LOGINOuuu😩. There’s fire on the mountainnnnn😂💕!! Share your thoughts please🥹
The silence after my words feels suffocating that even the skin at the back of my neck prickles. No one in the room moves, and neither of them dares to breathe too loudly. Father is staring at me, the disbelief on his face changing to shock before it turns into a cold, calculating look. “Elara,” he says evenly, “this is neither the time nor place for whatever tantrum you’re attempting to throw.”Tantrum.The word should hurt. Jesus, it should hurt that I’m told this, but instead, all I feel is an even more feeling of anger. “Are you kidding me?” I ask. “I come to confront you on why you lied, and you dare say I’m throwing a tantrum?”I hear movement around the table as several people glance awkwardly between us. A few executives lower their eyes immediately, clearly wishing they were anywhere else.That’s when father slowly called the file in front of him before addressing the room calmly. “Give us a moment.”Nobody moves.None of the board members move at all, looking around at e
I stare blankly at the closed bedroom door for a few seconds before finally reaching toward the nightstand.The report still sits there, folded neatly, like it didn’t completely alter everything I thought I know. At the thought again, my fingers tighten around the edge of it slightly, my lips pursing into a thin line. He lied.However, the realization doesn’t hurt the same way anymore. It only makes me feel angry now. Just then, my phone vibrates beside me. At first, I consider ignoring it and actually sleeping just like Nathaniel said. But then, on a second thought, I decide against it. Who knows if it would be Laurent? After he sent my car back, we’d spoken and agreed that we’d proceed with resumption of the inheritance process once more, just so I can get the whole thing done with. At the thought, I reach for the phone and take in the caller ID. And just like I assumed, it’s Laurent. I answer immediately. “Hello?”“Elara.” His tone is clipped now. It also sounds professional
The penthouse feels so strangely empty. It’s also quiet. Too quiet, might I add. I’m lying on the bed, curled beneath the sheets and staring up at the ceiling while the sound of drawers opening and closing fills the bedroom softly around calmly near the closet, as Nathaniel moves around the bedroom, already dressed halfway for work. And all I can do as I lay there is replay the same word over and over again. Negative.The result is negative.Every time I think about it, my chest tightens painfully all over again. And it’s not because I wanted Elias to be relayed to my mother. But rather, because my father lied. Deliberately and carefully. The man built an entire inheritance war around something he already knew wasn’t true.And for what reasons? I have no idea. I’m momentarily pulled out of my thoughts when the mattress dips slightly beside me. Blinking, I look at where it’s coming from, only to catch the sight of l Nathaniel, who is now seated at the edge of the bed, adjusting
Nathaniel is here. Finally. Laurent and I walk out of the clinic’s building the moment Nathaniel calls to say he’s arrived, a strange, uncomfortable silence sitting between us. I can tell he has a lot going on in his mind, and while I don’t know if it’s similar to mine, I’m grateful the roots of our thoughts are the same. We’re both shaken by the reports. And the said report is clutched tightly in my hand with my purse, my palms clammy with sweat. The moment we step outside, I look up at the sky, noting that it’s almost evening. From the corner of my eyes, I catch sight of a familiar figure walking towards us, and I look at it, my heart skipping.Nathaniel. Once he stops before us, he and Laurent exchange acknowledging nods before he looks at me, his tall frame casting a shadow above me. “Hey.”“Hi,” I manage out, looking in the way of his car before looking back up at him. “Where’s Theo?”“He’s in the back of the car,” he says, pointing a thumb at the car. “Playing games.”“Oh
At first, I genuinely think I heard Laurent wrong. His statement plays in my head once, twice, then again, refusing to actually settle inside my head. The results are negative. There’s biological relationship, and there’s no connection between mother and Elias. I stare at Laurent without blinking, waiting for him to correct himself somehow. To say he read the wrong file. To say there was a mistake.But he doesn’t.Instead, he just keeps looking at me with that same expression on his face, and that’s when I realize that this is really true. My chest tightens. “No…” I whisper before I can stop myself. Laurent’s hands fall beside him slowly, his grip on the envelope and report paper tightening. “Elara—”“No,” I repeat, my voice sharper this time. “Check again.”He clenches his jaw. “I already did.”It suddenly feels like the hallway is closing around me, the air becoming suffocating. My heart is racing so fast in my chest, my pulse roaring in my ears, and I stare at the papers lik
I feel my breath leave my lungs. For that second, everything around me fades into noise. I can barely register the sight of people gathering, Laurent’s voice, and the sound of traffic somewhere behind us. Every single thing disappears beneath the cold feeling crawling slowly up my spine as Elias stares at me through the windshield. He doesn’t look surprised to see me. I think that’s the first thing I notice. Second thing is that he doesn’t move. He doesn’t lower his gaze or even look confused about why a car nearly just ran into us. Instead, he just watches me like he knew this would happen already. “Elara?” Laurent’s grip tightens slightly around my arm, finally forcing me back into the moment. I blink hard, turning to look at him briefly. When I look back towards the car, Elias is already driving off. My heart drops into my stomach immediately. “No.” Laurent looks towards where the car is already disappearing. “What happened?” I swallow past the clog in my throat, my h
“Adrian has been granted bail.”The moment the words reach my ears, I freeze for a second, the kitchen cabinet door staying open in my hand. At first, I don’t turn. I just stand there, staring at the row of mugs like I’ve forgotten what I came here for.Then I do.The movement is too quick that my
I can’t take my eyes off Nathaniel. His hands are slipped into his pants pockets, his calm gaze fixed on Adrian, and before any of us can say a word, he begins to walk toward us slowly.The moment he stops right beside me, the warmth from his figure making the air feel suddenly heavy, he meets Adr
The elevator is quiet. It’s not that empty kind of quietness, but rather the type that presses in uncomfortably, settles under your skin, and makes you aware of things you would rather ignore. Like how close to me Nathaniel Hale Monroe is standing. He’s not touching me though, but he’s not standi
The station feels colder than I expect it to be. Not only in temperature, but also in feeling. It’s obvious that in a place like this, you have no one to save you, and the chilling, frightening atmosphere of the building is a proof of that. It’s late in the evening, and just as the lawyer said ea







