Elara's POV,
I exhale heavily and dab under my eyes. That life is over. This is a new life.
No more Dorine, Anya, or Matteo.
Just me, my son… and my husband.
"Solis?"
I freeze when I hear his voice and immediately grab a shawl to cover my back. My hair wasn't long enough yet. Speaking of, I needed to dye it again.
"Yes?" I called back out. "I'm almost finished."
The door flings open, and I jump in surprise when I see his wide, frantic eyes. I give him a once-over, and to say I'm impressed would be an understatement. He cleans up real nice.
The tuxedo hugs his chest and biceps, and I have this sudden desire to hold them to me. Interesting.
"What is it?" He asks, taking long strides towards me. "Is it Asher?"
"What are you talking about?"
He pauses, then looks at me with a tilt of his head. "Your voice. It's low and…"
I scoff dismissively, "It's nothing. I haven't drunk any water in a while."
He doesn't reply, just looks around. That's when I notice a red box in his hand. I raise my brow.
"A gift for your wife?"
"Ah, no." He shakes his head. "Just some cheap necklace."
He opens it, and my mouth falls open a bit. I know that necklace. Everyone involved in politics, business, and the underground world knows that necklace.
The Kórvac males always passed it down to their wives to hold it for the next heir. It is one of the most expensive jewels in the world and the most symbolic treasure in the Mafia world.
"I thought the matriarch of the Kórvac household should wear something fitting her power and will."
"Your mother is the matriarch."
He meets my eyes. "And you're my wife."
"Not yet."
"The woman I chose."
"The mother of your son."
He shakes his head, gently removing the necklace from the box. "You're still the one wearing my name."
I take a step back. "I can't accept it. Not out of decency, but because it's true. We're not yet married; do you understand the power shift you're trying to play?"
"Titles are just a distraction in this family."
"Your mother is the matriarch," I repeat.
"Yes." He covers the gap between us, placing the heirloom in my fingers. "But this isn't about her."
"Most men give rings," I say pointedly, and he chuckles darkly.
"Good thing I'm not most men." He looks at me, "If you want a ring, I'd take you to the best fuckinng jeweller tomorrow."
I swallow, then turn around to face the mirror.
"Thank you," I whisper in silence stretched between us, and through the reflection, our eyes meet. Then, his eyes travel down.
I stiffen. During our small disagreement, the shawl had dropped down to my ass, showing the remainder of my back. The part my hair couldn't reach.
He stills. Not in shock, but something else. The air seems to have shifted, too, and the tension is heavier, like even the room knows to step back.
His gaze doesn't flicker away, and he steps closer; his steps are slow enough that I can stop him before he reaches me.
For some reason, I don't. I immediately adjust the shawl, clearing my throat.
His jaw tightens, the only crack in his composure.
"I'll put this on." I raise the necklace. "I'll see you downstairs."
My tone is firm, making it clear that it wasn't up for discussion. To my surprise, he just looks away, nods once, and leaves the room.
I let go of a breath I didn't realise I was holding, then drop the shawl to the ground.
The only person who has ever seen my bare back is Asher; now he has.
Even if he didn't see half of it, he still saw.
Well, fuck.
Lucien's POV,
When I leave her room, I run my hands down my face with a groan. Elara Solis is so fucking beautiful.
I had no doubt, obviously, but today confirms it.
Ever since she spiralled into my life, she'd always worn baggy clothes, even to work. She wore baggy trousers and baggy shirts and always tied her hair in a messy bun.
I suddenly remember the night she slept beside me naked, and my trousers tighten. I still cannot believe I had sex with that woman and cannot remember.
Such a moment should've been unforgettable.
I pause in my descent down the stairs. That scar.
I hadn't noticed it the day she removed all her clothes because she had kept her back hidden from my view, deliberately.
And because I couldn't keep my eyes off her.
I could only see a bit, but I knew that scar wasn't accidental. Who did it? What was the intention?
I always saw Elara as a complicated, arrogant, and annoying woman, but after what Mireya told me yesterday and now?
She's obviously something else.
I almost asked. I wanted to. But I stopped myself. Because I knew she wouldn't have answered, and with the progress I've made, chipping at her block bit by bit, I didn't want to push her away again.
I remember how quickly she covered it, and I fold my fists upon realising that Elara always stood and looked down on people like nothing could touch her.
Yet, she hides what really did.
I almost pity her. When I get down to the foot of the stairs, someone tackles me from behind.
"Daddy!"
I grin and turn around to pick him up. Has he also seen it? What did she tell him it was about?
"I smell something sweet on you," I say, inwardly gagging. I hate sweets.
"Yes, Lucy and I made cookies for you and Mummy to take with you." He grins, cookie residue staining his teeth.
I gently drop him and grit through my teeth, "Isn't that lovely?"
"I know, right? Our son is so thoughtful."
I inhale through my teeth, annoyed again that she somehow walked down the stairs without me knowing. She may have been an assassin in the past.
Or still is.
The idea settles with me quietly, and I look at her green eyes, gleaming at me. Her eyes never have any emotion, except when she's with Asher.
And sometimes, me.
But right now, they are hard and blocked. Like she wants nothing to do with anybody at the moment. Her lips curve into a perfect, yet fake, smile, and I start to wonder if every smile I've seen on her was even real.
"Come on, Asher." She stretches out her hand. "Come, give us your cookies. We're already late for the function."
When she passes by me, her rose fragrance fills the air, and my eyes catch on her brooch.
Then, I remember what Mireya had told me when I told them I had wanted to marry the woman.
FLASHBACK
"Isolde still hasn't found anything about her. She's clearly just a nobody."
I dismissed when Mireya came into my office to warn me about marrying someone I do not know.
"I'm telling you. You're not just marrying a mystery, Lucien." She shakes her head. "You're marrying a problem you just don't understand yet."
I look up at her. "Elara Solis is harmless. Just a sharp-mouthed woman."
"Or that's what she wants you to think."
Her brooch is a dagger in disguise, and when my eyes trail up, they lock onto hers.
Then she smirks. A clear message.
Game on.