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Chapter 23 — Distance

Author: victuriuz
last update publish date: 2026-01-11 02:57:15

Distance didn’t arrive with drama.

It slipped in quietly—measured, deliberate, and devastating in its restraint.

Elena stayed in the hotel longer than she intended. One night became two, then three. The room overlooked the river, its constant motion a reminder that time didn’t pause for heartbreak or clarity. She went to work each morning dressed in confidence, returned each evening in silence.

For the first time since marrying Sebastian, no one asked where she was going. No one anticipated her
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    The first sign that something was wrong came in the form of a delay.Elena noticed it as she waited in the lobby of Hart Industries the next afternoon, phone in hand, glancing repeatedly at the elevator display. Sebastian had been called into an emergency meeting across town, leaving her to attend

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    The invitation arrived just after sunrise.It was elegant. Cream cardstock. Gold lettering. Impeccable.The Harrington Foundation Annual Charity AuctionBy Invitation OnlyElena stared at the envelope on the kitchen island, unease curling in her stomach.“This is Victor’s doing,” she said.Sebastia

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