CHAPTER 1

Elara POV

When I arrived at the restaurant, I was met with an amazing and cosy odor of garlic and wine, the kind of scent that envelopes you the moment you enter—full, alluring, inviting both warmth and satisfaction. Above my head the chandeliers were shining with their golden light, and this light was spreading over the shiny marble floor and the immaculate white tablecloths. The sound of glasses clinking, people's voices mingling, the quiet and sweet melodic playing of violins—all this I felt around me like a fog of beauty.

With my other hand, I held on to the small velvet box as I entered La Riviera by force with my shoulder, the most expensive and most luxurious restaurant in town. It felt like the box was way heavier than it should have been - not because of what was inside but because of what it meant. My heart was racing like crazy, every beat it was throwing up a cocktail of panic, expectation, and love.

Breathe, Elara. Just breathe.

I mouthed the words to myself, unsteady but resolute.

Not that it should have gone wrong.

I had just been promoted for the project lead on the most significant interior design contract of the year in our company—the one I had been fighting for through my sleepless nights with the blueprints, the drafts smudged with ink and coffee, and the harsh critiques that I have always transformed into energy. All made the sacrifices worth it.

Moreover, I had my heart set on only one person to share that victory with me.

Daniel.

My Daniel.

“At last,” was my reply with the faintest grin, “At last, I can tell him everything.”

Just as I was nervously adjusting my skirt, a waiter with a polite smile walked up to me.

“Good evening, ma’am. Do you have a reservation?”

“I absolutely do,” was my quick answer, almost breathless. “Under Daniel Cruz.”

He looked at his list and nodded. “Oh, yes. Mr. Cruz is already here. Let me take you to his table.” I gave him a nod in return.

I was unaware that a smile cracked across my face when I got to hear his name. Daniel.

He was not only my boyfriend. He was my lifeline, my shelter. For 6 years, I had envisioned a life with him—the guy with the mischievous smile he never failed to give and the man who kissed my temple when the world was too much for me and softly said to me, You're stronger than me Elara. You always are.

Still, I was smoothing my navy blue dress, the very one I had been keeping for a day I knew would be important. And this night was important.

The silver cufflinks were hidden in the box—stylish, yet simple. Daniel was the kind of person who would always notice them in a store window but never do the grand gesture to buy them for himself. I had been saving up for weeks to surprise him.

My reflection was in the glass wall as we walked past. My hands were fixing my hair and dress. "Do I look okay?" I whispered. Then, letting out a nervous laugh, "Oh, Elara, you must be out of your mind. All this hassle just to get a pair of cufflinks? But he is going to love them."

His words resounded already in my head, "Really? Definitely, not you, babe. I’ve said many times I don’t need any more stuff…" And I’d be teasing him with my rolling eyes, "Right fine, if not for you, then for me. Don’t you think you’re the one that deserves it more?"

Thinking about it made me so excited I could barely contain it. I'm already picturing his beaming face, his arms around me as he softly says, ‘Elara, I couldn't be more proud of you. It was all you.’

A waiter with champagne walked by and gave me a beautiful smile. "Tonight for you, ma’am?"

"Yes," I replied quietly, with a smile. "The most special one."

"He is lucky," the waiter said with a laugh.

My face got a bit red when I held the box even tighter. Maybe I was lucky. If only he was aware of that.

My heels clicked against the marble floor as I followed the waiter, my chin lifted high, every step filled with the confidence of someone who believed her life was about to change forever.

And then I froze.

My breath caught in my throat.

At first, my brain refused to process what I was seeing. My mind screamed no, throwing up every barrier it could to shield me. But reality was merciless.

There at a corner table bathed in candlelight was Daniel.

And across from him, her hand tangled with his, was Cassandra.

My Cassandra.

The best friend I had shared everything with since college. The friend who once swore, Nothing will ever come between us.

Now she was leaning forward, laughing, her hair spilling like silk over her shoulders.

“Danny,” Cassandra purred, her voice playful and teasing. “You always know how to make me laugh.”

My stomach lurched.

And Daniel… Daniel was looking at her the way I once believed he only looked at me. His eyes are soft. Adoring her.

Before I could even move, he leaned across the table.

And kissed her.

Not a fleeting brush. Not an accident.

It was hungry. Possessive. A kiss that spoke of history. Of repetition.

And then I heard it—the sound that shattered everything.

Cassandra’s soft moan. “Mmm… I’ve missed you, Danny.”

The velvet box slipped from my fingers. It hit the marble floor with a sharp, echoing thud.

The sound was deafening.

Daniel jerked back. Cassandra gasped. Their eyes snapped to me.

“Elara—” Daniel’s voice broke, strangled with guilt.

But I couldn’t hear the rest. The rush of blood in my ears drowned everything.

Cassandra’s lips parted, feigning surprise. But then I saw it—just for a second. A flicker. A curl of her lips.

A smirk.

That same smirk she wore when she stole things she knew I wanted.

“Elara, it’s not what you think,” Cassandra said sweetly, her voice dripping with poison.

“Not what I think?” My own voice cracked, trembling. My hands shook violently at my sides. “Then what the hell is it, Cassie? Tell me. Tell me what I’m looking at right now.”

“Elara, I—” Cassandra faltered, then lifted her chin with false innocence. “You don’t understand. Daniel and I… it wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Supposed to be?” My laugh was sharp, hollow. “So you admit it.”

“Elara, listen!” Daniel burst out, shoving back his chair so hard it screeched against the marble. His hands reached for me helplessly. “I made a mistake, a stupid mistake—”

My chest constricted, like a vise closing in. My breath fractured. My heart cracked loud enough I swore the whole room could hear it.

“Don’t,” I whispered, stumbling back as tears blurred my vision.

“Elara, please!” Daniel’s voice shook with desperation. “We can fix this—”

“Fix?” My laugh was jagged, bitter. “You don’t fix betrayal, Daniel. You bury it.”

And Cassandra… Cassandra just smirked again, her voice a venomous whisper only I could hear, “Sisters share everything, don’t they?”

Gasps rippled through the room, diners staring. But I didn’t care.

I couldn’t breathe.

I turned. And I ran.