Elena’s POV
Two weeks.
It took me two whole weeks to pick up the phone and call Adrian.
Not because I wasn’t ready. Honestly, I thought I was ready that night on the couch, staring at Marcus’s post until my eyes burnt.
But the truth was simpler. Uglier.
I didn’t want this.
I wanted love—real love. The kind that felt like soft mornings and forever promises, not legal terms and timelines. I wanted someone who chose me because they couldn’t imagine choosing anyone else… not because I fit neatly into their Forbes strategy.
I wanted to be loved, not used.
But life doesn’t care what you want. It just keeps going. You either keep up, or it drags you behind it.
So I made the calls.
First it was my mum.
“Finally,” she said before I even fully explained. “I was beginning to think you’d co
