006 | ELARA ELLIS

The mall is busier than I expect it to be when I step inside.

The air is filled with the scent of perfume, chatter, and the faint sound of music playing somewhere in the background. The moment I pause near the entrance to adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder, the lady behind the cashier’s desk in her early twenties looks up from the system and passes me a small, welcoming smile before turning her attention back to her work.

Without a word to her, I continue forward.

It has been two weeks.

Two weeks since I sat across from Nathaniel Hale Monroe in that office and listened to him calmly suggest that I marry him.

Two weeks since he placed that newspaper on the desk in front of me like it was nothing more than another piece of evidence in a case.

And in those same two weeks, he hasn’t called.

Not even once. Not to follow up or push.

And I’m not sure why the thought of that irritates me so much.

Maybe it’s because the proposal itself had been so direct and confident when he delivered it. Almost as if he already knew what my answer would eventually be. But for a man who showed up so suddenly with such a proposal, the silence that followed is really almost strange.

Maybe he’s giving me time, then. Or maybe he has given up on the idea of the revenge.

A scoff slips past my lips at the thought, and my heart skips when one of the customers turn to me at the sound, her eyes narrowing in on me. On instinct, I draw my scarf tighter around my face and pretend to focus on the sleeve of the cream-colored dress on the rack before me while simultaneously pushing away the thought of Nathaniel Hale Monroe and his proposal to the back of my mind.

It’s not useful anyway. Because I’ve made my mind regardless of whatever reason why he’s taking time.

My visa finally arrived three days ago.

I remember when the email came in that morning. I’d been lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling of my small apartment when my phone had beeped. When I checked and saw what it was, I’d simply just stared at the screen for a few minutes before quietly dropping back the phone.

For someone who’s been waiting for this for a while now, I should’ve been happy and excited. Happy and excited because I finally get to leave this awful city and go where I don’t have to cover my face every time just to avoid unwanted attention and media.

However, I’d felt different. Totally different and more hollow than I’d ever felt.

And it’s getting under my skin so much that I can’t figure out why, beyond that nagging feeling that I’d miss this city.

Either way, it doesn’t matter. I tell myself as I push a hanger back and step aside for a customer to pass.

It doesn’t matter because I’ll still be leaving anyway. If I can get this far in achieving what I want, then this can’t be the time to let my emotions get the best of me.

So, once I get home after shopping today, I’ll call Nathaniel. I’ll thank him for the offer, then tell him I’m not interested.

There’s no point involving myself in whatever game he is playing when I can simply leave the country and start over somewhere no one knows my name.

There’d be contracts there, no revenge, no Adrian, and certainly no Vivienne.

A black, sequenced dress catches my eyes from afar, and I turn to head towards there, only to halt when a familiar sound reaches me from somewhere near the front of the boutique.

It’s laughter. A child’s laughter, sounding bright and careless, and the familiarity in it is what makes my grip tighten on the rack I didn’t realize I was holding.

At first, I tell myself I’m imagining it because I’ve been thinking about him a bit too much these days. However, that illusion is shattered when the voice comes again.

“Daddy, look!”

My heart stops and this time, my head whips towards the direction of the voice.

That’s when I see him. Theo.

He is standing a few steps away near the children’s section, his small hands gripping the sleeve of someone beside him as he points excitedly toward a row of tiny jackets hanging on a lower rack.

My son’s dark hair is slightly messy like it always is after he has been running around too much. And he looks happy. Completely happy — really — with the person standing beside him who clearly isn’t me.

It’s Vivienne.

Just then, she bends down slightly so she’s at his level, her blonde hair falling forward over one shoulder as she follows the direction of his finger.

“Oh, that one?” she says, her voice soft and amused. “You like that one?”

Theo nods immediately. “Yes! Daddy said I can choose something.”

With my heart now threatening to fall out of my chest, I look up, only to see Adrian standing just behind them.

He has one of his hands casually tucked into the pocket of his suit coat while the other one holds two shopping bags.

He’s watching them. Watching Theo and Vivienne.

