Chapter 6

Victor stepped out of the office, his mind in turmoil. For years, he had carried the crushing weight of guilt over Elara’s death. It had haunted his nights and shadowed his days. Yet now… she stood before him again alive, breathing only under a different name.

Could it really be true?

Was she not the one he had mourned all these years?

Her face, her voice… They were the same. Unmistakable. Familiar enough to make his heart tremble.

“This is impossible,” he muttered under his breath.

Overwhelmed, he hurried into the restroom and splashed cold water onto his face, gripping the edge of the sink as if it were the only thing keeping him steady. He tried to gather his scattered thoughts, searching desperately for a fragment of peace of mind.

The door suddenly creaked open.

His assistant rushed in, concern evident in his eyes. “Sir, you ran in here like a jet. Is everything alright?”

Victor straightened immediately, forcing composure over the storm raging inside him. He lifted his head and gave a small nod.

“Yes. I’m fine,” he replied, masking the fear and pain threatening to expose him.

The assistant studied him for a moment, unconvinced but respectful enough not to press further.

“Alright, sir. Let’s head back to the office.”

Victor exhaled slowly before walking out. But deep down, he knew nothing would ever be the same again.

As they left the building, Victor’s thoughts refused to settle.

If she was truly the Elara he once knew the girl with no parents, no backing, no protection how could she possibly own such a powerful company? And not just own it… but stand at its helm as the CEO?

It didn’t make sense.

He exhaled slowly, doubt tightening around his chest.

For now, however, he had no choice but to return to his own company. Even his father was waiting for a report about how the meeting had gone.

By the time they arrived back at his office, darkness had already swallowed the sky. It was past working hours. Most of the staff had gone home.

Victor gathered the remaining documents on his desk, slipped them into his briefcase, and left without another word.

The drive home felt unusually long.

He couldn’t think straight. The memories he had buried for years were clawing their way back to the surface Elara’s tears, the cold silence between them, the divorce papers he had signed without hesitation.

Everything.

He suddenly gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“No… I have to find out,” he muttered. “Is she Elara… or not?”

Without another second of hesitation, he grabbed his phone and dialed his assistant.

“Look into the woman whose company we visited today,” Victor ordered coldly. “I want everything. Where she lives. Her background. Her movements. If possible, I want it all.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“Sir… wouldn’t that be too much? It might cross the line even be considered illegal.”

Victor’s voice hardened instantly.

“That’s none of your concern. Just do as I say.”

“…Yes, sir.”

The call ended.

Victor lowered the phone slowly, frustration burning through him. For years, he had believed Elara was gone forever.

But if she was alive…

Then everything he thought he knew was a lie.

Elara’s POV

She had agreed to take over as CEO, knowing fully well that the position came with pressure, responsibility and enemies.

On her very first day, her personal secretary walked in with a document.

“Ma’am, this is a partnership proposal from Victor Group.”

For a brief second, her fingers froze.

Victor.

Of all the companies in the city, it had to be his.

She took the file calmly, masking the storm rising inside her. After years of rebuilding herself from nothing, she had promised that no name, especially his, would ever shake her again.

She flipped through the proposal. It was profitable. Strategic. Beneficial.

Without hesitation, she signed.

Victor was the last man she ever wanted to see again. But hiding from him would only prove she was still wounded. And she refused to remain that broken woman he once discarded.

If she wanted true healing, she had to face her past.

“Arrange a meeting with Mr. Victor for the official signing,” she instructed her secretary, her voice steady and professional.

The night before the meeting, sleep barely visited her.

Anxiety whispered old memories into her ears: the divorce, the humiliation, the loneliness.

But she had trained herself for this day. She had prepared for the moment she would stand before him again not as the abandoned wife he once knew, but as Zara Williams.

The next day, when he walked into her office , she faced him with composed indifference. No trembling hands. No betrayed emotions.

Just calm authority.

She signed the contract with unwavering confidence, maintaining her new identity flawlessly.

Zara Williams.

Not Elara.

When he finally left the building after the signing, she leaned back in her chair and released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

A slow, satisfied smile curved her lips.

“I’m so glad I played it cool,” she murmured to herself.

A week had passed since she met Victor again.

Surprisingly, nothing in her life had changed.

Elara continued running the company with calm efficiency, burying herself in meetings, contracts, and expansion plans. If Victor was investigating her and she was certain he was, he gave no visible sign.

She refused to think about it.

Late one evening, just as she was preparing to leave the office, her phone lit up with a video call.

Daniel.

A soft smile immediately warmed her face as she answered.

“Hey, Mommy!” the little boy’s cheerful voice filled the screen.

“Hey, sweetheart,” she replied gently. “Are you with Uncle Julian?”

Daniel nodded excitedly. “Yes! And we’re coming to pick you up!”

He quickly turned the phone toward the driver’s seat. Julian was behind the wheel, one hand steady on the steering wheel, the other giving her a small wave.

“You’re very thoughtful,” Elara said with a light laugh. “How did you remember my car broke down this morning?”

Julian chuckled. “Of course I remember. You think I’d let you struggle? We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Alright,” she said softly. “I’ll be outside.”

After the call ended, Elara carefully arranged the files on her desk, ensuring everything was in order before shutting down her computer. She grabbed her handbag and headed out.

As she stepped outside the company building, she spotted their car pulling up.

Daniel was already pressing his face against the window, waving excitedly.

She slipped into the passenger seat, and Julian drove them home, Daniel chatting happily in the back.

When they arrived, Julian stepped out first and walked around to open the door for both of them.

Daniel quickly grabbed Julian’s hand, still talking about his day.

“Thank you for today,” Elara said warmly, looking up at Julian with a grateful smile.

But amidst the warmth of that peaceful moment, a pair of eyes watched from a distance.

Victor stood inside his car, parked across the street, the engine turned off, his gaze fixed on the scene before him.

He had followed her.

He watched as the little boy held Julian’s hand. Watched the way Elara smiled softly, naturally a smile he hadn’t seen in years.

His chest tightened.

“Is she… married?” he murmured to himself. “Does she have a child?”

The question unsettled him more than he expected.

The boy looked comfortable with her. Close. Familiar.

Victor’s jaw clenched.

Maybe she really isn’t the Elara I knew.

The Elara he remembered had left with nothing no family, no support, no future. The woman before him now had a son… and another man by her side.