To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 177

"You—" Brian's eyes flashed with a fury sharp enough to tear her apart. "We're not divorced yet!"

Elara arched an eyebrow and smiled, sultry as a summer breeze.

"Oh? And what's that supposed to mean?"

"For four years, you've flown to Aalborg every month to see your precious stepsister, haven't you?"

"You parade around with her, coming home together late at night. Did it ever cross your mind that you're a married man?"

"One phone call from her and you'd abandon me, even when I was lying in the ICU at death's door—just so you could play the doting brother in her bed."

"Tell me, Brian, did you use your sister's miscarriage report as a mask for your own shame?"

Brian's jaw clenched, a vein throbbing at his temple as he struggled to hold back his temper.

"I never touched Lina!" he growled.

Elara waved him off, utterly unimpressed. "Yes, yes, I've heard it all before. You never laid a hand on her—at least not when anyone was watching. I know you're not the type for public performances."

He stared at her, voice hoarse with accusation. "You're dragging your own name through the mud just to get back at me. What do you possibly get out of this?"

"Pleasure!" Elara's laughter was bright and cruel, as if spring itself had fueled her spite. "So much pleasure. He's better than you—lasts longer, knows what he's doing."

"Elara!"

Brian's pupils shrank. He lunged, fingers clamping around her throat, yanking her roughly toward him.

Elara struggled to breathe, but even as she gasped, a mocking smile lingered at the corner of her lips.

"Can't handle it now?" she rasped. "Every time you hurt me for your darling sister, it felt like you were carving my heart out—inch by inch. Did you think I could just bear it forever?"

"I—" The fire in Brian's eyes sputtered and faded, his grip loosening until his hand fell away completely.

Tears glimmered in Elara's eyes, her smile turning tragic and razor-sharp.

"Brian, don't act so wounded, as if you're the only victim here. What I did doesn't even come close to a fraction of what you put me through."

Brian's hand dropped, defeated, and for the first time, the man who had never bowed to anyone looked utterly shattered.

He tried to speak, his voice barely a whisper. "Who is he?"

Elara gave a derisive snort. "You don't deserve to know."

She reached for the door handle, intent on leaving.

Brian felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart, regret and bitterness rising in his throat until it hurt to breathe.

"Mr. Vincent," Yves Caldwell asked quietly from the driver's seat, "are you just going to let this go?"

No man could swallow a betrayal like that.

Brian took a moment, regaining his composure, his eyes dark and cold.

"Drive to Skywealth Antiquities."

Wasn't that Gareth's antique shop?

Yves didn't understand, but nodded quickly. "Yes, sir."

After Gareth's family had been evicted from Celestial River Estates, they'd moved temporarily into the cramped rooms behind the shop. It wasn't comfortable, but they couldn't bear to give up the rental income from their other properties. After all, they no longer had the Vincent family's support.

"Brian, what brings you here?" Gareth was on the phone but hurriedly hung up as soon as he saw him.

"Where's Nanette?"

Brian wasn't wearing a tie. His shirt collar was open, and dark circles under his eyes betrayed a sleepless night.