LOGINElara's POVI’m in bed in my room at home, the TV serving as background noise while I read the book Victor had lent me. I was so immersed in the story, I was in the chapter where the mmc is going down on her. The way he describes her pussy, how much he loves her taste surprisingly is making all turned on and wet. I'm breathing harder as I took in the words and turned page after page, that I didn’t even register my bedroom door opening until my grandmother’s voice cut through the silence.“Elara, for God’s sake, I’ve been calling out for you. You shouldn’t focus so much on books,” my grandmother says with a sigh.I shut the book immediately, praying she doesn’t ask what I’m reading with so much attention.“I’m sorry, Grandmere, I didn’t hear you,” I say, sitting up straighter against the pillows.“Well, get up and get ready. You’re going to dinner with your future husband,” she says, and I instantly frown.“Ryan? But he didn’t call or set up anything,” I say, reaching for my phone to c
Elara's POVVictor and I pulled apart after he made me come on his knees using his tongue, and when I looked up at him, his face held that same calm expression he always has, except this time there was something else beneath it, something almost concerned, and instantly the regret of what we had just done came crashing over me again. I hated this feeling. I hated that no matter how much I wanted him, no matter how good he made me feel when we were together, there was always this crushing reminder waiting right behind it.As long as Victor was my future father-in-law, I didn’t think there would ever be a time I wouldn’t feel guilty.I turned away from him quickly, fixing my swimsuit before lowering myself carefully to the edge of the pool. I dipped my legs into the water first before finally sliding in completely, letting the cool water wash over my overheated skin. Victor seemed to notice the shift in my mood immediately because he didn’t leave and he didn’t try to touch me again eit
Elara's POV,It was finally Friday, and for the first time all week I didn’t have any classes, meetings, or family obligations waiting for me, which meant I could spend the day doing one of my favorite things in the world, shopping on Fifth Avenue with absolutely no guilt attached to it.Paul walked a few steps behind me carrying several shopping bags already, his expression as unreadable and intimidating as always despite the fact that he had spent the last hour patiently standing outside changing rooms while I debated between nearly identical shades of cream heels.I had decided this morning that I was done thinking.Done worrying.Done replaying every reckless decision I had made over the last few weeks.Ryan was living his life exactly the way he wanted to, so maybe it was time I tried doing the same.Even if living my life unfortunately included his father.The thought should have horrified me more than it did.I knew what Victor and I were doing was wrong. I knew it every single
Elara's POVI spent the next few days deeply disappointed in myself while simultaneously avoiding both Victor and Ryan, which should have been easier than it actually was. Ryan and I still texted regularly, though never about anything important, just casual conversations and updates that felt almost painfully normal considering everything I now knew about him. Victor, on the other hand, had called only once, and I never returned it.What happened in his house, with his son downstairs and our families practically intertwined already, should never have happened. I knew that. I knew it in the rational part of my brain that still remembered who I was supposed to be, but somehow every time I found myself near Victor, all of that disappeared. Every sensible thought vanished the second he looked at me too long or stood too close. Around him, I became someone reckless, someone impulsive, someone who stopped caring about consequences and only cared about the way he made me feel.It terrified m
Elara's POVI didn’t have any meetings with Ryan for the rest of the week, which meant I had absolutely no reason to return to the Whitmore estate. Honestly, I was relieved about that because seeing Victor there every time was becoming dangerous in a way I didn’t want to think too hard about.I was avoiding my grandmother too, which meant I didn’t go home that weekend either.Lila and I were stretched across my bed Saturday afternoon trying to decide what to do with the rest of the day when my phone rang unexpectedly.It was Ryan’s aunt.Apparently, the foundation planners had an update and wanted to know whether Ryan and I would be available for a quick meeting that afternoon at the Whitmore estate. I told her it was fine with me but that I needed to call Ryan first since he apparently wasn’t answering her calls.I already had a feeling I knew why.Ryan answered on the second ring.“Heyyyy, Lars,” he greeted excitedly, and I could instantly tell he was at least a little drunk.I glan
Elara's POV,I had called my grandmother after Ryan left to confirm what he said about the foundation, and of course, he was right. It annoyed me so badly that no one had bothered telling me anything beforehand, that I was simply expected to show up and do whatever had already been decided for me.I had classes, assignments, an actual life outside of my family's expectations, but according to my grandmother, none of that was as important as my duty as the future Mrs. Whitmore. I was still expected to graduate college, maintain the perfect public image, and somehow seamlessly prepare to become a wife at the same time, as though all of it should come naturally to me simply because I was born a Sinclair.Lately, I had been feeling increasingly frustrated with my life, with the fact that so much of it had already been mapped out before I was old enough to understand what it meant. Moments like this always made me wonder what things would have been like if my parents had lived. Would they







