Elena is a very complicated character, caught up in so many soul crushing situations. I know she seems weak now, but Trust me, she isn't. She's much more. And we'll watch her become more.
Elena’s Point Of ViewThe room was quiet except for the low hum of the AC and the faint thump of music from somewhere downstairs. My hands were twisted in my lap, nails digging into my palms so hard that little crescents marked my skin. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until Lexy’s fingers closed gently over mine.“Elena,” she said softly, like she was afraid I’d bolt. “Sit. Please.”I sank into the sofa, the cushions swallowing me whole. The fabric smelled faintly of vanilla and something floral, but all I could smell was him… Jaxx, like he’d branded the very air.Lexy sat down next to me, her knee brushing mine. She tilted her head, eyes warm but searching. “It’s really complicated, huh?”A bitter laugh slipped from me before I could stop it. “Complicated isn’t even the word.”Lexy squeezed my hand. “I’m here with you. No matter how complicated it is, I’ll be here to listen. You know that, right?”I nodded, but my throat was tight.Her gaze flicked over my face like she
Elena’s Point Of ViewHis hand slid up, fingers threading into my hair at the base of my skull. His mouth hovered at my ear again, voice low, rougher than it had ever been. I could feel the hunger in it, the restraint snapping strand by strand.“Bambina,” he rasped, his breath hot against my skin, “how on earth am I supposed to be strict with you when every little thing you do right now gives me a hard-on, huh?!”And then he didn’t wait for me to answer.His lips crashed onto mine, hard, demanding, stealing the air straight from my lungs. The kiss was wild, all teeth and tongue and pent-up need, and before I could even gasp, his mouth was parting mine, claiming, tasting, devouring like he’d been starving and I was the only thing that could satisfy him.My knees nearly buckled. My hands, traitorous as ever, fisted into his shirt, yanking him closer even as my mind screamed no, no, no. But my body… oh God, my body had already betrayed me. My lips opened under his, matching his heat with
Elena’s Point Of ViewHis words hit me like a slap.“I won’t fuck you,” he said finally, his voice low but hard as steel, “while you’re still wearing another man’s ring.”For a second, everything inside me went completely silent. The air between us felt heavy, almost visible, pressing down on my chest until I thought I’d choke on it. My fingers curled into fists on the edge of the vanity, my knuckles pale. He didn’t move away. He didn’t soften. He just stood there, heat radiating off him like a second heartbeat, his breath brushing against my cheek, teasing my skin with every exhale.The humiliation hit first… hot, quick, shameful. Not because of what he’d said, but because part of me wanted him anyway. Part of me wanted to reach up, grab him by the shirt, and pull him into me until there was no space left to breathe. My body was betraying me in real time, every nerve wired toward him, every muscle trembling with need I didn’t want to name.Then came the anger, slow and searing. How d
Elena’s Point Of ViewThe sound of my name on his tongue made something inside me jolt. I stared at him, unable to move, my breath lodged in my throat. His eyes stayed on mine, dark and relentless, and for a moment the boutique… the mirrored walls, the racks of shimmering dresses, the faint music floating from the front room, blurred into nothing. It was just him, too close, too still, too much.My gaze flicked downward, a nervous reflex, and landed on his mouth. My heart skipped once, hard, as if it knew a secret my mind refused to face. ‘No. No, Elena, get a grip on yourself.’ My fingers dug into the edge of the dressing table behind me. My knuckles went white.But he stepped closer anyway.The air between us thinned to a thread. His scent… clean leather, spice, something darker underneath, wrapped around me, hot and dizzying. He didn’t touch me yet, but it felt as if he had. My knees weakened, thighs pressing together unconsciously, my body betraying me even as my mind screamed sto
Elena’s Point Of ViewFor a split second, the words didn’t feel real. My brain scrambled, tripping over itself, as if reality had bent into some impossible dream. My chest rose and fell, breath trapped halfway between panic and disbelief.This had to be a dream. It had to. My mind grasped for logic, maybe I fell asleep on Lexy’s plush couch while flipping through gowns, maybe the boutique had slipped into one of those vivid nightmares where desire and fear tangled too tightly.But the sharp heat of his hand still lingered on the middle of my back. His scent… dark spice, smoke, something I’d hated myself for memorizing, was too sharp, too precise. No dream could conjure this.Slowly, I twisted, my voice catching in my throat. My lips parted, but sound was hard to find. Finally, in a hoarse whisper, I managed, “What are you doing here, Jaxx? How…” I swallowed hard, eyes darting around the dressing room like the walls might betray a hidden crack. “How did you even get in here?”His mouth
Elena’s Point Of ViewI sat cross-legged on the bed, the duvet a mess beneath me, papers scattered across the sheets like a storm I hadn’t yet cleaned up. Folders stacked half-open, receipts folded into worn envelopes, property documents with my name scrawled on the edges, everything I’d quietly collected, piece by piece, in preparation for this moment.Escape.The word sat in my chest like both a curse and a promise.I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling slow, steady, the way someone does when they’re trying not to drown. My marriage to Graham wasn’t just a chapter I could slam shut, it was a prison with locks on every corner, a maze designed to keep me trapped. But I was done. Done with the bullshit, the cutting insults he threw at me like knives, the humiliations he enjoyed watching me squirm under, the way he made me feel small even in my own house.I was done being a slave to my fears.But done didn’t mean careless. Done meant calculated.I leaned forward, pulling another fo