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Elena stopped the car and got out of it. She took in a deep breath, welcoming the cold air that brushed against her skin. She closed her eyes for a second and ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes roaming around the place. It was dark and quiet. Elena could see nothing but the sky and the trees surrounding the place. She wasn’t sure why she was here or how she ended up in this part of the town, but she was glad she did. She walked along the gravely path that led towards the hill. She hadn’t been here for almost a decade, but she could still remember everything as if it was yesterday. She remembered walking the same path with her mother, holding her hand. She remembered Josh tugging at her arm and making her run with him, making her laugh and chase after him. She remembered her father telling her that he loved her and that she was the most precious thing in his life. Elena swallowed the lump that formed inside her throat, tears burning her eyes. She missed them. She missed them
“You’re still a terrible liar, Elena. Always have been.” Those words rang inside Elena’s ears, bringing back memories from ten years ago that she had tried so hard to forget. Her father was right. She was a terrible liar, always had been. She couldn’t lie to save her life. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, it was just that she sucked at it. And that was exactly the reason why she hated herself at this moment. Because she knew that he saw right through her. She knew that he knew that she was lying, that she wasn’t here because she wanted to see him. She was there because she needed someone to tell her that Josh was nothing like what Derek had painted him to be. She was there because she needed someone to tell her that her brother wasn’t some monster but a good man she grew up knowing him to be. And who could be better than the man who sat in front of her, the man who spent his whole life worshipping the path her brother had carved for himself? Who better than her father to tell h
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. He looked away, his jaw clenched. “If you’re done, I’d like to speak now.” Elena scoffed, wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “Go ahead.” Her father met her gaze again, his eyes dark and intense. “Do you remember what I told you all those years ago, when you decided to walk away?” Elena swallowed, her hands fisting at her sides. She remembered every single word. “I told you that you weren’t good enough for our family, that you didn’t deserve to carry our name. I told you that you were a disappointment, that you were selfish and ungrateful. I told you that you were nothing but a disgrace, that you would never amount to anything.” Elena flinched, her heart clenching in her chest. All those bitter memories slashed through her once again. “And I meant every single word. I meant every single word I said to you because I knew that it was the truth. I knew that you weren’t good enough. I knew that
When the next morning arrived, Elena said her goodbyes to her dad and got ready to return to the world that waited for her.God knows she didn’t want to leave, not so soon anyway, but what choice did she have? The whole Matthews Empire was waiting for her to come home, to take control of the company that was rightfully hers. Or it was for the time being, until Caleb grew up to claim his birthright.Elena shook her head. She couldn’t think about that now. She had to focus on the task at hand.“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” She asked her father as they stood outside his cabin, the early morning sun casting a golden glow over the trees.Her father smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. You just focus on yourself and the business. I know you’ll do great things. I know now.”Elena nodded, her chest tightening. She didn’t know when she’d see him again, but she knew that things between them were different now. Things were better now. Over t
There were times when Elena knew what she wanted, why she wanted and how. Times when she was in control of her own destiny, of her present, and future. Times when she was aware of how her actions could affect everything.Those times, however, weren’t the ones she lived at the moment, at the point her heart raced so much that her whole body seemed to vibrate. She walked as if what she was about to do was either the best thing that could ever happen or the worst.“Are you sure about this?” Simon asked, as he stood on the driveway, looking up at her, his eyes filled with nothing but want and curiosity and so much more that she had barely started to understand.“What? Are you getting cold feet now, Simon?” She turned and teased, but she knew what he really was talking about, what he really wanted her to be sure about. Elena wished she had the luxury to think this over, to second-guess herself, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. She was done questioning and doubting her decisions, espec
The look in his eyes was so intense, so beautiful. The intensity behind those words, the truth she could hear behind every single one of them was too much. She knew he meant it, every single one of his words. And she wanted to be strong, she wanted to resist. But at the same time, she didn’t know if she could.Her heart raced faster than she had ever thought it could. “Why?” She whispered, her voice so small, so shaky that she wondered how he didn’t pull back right then. “Why do you want me, Simon?”Instead of answering her right away, he gently pushed her back down onto the bed and leaned in. “Because,” he said, his lips ghosting over hers. “Because, Elena Matthews, only a fool wouldn’t want someone like you.” He captured her mouth with his, his tongue sweeping across the seam of her lips and she parted for him instantly, the heat that coursed through her veins so hot, she felt as if she had been set ablaze.He pulled away all too soon, still looking into her eyes as she gasped for a
“You can’t hide this from her forever, Simon,” Diana said, as she sat next to him in his car, leafing through some sort of kids magazine. Simon was positively aware that the words uttered by the older woman were nothing but the truth. There were at least a dozen things he had kept from Elena. Not because he was ashamed of them, but because he was assured that once she learned about them, she would never even bat an eye at him. And that, believe it or not, was downright unacceptable. After getting so close to that woman—after touching her, feeling her, and breathing her in every way imaginable—there was no way he would put the bullet to his own feet. He would rather keep her away from all the fucked up mess that he was a part of than reveal to her and lose her forever. Just the thought of disbelief in her eyes made his chest clench. No. He wouldn’t make the mistake of being honest. Honesty was for the fools. “I can,” he grunted, looking out the window and doing his best to keep h
“Who did this to you, Mr McDowell?” Detective Cortez asked, as he stood at the doorway of the private hospital suite, hands deep into his pockets, while his eyes remained on the man on the bed.Richard looked up from the screen of his laptop and frowned, not expecting any visitors for almost a few hours. Didn’t doctors assure him that they wouldn’t let anyone in, especially when he was trying very hard to keep his condition under wraps?He was already embarrassed enough to know that Simon had managed to beat him to a pulp, he didn’t need any more reminders of the fact that Simon Walsh wasn’t someone he could dare to mess with. That man was dangerous and not easy to be scared.Of course, that did nothing to deter him from wanting Elena back in his life. She might hate him now, but once she learned what Simon Walsh had done in his life, and what worse he was capable of, he was assured that she would come back to him, sorry for leaving him and not believing him in the first place.He sig