The Man Who Lost Everything
ELIJAH’S POV
The silence in the mansion wasn't peaceful.
It was a punishment.
The walls whispered with ghosts—of laughter, of soft footsteps in the morning, of Laura’s perfume still clinging to the corners of every room. And all I had now were shadows and regrets. I thought pride would be enough to fill the emptiness.
It wasn’t.
I found Melina in the drawing room, sprawled across the chaise in a silk robe she hadn’t earned. She sipped wine like she owned the air around her. Lillian sat cross-legged by the fireplace, flipping through one of Laura’s old books, pretending to be part of a story she never belonged to.
I stood in the doorway, soaked in the quiet disgust curdling inside me.
“Get out,” I said, low and firm.
Melina blinked, her glass halfway to
