To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 221

In the courtyard.

As Brian stepped outside, Quincy Shelton opened the car door for him.

Zane stood nearby, immaculate as ever in his tailored suit, an understated authority radiating from him—powerful, yet never ostentatious.

His gaze lingered on Elara for a couple of seconds before he looked coolly at Brian.

“Tracking down Mr. Vincent really is an ordeal. He’s like a groundhog—so many hiding places, you never know where he’ll turn up.”

Elara pressed her lips together, struggling not to let the corners curl into a smile.

With his unbandaged hand, Brian brushed a nearly invisible speck of dust from his shirt.

“If Mr. Lawrence wanted to see me, he could’ve just picked up the phone. No need to go burrowing in person.”

Zane allowed himself a faint, detached smile. “When you’re entrusted with something, sometimes you have to handle it yourself.”

Then his eyes sharpened as he turned to Elara. “Are you coming with me now? I don’t force anyone’s hand.”

The hope that had just flickered in Elara’s eyes died the moment Brian’s hand encircled her waist.

“I think you’re mistaken, Mr. Lawrence,” Brian said, his fingers tracing slow circles at her side. “My wife can hardly stand to leave my side while I recover. No one’s forcing anyone, are they?”

Zane gave a short, derisive laugh. “Mr. Vincent, you’d make a hell of a spokesperson. Very professional.”

Brian turned to Elara, his tone suddenly intimate. “Elara, tell him. Our marriage is none of his business. Go on, tell him. And once you’re done, Mrs. Archer’s waiting for us with some late-night supper.”

Elara’s hand hung at her side, her nails digging crescents into her palm.

“Mr. Lawrence,” she managed, keeping her voice as steady as she could, “I need to stay and take care of a few things before I can leave.”

Zane searched her face, giving nothing away.

Unable to meet his gaze, Elara looked away.

Brian tugged her closer, lifting his chin. “You heard her. My wife and I are just fine. I suggest you tell your nephew to stop pining after her. The mess the Lawrence family gets into is even worse than ours. She’s better off here.”

“If the woman you loved was pregnant with your child and ended up in Ellis’s hands as a bargaining chip, how would you feel?”

“That would never happen.” Brian’s reply was cold and certain.

Elara stepped back, lifting her shirt and loosening the waistband of her pants to expose her scars.

“These,” she said, pointing to her waist and abdomen, “are from the night you handed me over to that monster. This one’s from taking a bullet for your sister—I spent five days in the ICU. And here, from when I nearly drowned…”

Brian’s pupils contracted. His throat worked, but he couldn’t manage a word.

“You pretend not to see, so you can pretend it never happened. In your little fantasy, you’re always my savior. But the truth is, every time, I had to crawl out of hell on my own.”

Her voice quivered on the edge of breaking, but she forced herself to go on, pointing at him. “How many more women have to become collateral damage for you?”

Brian opened his mouth, but the words stuck like stones in his throat, every excuse shattering before they reached his lips.

Elara’s smile twisted, bitter and broken. The hate bled through her teeth. “I thank God you never got the chance to keep our child. A father like you would only have brought him ruin.”