Chapter 10
691 Words
The Morning Aftermath
Sunlight crept across the bed like it knew it wasn’t supposed to be there.
Leona’s eyes opened slowly, reluctantly. Her body ached in the best way, her skin still warm from the echo of everything they hadn’t meant to happen.
Elias was already awake.
He was lying beside her, one arm behind his head, shirtless, staring at the ceiling like he was trying to read the meaning of life in the plaster.
She moved to sit up. The sheet fell from her shoulder, and he glanced at her.
“Regrets?” he asked softly.
She swallowed. “Not yet. You?”
He shook his head. “Just... recalibrating.”
She arched an eyebrow. “That’s a very Elias Thorne way to describe amazing sex.”
His mouth curved. “Amazing?”
She rolled her eyes, slipping out of bed. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late.”
As she stepped into the bathroom, she caught her reflection. Tousled hair, flushed cheeks, a faint mark on her collarbone that hadn’t been there yesterday.
And the ring.
Still on her finger.
Still binding her to a man she shouldn’t want—but couldn’t stop falling for.
By the time she came back out, dressed in leggings and a hoodie, Elias was on the phone. Business voice. Low. Sharp.
She caught fragments—something about corporate attorneys, a zoning proposal, and “make her prove ownership or freeze the permit.”
When he hung up, she crossed her arms. “You’re going after Vivienne already?”
“I told you—I won’t let her take your clinic.”
“I can fight my own battles.”
“I know,” he said. “But this one? She’s playing dirty. And now that we’re married, her mess is mine.”
Leona didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, quieter, “This thing between us… what is it now?”
Elias looked at her. Not with charm. Not with that guarded billionaire gaze. Just raw honesty.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I don’t want to pretend it’s nothing.”
Before she could respond, the doorbell rang.
Elias frowned. “No one knows we’re here.”
He opened it.
And there she was.
Vivienne.
Flawless, as always. Dressed in black like she was mourning someone—or preparing to bury them.
She held up a white envelope. “Morning, husband.”
Leona stiffened at the word.
Vivienne’s gaze slid over to her. “And you must be the woman who thinks a few nights in silk sheets makes her a queen.”
Elias stepped forward. “What do you want?”
She smiled, slow and practiced. “I thought I’d deliver the news myself.”
She handed him the envelope.
He opened it.
His face didn’t change—but his silence said everything.
Leona leaned over to read it.
A court summons.
Filed under “Fraudulent Marriage Investigation.”
Vivienne had reported them to the board of inheritance ethics.
If proven fake, their marriage could be legally voided. Elias could lose his seat. And Leona… she could lose everything tied to the Thorne name.
Vivienne stepped back, all grace and venom. “Hope your vows were worth it.”
Then she walked away.
Elias didn’t speak for a full minute.
Finally, he said, “She’s trying to trigger a clause in my father’s will. If the marriage is ruled as a strategic maneuver, I’m out. And so is the protection I gave you.”
Leona stared at the papers. “So we have to prove it’s real.”
He met her eyes. “Or make it real.”
She blinked. “You mean—?”
“A real marriage. No expiration date. No exit strategy.”
Her heart thudded.
“We fight this together,” he said, voice low. “Or we fall apart separately.”
She exhaled slowly. “So what you’re saying is… I either give up my rules.”
“Or I give you my whole heart,” he said.
And for the first time, Elias Thorne looked afraid.
- Writer
