All Chapters of MY FATHER-IN-LAW; MY RUIN : Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

18 Chapters

ICED TO THE BONE

ELARA’S POVSuddenly, I felt a thud against the earth surface.I could feel the rhythmic thud of feet against the wet pavement—legs running, desperate and heavy—but they felt a thousand miles away. Almost immediately, hands engulfed me. They were large, searingly hot against my frozen skin, shaking my shoulders with a frantic energy that should have made me wince. I wanted to tell him to stop. I wanted to tell him to let me slip back into the quiet, gray nothingness where the cold couldn't find me. But no matter how hard I fought to lift my eyelids, they felt as though they had been stitched shut with lead."Elara! Open your eyes! Dammit, Elara!"The voice was a jagged blade of sound. Silas.Suddenly, a crushing pressure hit my chest. It was rhythmic, forceful, a desperate attempt to jumpstart a heart that felt like it had turned to a block of ice. Then, the sensation of his lips—firm and demanding—pressing against mine, forcing a searing burst of air into my lungs. "Wake up, Ela

Last Updated : 2026-03-18

TAKEN IN THE CAR

Silas’s lips were a fever against mine, and when he suddenly pulled back, the sudden absence of his touch felt like a torture.His eyes were dark, almost black, as he reached for the tie of my robe. He didn't rush. He moved with a maddening, calculated slowness, his knuckles brushing against my stomach as he undone the knot. The wet fabric fell away from my shoulders, sliding down my arms to pool around my hips, and immediately, a fresh wave of cold struck me. My damp skin pebbled instantly, and I let out a sharp, shuddering breath, my chest heaving."Silas," I whimpered, my hands reaching for his shoulders, wanting to pull him back into the void."Stay put, Elara," he commanded, his voice a low vibration that seemed to settle deep in my marrow.He leaned down, his mouth finding the curve of my breast. He didn't just kiss me; he nibbled, his teeth grazing the sensitive, aching peak until a jagged moan tore from my throat. The contrast was a torture of the best kind—the freezing ai

Last Updated : 2026-03-20

THE VANE MANOR

Light filtered into the room, a cruel, invasive gold that forced its way beneath my eyelids until I was left with no choice but to wake. I tried to roll away from the brightness, but my limbs felt like they had been replaced with lead, and my head throbbed with a rhythmic, dull ache that pulsed behind my temples. My throat was dry, like I’d been swallowing sand, and for a few blissful, fleeting seconds, I didn't remember why I felt so utterly wrecked, until…I shifted my legs.The friction of the silk sheets against my skin sent a jolt of memory straight to my gut. The night before came rushing back in a violent, chaotic montage—the sound of the divorce papers being signed, the stinging spray of rain on the porch, the predatory heat of the SUV, and the way Silas had looked at me as he claimed the ruins of my marriage.I sat up slowly, the world spinning on its axis for a moment before righting itself. I looked around the room, squinting against the glare. The decor was opulent, hea

Last Updated : 2026-03-20

THE PAIN OF IT ALL

ELARA’S POVThe bathroom door clicked shut behind me, the sound echoing against the cold marble like a finality. I stood there for a long moment, my forehead pressed against the cool wood, waiting for my heart to stop its frantic hammering. The air in the room was already beginning to warm, the humidity rising as I turned the handles of the shower to their fullest extent. Steam began to billow, thick and white, curling around my ankles and rising to the ceiling until the mirrors were wiped clean of my reflection.It felt like a shroud. A heavy, humid veil trying to hide me from the woman I had been only twelve hours ago.I stepped into the spray slowly, my movements mechanical, as if my body were a machine I was learning to operate for the first time. The water was scalding, needle-sharp against my skin, but I didn't turn it down. I needed the sting. I needed something to tether me to the present moment, because the past was a weight that felt ready to pull me under.I am no longer

Last Updated : 2026-03-21

HE'S RUNNING WILD!

ELARA’S POVThe silence between us was so thick it felt like it had a heartbeat. I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles white against the forest-green silk of my new sleeves, waiting for the storm. I expected Elena to scream. I expected her to call me a whore, to demand I leave her home, to blame me for the stain on her family’s name.Instead, Elena let out a long, shuddering sigh that seemed to deflate her entire frame. She stepped further into the room, her gaze softening into something so weary it made my chest ache."How are you, Elara?" she asked quietly. "Truly?"I blinked, the question catching me completely off guard. "I... I’m fine, Elena. I’m just trying to process everything.""You don't have to lie to me, child," she said, her voice thin but steady. She walked toward the door and raised her voice slightly. "Gina!"The maid appeared almost instantly, as if she had been hovering just outside."Get us a fresh pot of tea. The Earl Grey," Elena commanded. "And see that

Last Updated : 2026-03-26

DIVORCED AND FINALLY FREE

ELARA’S POVSeven days.It had been exactly one week since the rain had tried to swallow me whole, and one week since the oak doors of the Vane manor had closed behind Jax’s retreating, broken figure. Time in the manor felt different—slower, more deliberate, like the ticking of an antique clock that refused to be rushed. I had spent those days tucked away in the guest wing, like a ghost haunting the corridors of my own history.I was slowly moving on. Or at least, I was learning how to breathe without feeling like my lungs were full of glass.Elena had been my anchor. In the quiet hours of the morning, she would come to my room with a tray of tea and books she thought I’d like, sitting with me in a silence that didn't demand explanations. She had become like a second mother to me, her presence a cool balm on the raw, open wounds of my pride. Seeing her poise, her quiet strength in the face of her son’s disgrace and her husband’s dominance, had stirred something in me. I looked at

Last Updated : 2026-03-26

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

ELARA’S POV“Congrats on your freedom." He finally broke the silence and I just gave a curt nod."Everything is different now," I whispered, looking at my hands. They were clean of the ink, clean of the ring, but they felt strange.Silas didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stepped behind me. I tensed, my breath catching in my throat as I felt the sudden, radiating heat of his body pressing close to my back. Before I could ask what he was doing, his large, calloused hands moved upward, sliding over my temples until his palms rested firmly over my eyes.The world went black."Silas? What are you doing?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly. The darkness made my other senses flare—the scent of his cologne, the steady thrum of his heartbeat, the cool morning breeze against my neck."Calm down, Elara," he murmured, his voice a low, soothing vibration right against my ear. "Relax. Just trust me. Walk.""I can't see where I'm going," I protested, my pulse quickening."I have you, just…tr

Last Updated : 2026-03-26

TAKING CARE OF WHAT'S MINE

ELARA’S POVI sat at the head of the table, flanked by my father and Silas, watching the scene unfold like a beautiful, improbable dream."Try the smoked salmon, Elara," Rosa chirped, leaning across the table to heap a generous portion onto my plate. Her gold bracelets clattered against the china with a cheerful, domestic percussion. "It’s imported from the northern coast. Silas said it was your favorite, though how he knows these things, I’ll never guess."I glanced sideways at Silas. He was leaning back in his chair, a glass of amber liquid in his hand, looking more relaxed than I had ever seen him. He didn’t look like the man who had systematically dismantled his son’s inheritance an hour ago; he looked like a man who had finally brought his world into alignment. He caught my gaze and offered a microscopic nod, the corner of his mouth twitching upward."I have my sources, Rosa," he said, his voice a low, pleasant rumble."Well, your sources are impeccable," my father, Theron, bo

Last Updated : 2026-03-26

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