Elara sat on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the phone she’d been holding for the past ten minutes. Her mind kept circling the same thought, tugging at her like the elephant in the room that she didn’t want to acknowledge.
Today was William Lloyd’s birthday.
And she would have to show up—act, smile, and stand beside Andrew as his wife, keeping up the façade she’d built to protect herself.
If she didn’t, the Lloyd elders would push, pry, and demand answers, probably even becoming a hindrance to the divorce. Especially William. He was too perceptive, too stubborn, and too loving.
And she couldn’t let that happen. Not when only 9 days remained in the cooling period.
A soft ache tugged at her chest.
That old man... He had supported her even when no one else had. Even when his own family looked at her like she didn’t belong, he always made space for her. And though part of it was because he alone knew the truth behind her marriage, she cherished him.
Because whenever she missed her own grandfather, William never let her feel the emptiness, never let her feel alone, or miss the warmth of a family.
Elara looked at the far corner of the room, where the gift she had carefully selected for the man was kept, nearly wrapped in a gift decoration, and sighed.
"Miss Elara, the breakfast is ready. We are ready to meet Mr. George whenever you are prepared." Antonio knocked on her bedroom door, and Elara took a deep breath before standing and getting ready for the day.
Once ready, she stood before the body-length mirror, her expression cold as she nodded at herself.
After having her breakfast, she went straight to the branch of Frost’s Estates, where she was supposed to meet her brother, who, for some reason, had called her in urgently.
She didn’t want to show up at the company, afraid that her father might spot her and that it would hinder her revenge plan and her efforts to establish herself.
However, her brother assured her their father had gone abroad for a meeting.
She walked to the reception, black shades adorning her face. She was wearing beige pants, a black top, and a beige overcoat.
A black leather purse slung from her shoulders, her aura demanding respect.
The receptionist stood to greet the girl, even though she didn’t know who she was.
"How can we help you, Miss?" The receptionist asked politely, a well-trained sentence she probably used on clients daily.
Elara noticed the receptionist’s eyes scrutinizing her clothes, and she clicked her hand to catch her attention.
"I am here to meet George Frost," Elara repeated her sentence.
The receptionist raised her brows. After all, it wasn’t every day a lady dressed like that arrived at the company, demanding to see their boss without even using a single honorific.
"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist asked, and Elara furrowed her brows.
She hated waiting the most. She had already called her brother to let him know she was at the company, but he didn’t pick up.
Antonio stepped forward to explain when a man rushed forward, panting heavily.
"Miss Elara, this way please." George’s assistant, Maxton, rushed forward, and the girl nodded before following the assistant.
Elara entered the cabin, her expression immediately replaced by a goofy smile when she saw the snacks on the table, already prepared.
"Mmm... you know how to appease me with these delicious snacks. Now tell me, what do you really want?" Elara asked without even looking up.
Behind the desk, George rolled his eyes.
"You didn’t even look at me once. I’m starting to understand my place in your life." George pouted, and Elara rolled her eyes.
"Come on. You know it’s not like that. The most important thing in my life is obviously..." Elara looked up. Seeing George’s eyes full of hope, she grinned.
"...is good food." Elara stuck her tongue out at the man.
George rolled his eyes before closing the file that he was looking over.
"Why do I even bother, seriously?" He whispered under his breath before taking a deep breath, his expression turning serious.
"When are you returning home? I understand your revenge plan and want to establish your career, but seriously, till when do you want to suffer alone?" George asked.
Elara, who was about to pick a cookie, stopped in her tracks.
She looked up at her brother. It wasn’t hard to tell he was annoyed about what happened last night. And she didn’t blame him.
She understood his worry. If it had been someone else in her place, it would have been deadly indeed. She understood his concerns, but...
The hunger to get everything on her own was so dominant in her heart after being hurt, because, according to them, she wasn’t from some prominent family, that she was ready to ignore everything else.
Since they considered her a lowlife, she wanted to prove to them just what a lowlife could really do and how high she could soar.
This wasn’t just about her. It was about all the females who suffered alone in the households because of their in-laws or husbands, if their families were any lesser than their husbands, because their families weren’t ’prestigious’ enough.
Why should they suffer? Why should they be betrayed? Just goddamn why?
It didn’t make sense at all.
Besides, at that time, though Andrew said he wouldn’t be able to love her back, what about the mutual respect he promised? What about the equal rights as a wife, he assured? And what about her position in the society that he guaranteed?
All gone? Because Beatrice, who had gone abroad, was back?
And she foolishly held onto that promise of providing them with an heir. The thought alone made Elara scoff.
"I’ll consider—" She started to speak when George interrupted her.
"Today’s William’s birthday, isn’t it? The Frost family is invited," George smirked.
Elara looked at him with wide eyes.
"You are kidding me, right?" She asked, flabbergasted.
Lloyds never did invite the Frost family. Why the sudden change? Besides, the Frost family controlled the Northern regions. There was no connection at all. If her parents arrived, everything would be exposed.
"Told you, Carla thinks I am the only one who can help her through Daniel’s ban," George grinned, liking his sister’s troubled face.
Elara immediately switched her attitude and smiled widely.
"Brother, you know how you are my favorite person, right? You will pacify Mom and Dad so they don’t attend, right? They can’t know." Elara blinked her eyes to pacify him, hoping he would agree.
However, what she didn’t expect was for George to laugh out loud.
"Elara, you seriously think our mom and dad, who can hire anyone to look into anyone, wouldn’t know who their daughter married?" He asked.
His words were like another blow to Elara.
They knew? If that was the case, why didn’t they ever come to meet her?
Does that mean her parents were really angry with her for leaving home and didn’t want to see her anymore?
The thought alone made her heart clench painfully.
George saw how his jolly sister immediately went so quiet and sighed before standing from his place.
"Stupid girl. What do you think of us? The only reason Mom and Dad even allowed you to stay away from them without any contact was because of the incident from four years ago, the reason we had to declare you dead," George hinted at the trouble Elara had gone through.
Elara’s eyes darkened when she remembered the past, a shudder running down from her spine at the reminder of that man who tormented her so brutally that she wished she were dead.
George noticed her tense posture and stood from his seat.
"That man is gone. You don’t have to hide anymore. We were too late then, and that’s our burden. But you’re safe now. You can come home." George placed his hand over Elara’s head.
"Come on, now smile, will you?" George messed up Elara’s hair, making the girl gasp as she lifted her hair to kick him down from the couch.
At the same time, Trevor, who had come to the company to sign a collaboration contract with George, opened the door, only to witness both Elara and George on the ground.
"Brother, you are so dead. How dare you mess my hair?!" Elara groaned and was about to grab George’s hair when someone cleared their throat.
"Ahem." "Ahem."
Elara turned around to see who dared to enter and disturb their sibling time, her body freezing when she noticed who it was.
George also turned at the same time, his gaze darkening.
Just what the hell was Maxton doing to allow a client inside without notifying him?
"Mr. Gain, please wait outside for a moment," George said.
Trevor nodded briefly, his gaze not leaving Elara’s before he stepped outside.
Elara quickly stood from the floor, dusting her clothes to even her appearance.
"Why are you collaborating with him?" Elara asked before running her fingers through her hair.
"Why do we collaborate with a tech company, Elara? Of course, because we want something that they can offer," George said before ringing the bell to allow the man inside.
As soon as Trevor entered, his gaze flickered to Elara, and though he looked like he had multiple questions, Elara could see he figured things out already.
He found out she was Frost’s daughter. And this wasn’t good.