Epilogue ElenaMy heart squeezes painfully as I stare at my brother on the stand, the judge passing a life sentence, his punishment the same as Jade’s and my father’s.Their trial took almost four whole years, and they nearly got away with what they did—until Alec revealed the last judge’s corruption, and a new judge was assigned, putting us back at square one. My mother’s case was practically unheard of, and that delayed their judgment even longer than I would’ve liked, but it didn’t prevent it.I glance at my husband, my heart overflowing with gratitude. Without him, my family would have gone unpunished. My mother would have died.And I? I’d have lost my reason to live.He looks at me as though he can read my mind and wraps his arm around my shoulder, offering me silent support. I drop my head to his shoulder, a bittersweet smile on my face.Mom grabs my hand and squeezes tightly, her eyes on Matthew. He’s led away, and I don’t see an ounce of remorse in his eyes. There wasn’t any
Elena I tip back my vodka mixer and order a second one, ignoring the bartender’s attempts to flirt with me. Thank goodness for the horrendous pounding music that drowns him out. I’m in no mood to socialize tonight, as usual. I shouldn’t have gone out at all, but I figured I should celebrate my 23rd birthday somehow. The bartender hands me my drink, and I try to resist the urge to finish it in one gulp. I learned the hard way that liquor won’t numb the emptiness and the worry I constantly feel. If it did, I would no doubt have become a raging alcoholic two years ago. It still gives me a pleasant buzz though, and tonight I’ll settle for that. I smile apologetically at the bartender who keeps glancing at me and turn away, my eyes roaming over the dance floor. It doesn’t take me long to find the girls I came with. We all work at the same diner, and when they found out it was my birthday, they insisted that I join them tonight. I should’ve said no, like I always do. I feel like the odd
Alexander Her eyes… they have me captivated. The swirls of green amidst the light brown; they’re beautiful, and vaguely familiar. The girl sitting next to me is stunning in a timeless way, and she’s got me enthralled. I take in her ridiculously long lashes, her high cheekbones, and that luscious long hair. She’s a classic beauty, unlike the plastic girls I’m usually surrounded with. None of that bullshit, the fake-everything, fake nails, fake lashes, fake hair, fake lips. I’m tired of it. This girl… she’s real, and she might very well be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She seems nervous as she sits down next to me, her fingers pulling on the hem of her dress, as though she’s uncomfortable in that sexy dress that she’s wearing. She has no reason to be. She’s sexy as fuck without compromising on the classiness she oozes. She looks up, and when her eyes find mine, she’s got me spellbound. “You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, yet, I don’t know yours.” Her eyes wi
Elena The nurse that usually takes care of my mother greets me warmly as I walk into her hospital room. “Happy birthday, sweetie. I wish we didn’t have to call you tonight. You deserve to act your age every once in a while, but you know what Dr. Johnson is like.” “Thank you, June,” I say, trying my best to smile at her as I sit down next to my mother. Dr. Johnson doesn’t believe in keeping my mother here when he could be using her bed for a patient that he might be able to save, but he can’t turn me away either. Not while I’m still able to pay the bills. Eight years. My mother has been in a coma for eight years now, and I’m the only one who still believes she’ll wake up one day. I can’t help but feel like it’s a race against the clock. It’s become a question of what will run out first, the money that keeps her alive, or my mother’s remaining health. The doctor walks into the room and nods at me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the man smile. “Dr. Johnson,” I say, nodding back. “I h
Alexander I pace in my bedroom, exhausted. I’ve been up all night, trying to figure out who Diana is. “Find her,” I tell Vaughn, the owner of Inferno and almost every other nightlife establishment in this city. “She told me her name was Diana. Long brown hair, dazzling green-brown eyes… and that smile. I doubt she’s a regular. She looked far too sweet to frequent your seedy places.” Vaughn laughs. “Since when are you into sweet girls?” I bite down on my lip, unable to shake the thought of Diana. I can’t even pinpoint what it was about her. I didn’t even kiss her. All I know is that I want to see her again. I want to see her again and find out why she called me Alec. “She was different. I don’t know.” Vaughn and I have been friends since we were children. He knows as well as I do that girls like Diana are far from my type. I usually go for alluring, sexy, and confident women. Not that Diana wasn’t sexy… she was hot as fuck. But she didn’t exude sexuality, almost like she didn’t eve
Alexander I stare at the photos of my father in my inbox and tighten my grip on the phone in my hand. This time, he’s in Tijuana with two blondes half his age. “You know the deal,” I say, my jaw clenching involuntarily. “Make sure these photos never see the light of the day.” “Of course,” Elliot says, rattling on about the costs to make these photos disappear. “I don’t care,” I tell him. Elliot is one of my closest friends and he might well be the best hacker alive. Thanks to that, he has no qualms about extorting me in return for keeping shit like this off the internet. “Just make sure my mother never sees this. No one can ever see this.” I end the call, annoyed. My father is no longer even trying to be sly about his affairs. There are no excuses anymore, no more made-up business trips, no more lies. Now he just disappears for months on end, leaving my mother heartbroken, over and over again. I have spent over twenty-thousand dollars trying to keep his affairs hidden, but there’
