To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 37

"Not causing trouble?"

He said it like she was always the unreasonable one.

"So what now? Am I going to be locked up just for refusing to drink some soup?"

She looked at him, her teeth chattering.

Brian felt her words pierce straight through him. He pulled her tightly into his arms.

"No, never again. I swear, Elara. That'll never happen again."

Elara lowered her gaze, silent.

Brian was genuinely shaken by her reaction.

"This was all a mistake—it's my fault. But how could you not tell me you were pushed into the water? That's a huge deal!"

"And if I had told you, would time have turned back? Would you have come to save me?"

Her eyes were empty, her voice eerily calm, as if her soul had already left.

Brian felt something precious slipping further and further away from him.

He wouldn't allow it.

"My love," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead, refusing to let her pull away. "No one matters more to me than you."

She'd have to be a fool to believe that.

Sensing her resistance weakening, Elara let a small, knowing smile curve at the corner of her lips. "Not even your sister?"

Brian closed his eyes for a moment. "You two aren't even in the same category."

Elara nodded, accepting his words.

"Your sister gets hundreds of thousands every month in pocket money, plus all your attention. Me? I scrape by with just enough to cover my medicine, always anxious, always afraid. I'm not even worthy of being compared to her. And from now on, I won't."

"That's not what I meant—"

Brian wanted to take it back, to correct her, but the words stuck in his throat.

Because the truth was staring him in the face.

In four years of marriage, the Vincent family had only wired money to Rose's account as agreed in the contract. Not a penny more for Elara. And she had never asked for anything extra, not once.

She bore the title of Mrs. Vincent, but lived simply by his side.

This should have been his responsibility as a husband, yet he'd given all his care and resources to someone else.

Brian held her tighter, his heart aching as he looked at her lowered lashes.

"If I forgot to give you spending money, that's on me. Tell me—how much will it take to make my wife smile?"

That was exactly what Elara had been waiting to hear.

A transfer notification. Five million, not a penny less.

She didn't waste a moment—she got up and started changing.

When Mrs. Archer came in and spotted her preparing to leave, her heart nearly leapt into her throat.

"Ma'am, are you… are you heading out again?"

"Mhm, going to see my grandfather."

"But…"

If she was just visiting someone in the same building, why bother changing clothes, grabbing her purse, and taking her phone?

But before Mrs. Archer could finish, Elara had already disappeared down the hall.

"Mr. Vincent, she's gone again…" Mrs. Archer reported over the phone. "She changed her clothes, said she was going to see her grandfather, and left in a hurry. She looks pretty energetic, actually."

She's not done fighting—she's just switched tactics.

Brian hung up, his mood unreadable.

Meanwhile, Rose was visibly agitated when she spotted Elara again.

"The hospital's pressing for payment. Do you still have any money left? If you can't cover the bills, what will you do once you leave Brian? How are you going to find a hundred and twenty grand a month to keep your grandfather alive, not to mention the thirty grand you need every month just to keep your family afloat…"