To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 24

"Ma'am, the security team just got a call—everyone's locked inside Platinum Bay. No one leaves, no one enters. You can't go."

Elara froze, suitcase in hand.

"Ma'am, after four years, you've made it this far. Why not just talk things through with Mr. Vincent?"

Talk things through? With Brian?

He'd married her for all the wrong reasons; if they could end things peacefully, what was the point of all this cloak-and-dagger escape? She never intended to make a scene—she simply wanted to slip away quietly. She had underestimated, though, just how quickly he would catch wind of her plans.

So much for her idea to move out first and then meet him in a crowded café to negotiate terms. That window had slammed shut.

"When's he coming back?"

"Mr. Vincent didn't say."

A thick silence settled over the room.

Brian didn't come home right away.

As the minutes ticked by, Elara felt the fire inside her—her last reserves of defiance—slowly flickering out in the dull monotony of waiting.

He really was a master of the standoff, the type who let his opponent unravel in their own anticipation.

Still, Elara steadied herself. She wouldn't fold so easily. She'd wait.

It was nearly dusk when Brian finally returned.

Mrs. Archer, the housekeeper, met him downstairs and filled him in. He barely paused before heading straight to the bedroom.

He didn't bother with pleasantries. "You just got out of the hospital. Why aren't you eating dinner?"

Elara stood by the window, calm and unmoved.

"Four years of pretending you care—must be exhausting, huh?"

She was ready to lay it all out.

A shadow crossed Brian's face, but when he closed the distance between them, he kept his composure.

"If you want to know how much money I have, just ask. No need to hire someone to dig around."

Elara turned away, voice cool. "It's not prying—it's delegation. If I'm not formal about it, you'll say I'm being petty."

Brian gave a short, cold laugh and perched on the windowsill, studying her with a mocking glint in his eyes.

Mess with her. Listen to him.

Elara smiled, almost pitying. "Is that a warning for your little sweetheart's sake?"

His face turned cold and severe.

But Elara stood her ground. "I'm not just collecting rent. I'll have her kicked out, homeless. Because I'm your legal wife, and half of everything you give her—her allowance, her house—that's legally mine. I have every right."

She hoped, desperately, that this would finally push Brian over the edge, force him to blow up and agree to divorce.

Everything she'd done so far was designed to provoke him.

Instead, after a deep breath, Brian actually laughed.

"So, you're convinced the baby she lost was mine?"

"If you had the guts to do it, why not admit it?"

Without warning, Brian grabbed her and pulled her down onto his lap.

He was stronger than she expected, leaving her no room to escape.