ElenaI stare up at the grand mansion in front of me, the gates imposing. I inhale deeply before forcing my feet forward. I press my palm to the scanner, and a sigh of relief escapes my lips when the gates swing open. Part of me expected to be denied entry—I wouldn’t put it past my stepmother to find a way to remove all my biometric data. She’s tried to cut me off from my father and brother the moment she stepped into our lives, and she’s succeeded. I wouldn’t even be here if my mother’s life didn’t depend on it.I’m nervous as I reach the door, my gaze dropping down to the old clothes I’m wearing and my torn-up shoes. A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead in this outfit, and now I can’t afford anything better. I hardly ever feel embarrassed for the way I live my life now, but standing here in front of my childhood home, knowing I’ll be judged and found lacking… it hurts.It kills me that I have to resort to coming here at all, that I’m incapable of caring for my mot
ElenaI look up at the beautiful building in front of me and double check the address on the card in my hand. This place is not quite what I expected. It doesn’t look seedy at all. I was expecting an underground strip club or something similar. Instead, I take in the sprawling mansion with its perfectly manicured lawns, a huge gate separating me from what is sure to be the worst decision I will ever make.I timidly walk up to the two security officers guarding the gate. Their rigid posture reminds me of soldiers guarding a palace, and the hostility on their faces does nothing to ease my nerves. Their cold eyes are on me as I approach, and for a second I wonder if they might pull out the guns strapped to their belts. I exhale in relief when they smile, or at least attempt to.“Madam?” the guard on the right says, nodding at me. I fumble with the black business card in my hand, unsure of what to say. I can’t tell them I’m here to sell myself to the highest bidder, can I? The guard’s eyes
Epilogue ElenaMy heart squeezes painfully as I stare at my brother on the stand, the judge passing a life sentence, his punishment the same as Jade’s and my father’s.Their trial took almost four whole years, and they nearly got away with what they did—until Alec revealed the last judge’s corruption, and a new judge was assigned, putting us back at square one. My mother’s case was practically unheard of, and that delayed their judgment even longer than I would’ve liked, but it didn’t prevent it.I glance at my husband, my heart overflowing with gratitude. Without him, my family would have gone unpunished. My mother would have died.And I? I’d have lost my reason to live.He looks at me as though he can read my mind and wraps his arm around my shoulder, offering me silent support. I drop my head to his shoulder, a bittersweet smile on my face.Mom grabs my hand and squeezes tightly, her eyes on Matthew. He’s led away, and I don’t see an ounce of remorse in his eyes. There wasn’t any
Elena“You look beautiful, honey,” Mom says, tears in her eyes. She touches my veil, straightening it for the third time. I grab her shoulders and smile at her, my heart overflowing with happiness.“So do you, Mom,” I tell her honestly. She looks amazing. It took her almost two years, but she’s walking without a cane now, and she radiates happiness. I was terrified that she’d feel like there was nothing left for her to live for, considering what she woke up to, but that hasn’t been the case at all. She’s thriving, and it’s been amazing to see her rebuild her life.“Are you ready?” she asks.I nod at her, my smile so wide that it hurts my face. “More than ever.”This time, Alec and I tried to do things right. We decided to go with a far more low-key wedding than we initially planned. We’re now having a small outdoors ceremony, with only our loved ones present. No press, no big spectacle, just us.Alec and I chose to remain engaged for a year, so I could plan our entire wedding and invo
AlexanderElena walks into the kitchen and looks at me with raised brows when she sees me standing behind the stove.“What are you doing?” she asks, her tone careful and curious.I laugh at her expression, but I can’t even blame her. On one of our dates we tried baking a pie together, and I almost burned down our entire kitchen. She’s right to be cautious.“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I got instructions from Grandpa. You go get ready for dinner.”She glances at me suspiciously and looks back at me as she walks away to get ready for tonight’s date.Fifty-six dates. Elena and I have gone on fifty-six dates since we got back together exactly a year ago, and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her.It took me four months to convince her to move back in with me, and in those four months, every single time that I had to take her home after a date was pure torture.I’m excited as I set the table. I’ve managed to transform our terrace into a floral sanctuary. It’s filled with white peonies,
