All Chapters of LOVE BENEATH RIVALRY : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The knock at the door came softly this time. Elisa, still buried beneath the blanket, didn’t lift her head.The door creaked open. Two women entered—stylists, carrying their tidy black cases. Leonard stood behind them, his hands shoved in his pockets, gaze unreadable.“They’re here to fix your hair,” he said, voice clipped, leaving no room for negotiation.Elisa’s fingers curled around the blanket edge. Once, she would have spat defiance at him, hurled words sharper than any knife. Once, she would have fought.But now, her lips pressed into a pale line. Her body shifted upright, and she gave the faintest nod.The stylists glanced at one another, relief in their eyes. They set to work.Elisa sat before the mirror as combs tugged through the uneven locks, scissors clicking with quiet rhythm. Strands of her hair fell to the floor like the remains of something sacred. She watched them without blinking, her reflection still, her eyes glassy.Leonard lingered at the doorway. Something in he

The days blurred together at first—each one a mirror of the last. Leonard lying in the same bed, staring at the ceiling as though it mocked him; Elisa moving quietly around the room, her presence soft but persistent.At the beginning, she had to fight for every small role in his care. But slowly, without words, his resistance loosened.Small ChangesIt began one morning when she reached for his shirt.He usually growled at her attempts, snatching the fabric from her hand with clumsy irritation, insisting he could dress himself. But that morning, his hands faltered halfway through the buttons, and instead of shoving her away, he let his arms fall back to his sides.Her fingers trembled as she finished buttoning the shirt for him. Neither spoke, the silence stretched taut, but the permission itself was a victory.A day later, he allowed her to wheel him to the balcony where the sun poured in golden ribbons. He said nothing while she adjusted the blanket on his lap, but when she caught t

The weeks that followed seemed touched by an unfamiliar warmth, something Elisa had never thought possible between Leonard and her family. For the first time since she could remember, laughter carried through the long, marbled halls of the Williams estate—not just hers, not just her father’s, but Leonard’s as well.It began in subtle ways. At first, Leonard no longer barked at the maids when they fumbled, nor did he retreat into the dark, suffocating silence of his room as he used to. Instead, he let Elisa open the curtains each morning without a protest, sometimes even teasing her with a sarcastic remark about how she had a vendetta against his peace.One morning, as Elisa placed a fresh cup of coffee before him, she noticed the way his lips twitched, not in irritation but in amusement.“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” Leonard said, eyeing the steaming cup. “This is the third time you’ve made it far too sweet. If I die of sugar poisoning, you’ll inherit nothing but my wheelcha

Elisa’s Secret BurdenThe silence between her and Leonard lasted for days. Outwardly, life continued as it always had—meals with her father and Rebecca, Leonard’s quiet brooding presence at the table, the business matters that consumed his time. But inwardly, Elisa was unraveling.She rose each morning with a hand pressed lightly against her stomach, wondering if anyone could already tell. Wondering if the tiny life she carried would survive her doubts, her fears, and most of all… Leonard’s rejection.The keychain still lay hidden in the drawer beside her bed, mocking her each time she saw it. Its silver gleam no longer filled her with anticipation, only with dread.She couldn’t bear the weight of her secret alone anymore.It was Rebecca she turned to—Rebecca, with her kind eyes and gentle voice, who had slowly grown from stranger to the mother she always needed in the Darkhorse household.One afternoon, after Leonard disappeared into his study and her father busied himself with docum

The morning sunlight broke gently over the Darkhorse estate, a golden sheen spilling across the tall windows and pooling into Elisa’s chamber. She stirred faintly, her lashes fluttering open as warmth bathed her cheek. For the first time in weeks, she had slept without nightmares.And when she shifted, she found Leonard already awake beside her.He was propped slightly in his chair near the bed, a blanket draped across his lap, but his eyes—those sharp, unreadable eyes—were softened, studying her with a gaze that seemed uncharacteristically tender.“You’re awake,” he murmured, voice low, husky from the morning air.Elisa blinked, surprised. He rarely greeted her so warmly. Usually, he was curt, lost in his thoughts, or impatient with the day’s business. But this morning… this morning was different.“I didn’t expect you to be watching me,” she said with a small, embarrassed smile. She pulled the sheets closer around her chest.Leonard leaned forward, his hand brushing over hers with st