Married to the Man I Betrayed

ELARA'S POV "Get out." Dominic's voice was low. Too low. That was what terrified me the most. Not the anger burning in his blue eyes. Not the betrayal stretched across his face. Not even the silence suffocating the penthouse. The calm. I stood frozen in the middle of his living room while rain battered the floor-to-ceiling windows behind me. My hands trembled violently at my sides. I curled them into fists before he could notice. Dominic Kane had always noticed everything. Every nervous habit. Every lie. Every tiny c***k in my composure. But tonight, I needed him blind. He stood near the bar with one hand resting against the marble counter, his expensive white shirt rolled carelessly to his elbows. His tie had been loosened sometime earlier, probably when he realized I had been ignoring his calls for hours. God. He still looked beautiful. That made this worse. Dark hair slightly messy. Blue eyes sharp enough to cut through me. The same eyes that used to soften whenever he looked at me. Not tonight. Tonight, there was nothing soft left in him. "You heard me," he said again, jaw tight. "Get out before I say something I'll regret." My chest nearly cracked open. Tell him. Tell him the truth. Tell him Lucien threatened your parents. Tell him you're terrified. Tell him your brother's death already destroyed your family. Tell him you still love him. The words climbed painfully into my throat. But all I could hear was Lucien's voice from two hours earlier. Cold. Controlled. Merciless. If you don't end things tonight, your parents disappear next. I had already buried my brother. I couldn't bury anyone else. So instead of telling Dominic the truth... I smiled. It was the cruelest thing I had ever done. "You know what?" My voice sounded unfamiliar even to me. "This relationship was getting exhausting anyway." Silence. Heavy. Deadly. Dominic stared at me like he didn't recognize the woman standing in front of him. Good. I needed him to hate me. "What did you just say?" I swallowed hard. Then I forced myself to keep going. Because if I stopped now, I would never survive this. "I stayed because you were useful," I continued softly. "The money. The connections. The lifestyle." Something dangerous flickered across his face. But I wasn't finished. I couldn't be. Not if I wanted him to let me go. "Did you honestly think someone like me would marry for love?" The second the words left my mouth, I hated myself. Dominic slowly straightened. His expression became unreadable. And somehow that hurt more than if he had screamed. "Say that again," he said quietly. My heart pounded so hard it physically hurt. I should stop. I should run into his arms. I should tell him everything. But all I could see was my mother's face at my brother's funeral. Broken. Destroyed. I couldn't lose them too. So I forced out the final lie. "I never loved you, Dominic." The room went completely still. I saw the exact moment something inside him shattered. His jaw clenched. His breathing changed. The warmth disappeared from his eyes so fast it frightened me. But even then... Even then he gave me one final chance. "Look at me," he said. I couldn't. "Elara." His voice hardened. "Look at me and say it again. Look into my eyes and repeat it." Slowly, I lifted my head. Big mistake. Because the second our eyes met, my entire body nearly gave up. Three years of loving him. Three years of dreaming about a future with him. Three years reduced to this. Silence. And heartbreak. "I never loved you," I whispered. Dominic laughed. Not because he found anything funny. It was the kind of laugh people make right before they completely break. "Wow." He rubbed a hand across his jaw slowly. "You deserve an award for this performance." I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. "Was any of it real?" he asked. I couldn't answer. Because if I spoke now, I would cry. And if I cried, he would know. Dominic took a step closer. Then another. Until he was standing directly in front of me. Close enough for me to feel his warmth. "Tell me the truth for once," he said quietly. My vision blurred. Please stop looking at me like that. Please hate me. Please make this easier. "The truth?" I forced out a bitter laugh. "The truth is that I got tired of pretending." His entire face hardened instantly. There it is. The hatred. The anger. Good. I needed him angry. Because if he still loved me after this, I would never survive walking away. "Get out," he repeated. This time, I obeyed. I grabbed my coat from the couch before turning toward the door. Every step felt impossible. I kept waiting for him to stop me. To call my name. To tell me not to leave. But he didn't. And somehow... That hurt most of all. My fingers wrapped around the doorknob. One more second and I would run back to him. Tell him everything. Beg him to protect my family. Beg him to hold me. Instead, I opened the door. And walked away from the love of my life. The elevator ride down felt endless. The second the doors finally opened into the underground parking garage, my composure shattered. I stumbled forward blindly, barely breathing. The cold air hit my face. And suddenly I couldn't hold it anymore. A broken sound escaped my throat. Then another. Before I realized it, I was crying so hard my knees nearly gave out beneath me. I pressed a trembling hand against my mouth to silence myself. Because this was my choice. I had done this. I had destroyed him. Destroyed us. Rainwater dripped from the concrete ceiling as I leaned against the wall, struggling to breathe. Everything hurt. My chest. My throat. My entire body. I could still hear his voice. Was any of it real? Yes. God, yes. Every second with him had been real. That was the problem. A car door slammed somewhere nearby, making me flinch violently. For one terrifying second, I thought Lucien had come to make sure I obeyed him. But it wasn't Lucien. It was me. My reflection stared back at me from the dark tinted window of my car. Mascara ruined. Eyes swollen. Face pale. I looked exactly how I felt. Broken. My phone buzzed inside my purse. I already knew who it was before checking. Unknown Number. My stomach twisted. With shaking fingers, I answered. "It's done," I whispered. Lucien's voice came through immediately. Calm. Satisfied. "Good girl." I closed my eyes. Disgust rolled through me instantly. "Leave my family alone," I said. "That depends on you." His voice remained smooth. "Stay away from Dominic permanently, and your parents stay safe. It's very simple." Tears slid silently down my face. "You already took enough from my family." A pause. Then, "Your brother should have minded his business." My blood turned cold. I froze completely. "What?" Another pause. Too long. Too careful. Then Lucien chuckled softly. "Take care of yourself, Elara." The call disconnected. I stared at the phone in horror. Your brother should have minded his business. The words replayed inside my head over and over again. My brother. His accident. The investigation. The fear in his eyes during the weeks before he died. Suddenly, for the first time since the funeral... I wondered if my brother's death had never been an accident at all. Dominic Kane was probably learning how to hate me. Completely unaware that losing me had only been the beginning.