Novels by O.B ESTHER

Elena’s POVThe second day of the conference was worse than the first.Maybe because I’d spent all night listening to muffled sounds through the walls. Not loud. Just enough to remind me that my mother and Adrian were in the next room. Together. Doing things I couldn’t let myself think about.I’d put in headphones and turned the music up until my ears hurt.Didn’t help.By morning, I looked like death. Dark circles under my eyes. Skin pale. I covered it with makeup as best I could, but my mother noticed anyway.“Honey, are you feeling okay?” she asked over breakfast in the hotel restaurant.“Fine. Just didn’t sleep well.”“The jet lag,” she said sympathetically. “It always hits me hard too. Maybe skip the afternoon sessions and rest?”“I’ll be fine.”Adrian said nothing, just sipped his coffee and read something on his tablet. But I caught him glancing at me when he thought I wasn’t looking.The morning sessions dragged. I sat in the back again, pretending to take notes while my mind

Elena’s POVThe next three weeks were torture.Not the obvious kind. The subtle kind that eats away at you slowly.Adrian kept his distance at work. Professional. Cold even. Like that kiss had never happened. Like his hands had never been on me, his mouth never against mine.I should have been relieved.Instead, I felt hollow.We’d see each other at family dinners. My mother insisted on them twice a week now. Building bonds, she called it. Building her perfect little family before the wedding.And every single time, I had to sit there and watch them. Watch him touch her hand. Kiss her cheek. Whisper things that made her laugh.Watch him be the perfect fiancé while I died a little inside.Marcus called three times.I ignored all three calls.My mother asked why I wasn’t giving him a chance. Said he was such a nice man. Said I was being too picky.I told her I was focused on work.She believed me because why wouldn’t she? Her daughter wouldn’t lie to her face. Her daughter wouldn’t have

Elena’s POVI didn’t go back to the office right away.Instead, I drove. Just drove with no destination, windows down, music too loud. Trying to drown out the noise in my head.Marcus’s business card sat in my cup holder. I grabbed it at a red light and tore it in half. Then in half again. And again. Until it was just tiny pieces of paper that I threw out the window.Littering. Great. Add that to my growing list of bad decisions.By three thirty, I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I had to go back. Had to face whatever lecture Adrian was planning about professionalism or boundaries or whatever excuse he’d come up with for summoning me to his office.The building felt emptier than usual. Most people left early on Mondays if they could. I took the elevator up, each floor making my chest tighter.His door was open when I got there.I knocked anyway.“Close the door,” he said without looking up from his computer.I did, then stood there waiting. He kept typing. Making me wait. Power play.Final

Elena’s POVMonday morning I woke up with a headache that felt like someone was driving nails into my skull.I called in sick.Not because I was actually sick, but because the thought of seeing Adrian in the office before lunch made me want to crawl under my blankets and never come out. I needed a few hours to pull myself together. To build up whatever armor I had left.My phone rang at nine. Adrian’s name flashed on the screen.I let it go to voicemail.He called again at nine fifteen.Again at nine thirty.Finally, he texted.I know you’re not sick. We need to go over the Henderson file before lunch. Call me back.I threw my phone across the bed.Professional. Right. We were supposed to be professional.I dragged myself to the shower and stood under water that was too hot, letting it burn against my skin. Maybe if I scrubbed hard enough, I could wash away the guilt. The wanting. All of it.By ten thirty, I was dressed and heading to the office.The elevator ride up felt like slow to

Elena’s POVSunday felt like waiting for execution.I tried to distract myself. Cleaned the apartment again even though it was already clean. Watched three episodes of some show I couldn’t even remember the name of five minutes later. Made coffee, didn’t drink it, poured it down the sink.The text kept replaying in my mind.We need to talk. Privately.What could he possibly have to say that we hadn’t already covered? We’d established the rules. Keep it professional. Keep it secret. Keep lying to my mother until we all suffocated under the weight of it.Simple.By one thirty, I gave up pretending I wasn’t going.I threw on jeans and a sweater, nothing fancy. This wasn’t a work meeting. This was something else entirely, and I didn’t want to think too hard about what that meant.The office building looked different on a Sunday. Quieter. Most of the lights were off, and the lobby echoed with my footsteps. The security guard barely glanced at me as I signed in.I took the elevator to the t

Elena’s POVI changed my outfit four times before settling on a simple burgundy dress. Not too fancy, not too casual. The kind of dress that said I’m making an effort without trying too hard.My hands shook as I applied lipstick.This was just dinner. Just my mother and her fiancé. Normal. Completely normal.Except nothing about this was normal.I arrived at the restaurant five minutes late on purpose. Let them get settled first. Let them have their couple moment before I crashed in and ruined the vibe just by existing.The hostess led me to the rooftop terrace, and I spotted them immediately. Corner table, city lights twinkling behind them like something out of a movie. My mother looked radiant in a cream colored dress, laughing at something Adrian said.He looked good too. Dark suit, no tie, top button undone. Relaxed.They looked like they belonged together.My stomach twisted.“Elena!” My mother spotted me and waved, her face lighting up. “Over here, sweetheart!”I plastered on a