To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 181

"Elara!"

Brian stared at her, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.

Elara pressed her face close to the narrow crack of the window, her smile so dazzling it was almost cruel.

"If I really rolled the window down, would you dare to look me in the eye?"

The chill in his gaze faded all at once. He forced a weak smile.

"My Elara would never do something like that."

Her grin vanished in an instant. She turned away, her expression icy.

At that moment, Brian shoved a box of pills through the gap in the window.

"What's this?"

Elara took the box, glanced at it—and suddenly saw Brian in a new light.

Your wife cheats, and your response is to hand her birth control? What are you, some kind of doormat?

"So, you think if we each have an affair, we're even?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "You've been sleeping with Lina for years, treating me like nothing. Is that supposed to balance the scales?"

Brian swallowed his bitterness, his tone gentle.

"That's not what I meant. The morning-after pill is just for your protection."

She snapped, her words sharp as knives.

"You really think I can still have children?"

Brian felt as if his throat had filled with lead.

Without a trace of mercy, Elara tossed the pills out the window.

"If I could get pregnant, I'd keep it. If you don't want to be the laughingstock of the whole city, maybe you should file for divorce."

With that, she floored the gas and sped away.

Brian stood rooted to the spot, pain and regret etched deep in his features.

So this is what betrayal feels like.

And yet, he still couldn't bring himself to hate her.

"Mr. Vincent, the board meeting starts in thirty minutes."

Yves Caldwell's voice snapped him back to reality.

Brian glanced up. The afternoon breeze swept across his chiseled face, scattering the last traces of vulnerability.

"Find out who was in her car."

Yves hesitated.

So you didn't have the guts to look then, but now you're dying to know?

"Yes, sir."

…

A little while later, Elara pulled into the parking lot of The Nectar Hotel.

The woman's voice trembled, thick with panic.

"I didn't have a choice. My mom's sick, my dad's bedridden, my brother's in prison… I need money to save my family…"

Elara's tone was merciless.

"And what good is that money if you're dead before you spend it?"

The woman's composure shattered; she broke down, sobbing.

"What's your name?" Elara asked.

"Zh—Stella Knightley."

"What kind of work have you done?"

"I sold things outside my school… promoted beauty products at salons… worked at some clubs…"

Her voice shrank with every word.

Elara's eyes narrowed.

She's cooperating so quickly—Quincy Shelton must have done quite a job preparing her.

"Who put you up to this?"

At that, Stella started trembling violently.

"I can't say… She'll kill my whole family! She's got my passport, she knows where we live…"

"Then tell me how you managed it last night."