To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 203

Elara started to back away, two bodyguards looming just behind her.

She had no choice but to steel herself and approach the sleek black Mercedes parked by the curb.

The door swung open.

Brian lounged in the back seat, long legs elegantly crossed, his tailored suit accentuating every inch of his patrician frame. Only the dark smudges under his eyes betrayed the toll of the all-day war he’d waged in the boardroom.

“Get in,” he said.

“We can talk out here.”

Brian turned his gaze on her, voice low. “Elara, do you really think I’m too worn out to take on Ignition Dynamics—or your grandfather—now?”

Ignoring him, Elara slipped into the car from the other side.

Silence settled between them, heavy and awkward.

“Did you have dinner?” Brian asked at last.

“I did. Just a work meal,” Elara replied.

“I haven’t eaten,” Brian said.

Even if he starved right in front of her, she doubted she’d care.

“I told you before—my grandfather is my bottom line. If you—”

Before she could finish, Brian reached over and gripped her chin, his long fingers pressing into her skin, just shy of painful.

“Couldn’t you at least wait until I’ve dealt with things here before making a move about Nanette?”

Elara could feel his anger, barely restrained.

But she refused to back down, meeting his temper head-on.

“No. I can’t.”

A thousand sharp aches bloomed in Brian’s chest.

“Is that how much you hate me? Do you want me left with nothing?”

Elara’s voice was ice. “Don’t forget your promise. If you fail to save SiliconCrest Group, you agreed to sign the divorce papers. Frankly, I hope you’re thrown out of the board today—it’d save us both the trouble of waiting for court.”

Brian let out a laugh, bitter and raw.

He released her.

A moment later, a file folder landed in Elara’s lap.

She pulled out the documents and froze.

One was a divorce agreement. The other, a letter of authorization.

He was really letting go?

Her hands trembled.

Gareth had rented a small chapel at the funeral home, accepting a trickle of condolences from close friends. Few people came.

When Brian arrived with Elara at his side, Gareth’s face twisted with fury.

“Why the hell would you bring the murderer here?”

Brian drew Elara protectively to his side. “Dad, the police ruled Aunt Nanette died of natural causes. Elara had nothing to do with it. Grandma just wants us to pay our respects.”

“If she hadn’t sent Nanette to the police, would she have died so soon?”

Gareth was about to throw them out when Lina, eyes red-rimmed and dressed in mourning black, stepped forward.

“Uncle, everyone here is a guest. Can we please let Mom rest in peace?”

Gareth swallowed his anger.

Brian, ever the consummate actor—even if he’d never cared for Nanette—bowed with perfect solemnity.

Elara stood to the side, gaze fixed somewhere distant.

Gareth sneered, “She drove her to death, and she won’t even kneel?”

“Does she deserve it?” Elara shot back.

That did it. Gareth’s fury boiled over.

He barked to the bodyguards at the chapel doors, “Break her legs, and I’ll pay you a hundred grand.”