ElenaThe way he looks at me… I’ve never seen such raw pain in his eyes. “You’re taking me home?”Alec nods and holds the door open for me. He leans in when I sit down, as though he’s about to buckle me in the way he always does, but then he pulls away. He swallows hard and takes a step back before closing the door.He’s silent as he steps into the car and leans back in his seat, covering his face with his arm, inhaling deeply.“Hey, are you okay?” I ask, suddenly worried.He pulls his arm away and nods at me, a bittersweet smile on his face. “Yes, of course.”Alec raises his hand to my face and brushes my hair aside gently. “Thank you for tonight, Elena, even though I didn’t give you much of a choice. When it comes to me, you’ve never had much of a choice—you didn’t even have a choice when you married me. I’ll respect your choices this time, Elena. I’ll do as you asked. I’ll let you go.”Fear grips me at his words. “Why? Why so suddenly?”I was convinced he was only going after me bec
AlexanderJust having her sitting next to me has my heart racing. It’s been weeks since I last touched her, and part of me thought I never would again. I didn’t think she’d ever speak to me again. For weeks, she’s been ignoring my presence at her house and every gift I’ve sent… she’s been ignoringme.“Don’t take me anywhere public.”I tighten my grip on the steering wheel and glance at her. “Why not?”She looks at me, her expression unreadable. “I don’t want people to think we got back together. I saw the speculations in the tabloids, the rumors. I want no part of it.”My heart wrenches and a sense of loss washes over me. I park the car by the side of the road and glance out my window, unsure what to do, what to say.“Are you seeing someone?” I ask, the words leaving my lips involuntarily.Elena looks at me, her eyes flashing with something I can’t quite decipher. She’s never been hard to read, but tonight she’s shutting me out.Elena turns away and opens her door, stepping out of the
ElenaI walk into my house after an incredibly long day at work and pause in the doorway, my eyes roaming over the hundreds of peonies filling the room. Mom smiles up at me, a beautiful bouquet in her hands.“Honey, if you don’t speak to him, he’ll just keep sending you flowers.”“Donate them.”We’ve been donating flowers to a different charity every day, for weeks now. Alec knows I don’t ever keep them, yet somehow new flowers appear in my house every single day. Mom denies it, but I know she’s colluding with him.I shake my head and walk towards the staircase, ignoring the flowers. How does he even know that peonies are my favorite? Was that part of his background check too?“I had the staff put the bouquets with notes on them in your bedroom,” Mom says, and I pause on the stairs. The notes… it’s the notes that always get to me.“You should’ve thrown them out.”My heart is racing as I walk into my bedroom, dozens of bouquets covering every horizontal surface in my room. I hate mysel
AlexanderI stare up at Elena’s house and lean back against my car, my eyes on her window.“Are you ever going to talk to her?”I jump in surprise, my eyes widening when Sarah walks up behind me.“You’ve been coming here every night for two weeks now. This is getting creepy, Alec.”I smile nervously. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were aware of my presence. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”I don’t even know what I’m doing here. I keep telling myself that I’ll do what’s best for her, that I’ll let her go. When she married me, she never had a choice. I want her to find her own happiness, I don’t want to hold her back and chain her to me. Yet I can’t get myself to sign the papers.Sarah smiles and leans back against my car, standing next to me. She looks up into Elena’s window the way I just did and shakes her head.“So instead of calling her, you just stand here for hours in hopes of catching a glimpse of her?”I look away and shake my head. “No… I… I don’t mean to come here, yet someho
AlexanderI’m certain I’m fucking hallucinating when I hear Elena’s laughter as I walk into the house. I stop in my tracks, my eyes closing as my stomach drops. My heart clenches painfully and I take a steadying breath.I’m almost at the stairs when I hear it again. Laughter. But this time, it’s my mother’s. I tense and turn to follow the sound toward the kitchen. My heart races with every step I take. She can’t be here. She left.My entire body is rigid as I lean against the kitchen doorway, my eyes finding her instantly. Fucking beautiful.She’s got flour in her hair and a smear of chocolate on her cheek, but she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.Her smile drops when she notices me, and she looks startled, her cheeks turning rosy. The room falls silent, and it isn’t until then that I realize my entire family is here.Lucian and my mother are standing opposite Elena, while my grandfather is standing next to her. They look guilty when they see me standing here, and my mother
AlexanderI walk into my bedroom and pause. I’ve always loved solitude, so why does this room suddenly feel so… empty?I tug on my tie and walk into my closet, my eyes pausing on the empty shelves. There are traces of her everywhere, even the faint scent of her perfume lingers. I sigh and walk toward my bed, but that just makes things worse.When I look at my bed all I can see is the way her hair spreads out on our pillows, the way she rolls toward me in her sleep, clinging onto me. I’ll never have her in my arms again.I sit down on my bed and run a hand through my hair. I grab my phone against better judgment, a photo of Elena and me staring back at me. I’m pressing a kiss to her cheek and she’s smiling, her eyes twinkling with happiness.I can’t do this. I sigh as I walk back out of my bedroom and down the stairs, needing a fucking drink. I can’t get her out of my damn mind. Everything reminds me of her. No matter where I look, there are traces of her everywhere. I see her kissing