And there’s a faint smile on his face — a kind of relaxed expression he has never directed at me throughout our years together.

I’d always thought these few weeks again would help me get over his and Theo’s betrayal, given I witnessed it all on the news.

But clearly, I’ve been wrong.

Because nothing — literally nothing — would’ve prepared me for this sight, and now, with an invisible needle pricking my heart and my eyes stinging with tears, I don’t know whether to scream at them all or do nothing.

And since I can’t do anything, especially in a reputable place as this, I simply stand there and watch them, a small, tiny part of me hoping one of them would turn and see me.

However, as expected, no one does.

Of course they don’t.

I am pulled out of my thoughts when Vivienne reaches out and pulls the small jacket Theo had pointed at from the rack, holding it up against his shoulders while tilting her head slightly.

“This might be a little big,” she says.

Theo laughs. “I’ll grow!”

Adrian chuckles quietly behind them. “That’s really ambitious.”

The sound lands somewhere deep in my chest.

Vivienne turns slightly toward him, still holding the jacket against Theo as she studies it. “What do you think?” she asks. “Too big?”

Adrian steps closer to her, enough that their shoulders almost touch. “It’s fine,” he says after a brief glance. “He’ll grow into it.”

Theo beams.

Vivienne smiles back at him, smoothing the front of the jacket with a gentle hand like she has been doing that all his life. Almost as if she belongs there.

Which she does, if you think about it.

My fingers tighten slowly around the strap of my bag, and I bite down on my lower lip to stop the tear that threatens to fall from my eyes.

Seven years.

Seven years in that house.

Seven years of cooking meals Adrian barely touched and folding clothes he never noticed and standing quietly beside him at events where he introduced me only when someone specifically asked who I was.

Seven years of being the woman who kept everything running while he lived his life somewhere slightly outside of it.

And now, he’s looking at another woman with that quiet ease he should’ve given me. Especially after betraying me so cruelly, I wonder if I’d been the reason for the lack of his joy.

The sound of Theo’s laugh snaps me back to reality, and I watch as Vivienne takes his hand and leads him toward the mirror across the boutique.

“Come here,” she says. “Let’s see how it looks properly.”

Adrian follows them, and not once does he glance in my direction.

Not once does he realize I’m standing ten feet away watching the life I built slowly rearrange itself without me.

Of course, he wouldn’t.

My chest tightens in pain, and I suddenly feel like crying. I feel like maybe even walking over and calling Theo’s name to remind him that I’m his mother.

But my limbs won’t move, and neither does my pride allow me.

So before I can stop myself, I blink back my tears and reach into my bag for my phone. Once I pull it out, I unlock it and head straight for my contact list. Then, I scroll and find Nathaniel’s name.

Maybe I should give in to his proposal no matter how absurd it sounds to any reasonable person. Maybe I should marry and help him with something he’s clearly refused to fully explain.

In return, he can then help me destroy Adrian Hale and Vivienne Ross, alongside every single person who made my life a living hell.

A pained laugh sticks to the back of my throat when I remember how certain I’d been that I’d never see Nathaniel again after his proposal the other day.

My thumb hovers over the screen, and I look up again, just in time to watch Theo spin in front of the mirror while Vivienne laughs softly and adjusts the jacket on his shoulders.

Adrian is watching them, and instead of looking remorseful for what he’s done to me, he looks content and comfortable, like nothing in the world is missing.

Maybe leaving quietly isn’t enough after all.

With that thought in mind, I dial his number and listen as the phone rings twice before he picks immediately.

“Elara.”

Something snakes up my spine at the calm way he’d called my name in that voice of his, as if he already knew I’d call, but I shake away the thoughts and glance once more across the boutique.

I look at my ex husband, the woman standing beside him, then at my son smiling up at her before lifting the phone closer to my ear.

“About your proposal,” I begin.

There is a brief pause on the other end before Nathaniel speaks. “Yes?”

I inhale once. “I accept.” Silence. Then, “I’ll marry you for revenge against Adrian Hale in exchange.”