All Chapters of Stars over Silver Pines : Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

Elara sat like a doll someone had forgotten to wind.Spine straight. Ankles crossed at just the right angle. Hands folded with precision in her lap, fingers gently resting one atop the other, as if even her bones had been trained to behave. Her dress—cream, modest, high-collared—was tailored to be flattering without drawing attention. No color bold enough to suggest confidence. No neckline low enough to imply she thought herself worthy of desire.Just soft. Silent. Palatable.The drawing room was no longer hers. Or her mother’s. It had been stripped of personality and filled with the scent of cigar smoke and something sharper—authority, perhaps. The kind of authority that walked like it owned your home and sat like it owned your daughter.She wasn’t supposed to speak. Not even to greet them.“She looks healthy,” one of the men said. His voice was dry and practical, the way a farmer might discuss a calf. “Good bone structure. Hips wide enough.”“For a proper litter,” another added with

By the third lesson, Elara had stopped pretending to understand the diagrams.They were detailed—beautiful, even, in that distant, medical way: precise renderings of anatomy drawn in delicate pencil, labeled with looping script. Her mother laid them out on the table like they were precious heirlooms passed down through generations. There were dozens of them. Pages showing womb positions, ovulation charts, illustrations of the most “favorable” positions for conception.She was supposed to memorize them all.By the fifth lesson, she did.“Arch your back,” her mother said calmly, one gloved finger tapping a sketch of a faceless woman folded beneath her husband. “That allows for deeper penetration. Increases the chances.”Elara nodded. She had long learned not to ask questions.The room smelled like lavender and ink and sweat. The fire crackled in the hearth, trying and failing to bring warmth to the space. Two of the senior maids stood to the side, silent as shadows, their faces unreadab

The car was already waiting in the driveway.Sleek, dark, and quiet—its engine a low purr, like a predator at rest. Elara had never ridden in anything like it. Her father called it a courtesy—“the least the Valtoris could do.” She suspected it was more of a message: We’re watching now. She belongs to us.Elara stood on the front steps, dressed in pale blue. The gown was simple, elegant, pressed within an inch of its life. She had spent the morning being combed, powdered, scented, and rehearsed like a product being inspected before shipping. There was nothing personal left on her—not the hairpins she liked, not the bracelet she used to wear when she was alone.She had left her childhood room with a single suitcase. The rest would be sent ahead.It was better this way. Cleaner.“Stand straighter,” her father said from beside her, his voice a sharp whisper. “You’re not a burden. You’re a gift. Act like one.”She obeyed instantly, tilting her chin just slightly upward, eyes lowered. Her m

The car slowed as the trees thickened.Elara sat upright in the back seat, hands folded over her knees, posture perfect despite the fatigue crawling along her spine. Her mother had reminded her: First impressions matter most. So she did not slouch. Did not look out the window like a child. Did not fidget.She stared straight ahead.The iron gates loomed up like jaws, black and ancient, set into stone pillars veined with moss. The driver didn’t speak. Just pressed a button. The gates groaned open, reluctantly, like something old and angry was being disturbed.Beyond them, the road narrowed. Trees arched overhead, knotted branches forming a tangled ceiling that blotted out much of the sunlight. The mansion appeared slowly—first its roofline, then the high spires and gargoyle-tipped corners.It looked like something out of a forgotten century.Elara didn’t let her expression change. But her hands had started to sweat.The car curved around the final bend, gravel crackling beneath the tir