Elara “Aren’t you going to wash my stained trousers, cleaner?” My eyes widened at Asher’s words. It wasn’t even the request itself that bothered me—I would have happily done it had he asked nicely and sincerely—it was the blatant condescension in this tone. I knew exactly what this was: an att
Elara Alaric stood in the garden with the late afternoon sun framing his figure, the small box in his hand held out between us. I blinked, unsure if I was imagining it. But when he extended it toward me without a word, and my heart stuttered in response, I knew it was real. Slowly, I reached for
Both girls practically squealed with delight, rushing forward to hug him around the waist. He stiffened at first, but then his hands came to rest gently on their backs, his expression softening ever so slightly. “Thank you, Daddy!” Zoe chirped before letting go and dragging Ella back toward the ga
Elara Alaric’s silent presence in the doorway should’ve startled me, but instead, I found myself blinking at him through the haze of wine. He said absolutely nothing, just stood there, his broad frame shadowing the doorway, his face unreadable. “Alaric?” I called out, furrowing my brow. “Are you
With that, I let go of his shirt and stumbled back a step, my head spinning slightly. Alaric still hadn’t moved, hadn’t said a word, and it only fueled my frustration. “You’re impossible,” I muttered. “You cold, detached, impossible man.” Gripping the edge of the counter for support, I looked up a
Elara The sound of the shower woke me first, followed by the pounding ache in my skull. I squinted against the pale morning light filtering through the curtains, trying to piece together the fragmented memories of last night. The kitchen. The wine. Alaric standing there, silent and stoic, as I d
Behind her, a stylist wheeled in a cart filled with hair tools, makeup, and enough products to stock a small salon. I blinked at the sudden flurry of activity. “Oh, that’s… a lot.” Annie smiled at me as she set the garment bag on the bed. “Wait until you see the dress. It’s stunning. You’re goin
Elara The tension in the car was almost unbearable at first. Once Alaric helped me in, I sat there stiffly, hardly even hearing Zoe and Ella’s excited chatter. Alaric circled the car and climbed in on his side without a word. As the car pulled out of the driveway, the tension was even worse. If
But I forced myself to stay still. To not react. It wasn’t Sarah’s fault that her death had been faked and she’d been held captive for years. And it wasn’t Alaric’s fault that his emotions were running high. The wife he’d thought was dead had suddenly returned out of nowhere. Maybe I won’t get my
Elara The sound of all the shocked murmurs and the sight of the stunned faces quickly faded behind the heavy door as it closed behind us, leaving just the three of us in the quiet, private room. I sank down nervously onto the edge of the nearby bench, still too stunned to speak or even begin to
My heart tugged a little. I brushed my fingers over the necklace Alaric had given me the night before—a simple pendant, but the meaning behind it far outweighed the sparkle of the diamonds inlaid along its edges. “Maybe,” I whispered, the thought of Alaric standing at the altar enough to send a fl
Elara Somehow, a few months of bliss passed after that fateful night that Alaric proposed. Eventually we began to encroach upon the original six month span of our arrangement, but we barely even noticed. In fact, our arrangement had quickly become a thing of the past. We weren’t constrained by
Elara The door slammed harder than I meant it to, but I didn’t care. Let them hear it echo down the damn hall, for all I cared. Fated mate? Either Asher had lost his mind, or he really thought he could manipulate me into believing him.. I stormed down the corridor, my hands curled into fists a
“I can handle him,” I replied, my jaw tightening. Elara didn’t even flinch. “He’ll talk to me.” I let out a slow breath, running my hand over my face. This was the last thing I wanted—to have them in the same room, breathing the same air. But if Asher was the key to unraveling the rest of this, th
Alaric The cold metal of the watch glinted under the harsh lights of the interrogation room. I held it between my fingers, thumb brushing over the engraved initials for what felt like the millionth time that morning. A.S.D. Asher Samuel Donovan. The watchmaker had confirmed the watch’s owner wit
Elara Alaric’s hand was warm around mine, his thumb brushing once against my knuckles before he started toward the stairs. He didn’t answer right away, but the hesitation I saw briefly flicker in his eyes was gone just as quickly as it came. Whatever had been holding him back just moments ago se
His gaze snapped up, sharp as a dagger. “He’s not who you think he is, Elara.” “And maybe he’s not who you think he is either.” Alaric exhaled sharply, as if trying to keep his patience in check. “You don’t know him like I do, Elara. You didn’t grow up with him. You didn’t see what he was capabl