Elena's POV
I stood outside the Thorne estate longer than was wise, my keys clenched in one hand, the other resting in reflex position along the lower curve of my belly. My breath fogged up minutely in the pre-dawn air, even as the sun was already climbing.I'd come with purpose. To talk to Damien. To try — foolishly, perhaps — to reclaim the torn threads of our bond before they were severed completely.
I hadn't anticipated laughter.Rustling, shifting, familiar laughter that drifted in on the half-open window like a tune from a world I no longer recognized.I came in quietly, not to slam the door. The scent of newly brewed rosemary tea greeted me first, followed by the touch of cinnamon and orange—Catherine's absolute favorites. My heels ticked lightly against the tiled flooring in the main hall as I stepped into the sitting room, the sound being instantly muffled by voices.
I turned the corner and stood transfixed.There they were.Damien reclined on the couch, loose—loose—like the world itself was in one piece. Vivian beside him, her foot tucked under the other, belly bulged and pregnant beneath the ivory silk blouse. And Catherine Thorne smiling on the opposite side of them.His mother.
They were laughing. Cups of tea in hand as if this was a casual morning visit and not the edge of my life.Vivian noticed me first. Her smile didn't falter—if anything, it grew larger.
"Elena," she said with honey, as if I were a late-arriving family cousin for a Sunday brunch.
"How nice to see you again."Catherine turned to look, her eyes lighting up. "Elena, sweetie! You didn't tell me you were stopping by."I swallowed.
And then I said to Damien, "I didn't know you were having visitors."Damien looked up then, and for just a moment, something flickered in his gaze—guilt, maybe. Or hesitation.
"She's no guest," Catherine said, with alot of furry in her inner being and outside her face a bit of shadow smile gesturing toward Vivian like she was a prized vase. "Vivian's practically family. She just got back from overseas.
We've been catching up."My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as if I should tear the bag apart.
"Then I noticed."
Vivian smiled softly, a twinkle in her eyes.
And the she said, "I returned just to surprise Damien on his birthday.
Because it has really been so many years since I last saw him in the flesh!.
While she was saying it a deep sharp pain run through my bones, leaving me in suspense.
"She then turn to Catherine, the words barely above a whisper, with a shallow smile in her face, trying to show concern toward my well being.
"I ran into Elena in her restaurant. She's doing… very well for herself.
"A moment's pause before very well. Conscious. A snip in silk."I thought she was the hostess initially," Vivian went on, still smiling.
"But then she came out with an apron.
It's darling, really—hands-on business ownership.
"I did not flinch.Not even when Catherine gave a approving nod.
"She's worked very hard," she said. "Though I do wish she'd spend more time at home.
A Luna has duties beyond seasoning and soufflés."Damien cleared his throat.
My gaze snapped to him. "So," I said flatly, "the emergency that night—when you took off for dinner. It wasn't council business."Silence bloomed.Vivian sipped tea.
Damien did not deny it.
"You went to the airport," I said more slowly. "To pick her up.
"He shifted restlessly in his seat."
Thinking of the next words to say.
"I did not lie—there was a problem."
"Oh, there was a problem, I cut him off while he was trying beat around the bush,
all right."
"Elena—"
"I prepared your favorite dinner,
Damien," I said trying to get In contact with me.
"I thought… I thought maybe we were becoming more like a family.
"His lips curled back, but nothing came out.
Catherine broke the tension with a sunny sigh, putting her teacup down. "No, no.
Not here not now."
She said.
Let's not dig up misunderstandings. The important thing is you all get along. You and Vivian have been pals since the two of you were puppies.
"I always hoped you'd stay close."
"I didn't realize how close," I whispered.Catherine stood.
"Elena, sweet, why don't you help me in the kitchen? Vivian suggested a craving for rose petal shortbread—do you remember the kind I used to make on summer solstice?
"I blinked. She was inviting me to bake for her?"I'd like to sit for a moment,"
I replied smoothly.
"I had a long shift at the restaurant."
She smiled and nodded, and then she vanished down the hallway, humming.
As soon as she was beyond earshot, Vivian leaned back onto the couch, her own smile becoming harder-edged.
"You look tense," she remarked, setting her teacup down on the table with a soft clink.
"All right?"
I didn't answer. She tilted her head.
"I just talked to Damien a few minutes ago… it seems strange, don't you think? That he married you after knowing you for a month? Maybe less?
I always figured he'd wait for someone he really. clicked with."I ground my teeth, fighting not to bite.
Vivian continued, her own voice softer now, conspiratorial.
"We were high school friends, you see. He'd break into my family's garden and leave me bouquets of wildflowers. It was romantic."
She struck a pose in mock-sadness.
"He's pursued me for twenty years. Guess I was always the one that got away."
My gut turned, not at what she said, but because a tiny, frightened corner of me considered that she might be right
.I took a breath to tell her so….. but Damien rose from his seat, his face icy as winter.
"Vivian," he snapped. "That's enough."
She flinched. "I was just—""I said enough.
"The room fell silent after that, heavy with the smell of tea and rose potpourri.Vivian's lips were pressed together, but she said no more.And I sat there, stunned.Not because of what she said.
But because for the first time… I realized that I didn't know the man that I married at all.