Chapter 112

~ Elara’s POV

"Elara, it's okay," Rufus soothed, his voice gentle as he reached out to take my hand.

"You don't have to talk about him if it's too painful." He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

I realized I might have been a bit harsh. Here I was, snapping at Rufus when he was simply trying to understand. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down. "I'm sorry, Rufus," I mumbled. "You don't deserve my anger."

With a shaky voice, I began to explain my story. "I only knew my father for a short while. Then, one day, he just… disappeared. Vanished without a trace." The memory still stung, leaving a raw ache in my heart. "I never knew why he left, or where he went."

Rufus listened intently, his expression filled with empathy.

The words tumbled out of me, choked with tears. "He just left," I continued, "left me and my mother alone. And because of that, she ended up…" Your voice trailed off, the pain of the past raw and exposed.

"A terrible man," I whispered, tears finally spilling