All Chapters of THE WOMAN HE BOUGHT : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Elara’s POV The memory still hurt.Not sharply anymore.Not like before.The pain had changed over the years.Settled deeper.Quieter.But no less real.They were supposed to meet an old friend before the event.A hotel in New York.Simple.Routine.Nothing unusual.As they entered the car waiting outside,The explosion happened.Instantly.Without warning.Without mercy.Four people died.My parents.Their friend.His wife.Gone.Just like that.No goodbye.No final conversation.No second chance.One moment they existed.The next they didn't.The phone call came later.An unknown number.I almost ignored it.I wish I had.Not because it would have changed anything.Just because ignorance lasted a few seconds longer.I answered.And my world ended.Everything afterward blurred together.Funerals.Lawyers.Meetings.Voices.Documents.People telling me how sorry they were.People promising things would get better.People discussing my future as though I weren't in the room.I remembe

Elara sat alone on the cool garden grass, her knees drawn tightly to her chest, her arms wrapped around them as though she were trying to hold herself together.The garden was quiet—too quiet.The fountain nearby trickled softly, its gentle sound fading into the distance as her thoughts drifted far away. She wasn’t really seeing the flowers or the tall hedges surrounding her. Her eyes were fixed on nothing, unfocused, lost somewhere between memory and ache.She had come outside to breathe.But even the air felt heavy tonight.Thoughts chased each other endlessly in her mind—things she didn’t know how to name, feelings she had never learned how to express. The mansion was beautiful, luxurious, and cold all at once. Sometimes, the silence inside it pressed harder on her chest than any scream ever could.She didn’t notice when the breeze turned sharper. Didn’t notice when the sun dipped fully behind the horizon. Didn’t notice that evening had already settled in.Her thin dress offered li

I didn't scream when I heard the news. No tears fell, no sobs racked my body. I just... went numb. The words "Marcus is dead" echoed in my mind, distant and muffled, like a sentence spoken underwater. I heard them, understood them, yet my body refused to react. It was as if my soul had stepped away, leaving my body to function on autopilot.Marcus was gone. The same Marcus whose shadow had haunted me for years, whose voice still crept into my nightmares. I'd feared him more than anyone else in the world, yet... I never wished him dead. Not once. Hate, yes. Fear, always. But death? No.When Lucien told me how it happened – how Marcus had been tortured before he was killed – something inside me cracked. I expected relief, closure, some twisted sense of justice. Instead, my chest tightened painfully. The nightmares returned that very night, without mercy. I saw locked doors, felt hands grabbing my wrists, heard laughter echoing in empty rooms. I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat, my h

The wedding day is finally here.I can’t stop smiling.I can’t stop shaking.And I can’t stop wondering how my life changed so completely in just one year.The morning sunlight spills softly through the tall windows of the bridal suite, warming the room in golden light. Everything feels unreal, like I’m standing inside someone else’s dream. The air smells faintly of roses and fresh fabric, and everywhere I look, there are signs that today is real—my wedding dress hanging near the window, makeup brushes scattered across the vanity, laughter drifting in and out as people move around me.Today, I get to marry the man I love.Not because of contracts.Not because of debts.Not because someone decided my future for me.But because we chose each other.Even now, saying that feels strange. For so long, love felt like something that belonged to other people—people with easier lives, happier beginnings, and families that didn’t fall apart overnight. I never imagined I would stand here one day,

Elara’s POVLucien has been acting strange lately.Not in a bad way. Not cold or distant like before. If anything, he has been warmer than ever—gentler, more attentive, always close enough that I can feel his presence even when he says nothing.But something about it feels different.He watches me more carefully now. His eyes follow me when I move around the house, when I laugh, when I leave a room. At night, he pulls me closer in his sleep, his arm tightening around me as if afraid I might disappear if he lets go.At first, I thought it was just the afterglow of our wedding. Newly married couples were supposed to be like this, right? Protective. Affectionate. Attached.But this feels deeper than that.He checks his phone more often. Takes calls in private. Pauses before answering simple questions.And whenever I ask what’s wrong, he smiles and brushes it away.“Work,” he says. “Nothing you should worry about.”I want to believe him.I really do.But deep down, there’s a quiet unease