Chapter 19

Eliora's POV

The morning after the fight felt heavy and hollow. My body ached, a physical echo of the emotional violence Kian and I had inflicted on each other.

I woke up to the smell of strong coffee and the sound of Ezra giggling softly in the next room—a sound Zoey always managed to conjure, even when the world was falling apart.

I found Zoey in the kitchen, already dressed. She placed a mug in front of me, her expression grim.

"Drink that. You look like you went twelve rounds with a bulldozer."

"He came close to finding out everything, Zoey," I said, my voice raspy. The memory of Kian's fierce whisper—"I will find it myself!"—made my blood run cold.

“Maybe coming back here was a mistake. I should have—"

“No, Eliora. No regrets. You know you can't live in hiding all your life.”

“But—"

“No buts, Eliora.” She said in a final tone. “You are here now, and that's final.” I sighed and nodded slowly.

Zoey sat down, ignoring her own coffee. "He knows your location. He knows about the person who leaked the headlines. But Julian is the one who saw Ezra. We need to talk about Julian."

I nodded, feeling a spike of fear. "He is the immediate problem. If Kian found this house so easily, Julian must have provided the information, or at least confirmed I was here."

"Exactly," Zoey said, tapping the table. "Julian doesn't know about the paternity, but he knows you have a secret kid. He's connected to Kian's world, Eliora. He is likely to sell that information, but considering his relationship with Kian I doubt he would." She sipped her coffee. “But he would tell Kian. It's just a matter of time.”

"So what's the plan? We can't hide Ezra forever."

Zoey leaned forward, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "We use Drew. I'll go see him. I need to know what Julian told him, and if he's shared any information with Kian already. I need to get ahead of this."

I stared at her, knowing how much this cost her. The raw look on Drew's face in the supermarket proved their history wasn't simple. "Zoey, you don't have to—"

"I have to," she cut me off, her eyes blazing with fierce loyalty. "He's my godson, Eli. And Drew is the only weak link in Julian's armor. I can use him. You just focus on protecting Ezra from Kian for one more day."

---

The sound of the front door opening signaled the return of a different complication.

Elijah walked in, his suitcase thudding softly as he dropped it. He stopped dead when he saw me, pale and exhausted, sitting opposite a determined Zoey.

"I tried calling your assistant," he said, his voice flat and devoid of its usual warmth. "She said you were unavailable."

"We had a situation," I started, avoiding his gaze.

"I see the situation," he said, gesturing toward my appearance. "It looks remarkably like Kian Donovan. I warned you about this, Eliora. Our arrangement was supposed to keep you safe and stable, not invite him to your door."

"He was only here because of the corporate leak," I lied weakly.

Elijah crossed his arms, his posture rigid. "And you got into his car? **I know you guys were once married, but he could be dangerous.**" My head snapped to Zoey, who offered me an apologetic look.

The accusations stung, but they were fair. I lowered my voice. "He knows where we live, Elijah. And he knows something is wrong. I need you to know the danger is escalating. Not if I entered into his car or not."

Elijah let out a sound of frustration. "He's not escalating the danger, Eliora, *you are* by giving him attention! You weren't supposed to go meet him, but at the same time, did you forget what he did to you?" He paused, his anger morphing into deep hurt. "I come back here, and you've been crying over your ex-husband, while I'm out there working to keep our story—our *fake* story—credible."

“You can blame me if you want, but I did what I knew was right. It's my problem, so I had to deal with it.”

“That's the problem with you, Eliora, you always do what is in your mind, forgetting there are people who are willing to go the extra mile for you.”

I bit my lips and drew in air. “But I didn't ask you to do any of it, so stop acting like I put it all on you.”

The silence in the kitchen was thick and painful. Zoey stood up, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Elijah, stop," she warned softly. "This isn't helping."

He looked at me one last time, his hurt palpable. "Just tell me what Kian wants. Just tell me what you're hiding now, Eliora, because this arrangement—it's starting to cost too much."

I looked at his wounded face, then at Zoey, and realized the truth: Kian hadn't just broken me; he was starting to destroy my alliances.

"I'm sorry, Elijah," I whispered. "I can't tell you yet."

He didn't wait for me to say anything else. He grabbed his suitcase, his eyes lingering on Ezra's room, and then he left the house without another word.

Zoey sighed and squeezed my shoulder. "You handle Ezra. I'll go see Drew."