During the entire ride back home, Elena stayed quiet. Her gaze remained fixed outside the passing scenery while Simon tried to give her the time and space she needed. Or so she hoped. She couldn’t get the image of the man in the cemetery out of her mind. Even though she couldn’t see his face because of how dark it was, she thought she knew him. She just couldn’t…place him. Strange, wasn’t it? Who was he and what did he have to do with Shelly? Was he a friend of hers and Josh? A family friend maybe? Who the hell was he? He had to be someone close, right? Why else would he bring Shelly flowers? Elena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was driving her insane. Simon must have noticed her distress, because he spoke up then, “Don’t think too hard about it. You’ll ruin your pretty little brain.” Elena rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat to glare at him. “Do you really have to be so annoying all the time?” Simon chuckled, his eyes never leaving the road. “It’s my natural ta

There were too many cameras.The annual charity gala was a gathering place for celebrities, influencers, models, businessmen and women, politicians, philanthropists, artists, and others to flaunt their wealth and success. Every year, it was held in a luxurious mansion belonging to one of the organizers, who was always eager to show off their riches.This year, it was the turn of the famous Hollywood actress, Jasmine Milano, to host the gala. Jasmine was one of Elena’s idols, someone she had looked up to ever since she was a teenager. Aware of her obsession with the older actress, her father once launched a product in collaboration with Jasmine, and Elena was ecstatic when he invited her to the launch party. But she was sixteen at the time, too shy and awkward to talk to her idol, so she stayed hidden behind her mother and didn’t dare to approach Jasmine.However, now Elena had grown into a beautiful woman herself, and she wasn’t the same naive teenager anymore. She had moved past seek

“I’m sorry,” Elena mumbled, not sure if the man even deserved her apology.What’s with the scowl and always looking at everyone with such disdain? Would it kill him to be nice? To talk like a human and not some angry bull who only knew how to shout?Derek narrowed his eyes, letting go of her waist, as if she disgusted him. Elena arched a brow, offended by the rude gesture. She wanted to snap at him, tell him to fuck off, but she held herself back, knowing that fighting with him would bring nothing but trouble.She cleared her throat, smoothing out her dress, and averted her gaze, intending to leave.She just wanted to leave and go home.However, before she could walk away, Derek grunted something under his brother, and she couldn’t help but raise a brow.“Excuse me?”“I said, you should be careful, Ms. Matthews,” he repeated, his tone clipped. “Accidents happen, and I don’t want you to fall flat on your ass and blame it on someone else.”Elena scoffed, glaring at him. “Accident happens

Elena bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to snap at him and tell him how much she would rather die than spend any minute with him either. It wasn’t as if she wanted to do this. She just did not have any other choice. He seemed to be in the possession of something she wanted. The truth about the night of Josh and Shelly’s accident. And if he was under the impression that he could get away with being an asshole to her, he was sourly mistaken. She sighed. “I saw you at the Shelly’s grave—” “So? What of it?” Derek cut her off, thick brows pulled together. His voice sounded a tad more subdued now, but the tension around his shoulders remained the same. The good thing was he hadn’t denied anything, and that gave her some hope that he might just cooperate enough to give her something of use. “What were you doing?” “Visiting, obviously. What else do people do when they visit graves?” he sounded annoyed, but that was expected of him. She tried to ignore the itch of her own annoyance,

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