Elara's POV
"Start from the beginning," I said. "All of it."
Daniel looked at the water for a moment. Then he nodded and we walked, the three of us, slow and without direction along the shoreline while he talked.
He had met my mother twenty three years ago at a conference Victor had hosted for business contacts and their associates. She was there with a friend. Daniel was there because Victor had hired him as a financial consultant for a short term project. They were introduced at dinner and talked for three hours and he said he knew before the night was over that she was someone he would not forget easily.
"We were together for eight months," he said. "Quietly. Victor did not know at the time. Your mother ended it when Victor asked her to marry him. She chose stability. I understood i
