Mag-log inTristan’s POVAlexander claps his hands together like my words are music to his ears. “Perfect. Shall we sit here in the corner away from everyone?”Elena is still looking at us. I don’t know why she looks so scared. Does she think I’m going to do something horrible to Alexander? I mean, he’s more likely to do something horrible to me.We sit at the far end of the jet, close to the door. Even the children are glancing back at us now.“You sharing secrets, Uncle Alex?” Sophie asks tentatively, and Alexander gets up just to swing her around and give her a big kiss. “No, you’re tickling me!”“And you absolutely love it,” Alexander jokes, ruffling Liam’s hair. “No, we’re not sharing secrets. We’re just talking about some stuff.”“You can talk about them with us,” Liam says, and he just laughs.“Maybe soon, buddy.” Alexander gives me the tiniest of winks. “Maybe soon. You will know eventually anyway.”With that, he sits back down next to me. The kids are no longer paying attention, though.
Third Person POV“Headlines after headlines after headlines,” Russell mutters, looking at his computer and seeing all the news about Émeraude. About Elena. “A smashing success, the event. Nothing we did made a dent. She’s as famous as ever.”“Everyone is calling her the future of Harrington and the jewelry world.” Benjamin’s voice dips with jealousy as he inspects the headlines himself. “A reputation that rivals even Cartier. Goddamn… Elena is making a killing out there. How does it make you feel, Mira?”How does it make her feel?Is he being serious right now?Mira just huffs in the corner, pretending to flick the pages of the magazine she’s holding even though none of the images are sticking to her head.Elena is a smashing success. Of course she is. Her failure of a dad didn’t do anything to the children. They didn’t die. They didn’t cause Elena to slow down. If anything, it caused her to propel forward much faster.Mira hates her.Earlier, she was hearing the voices of her conscie
Tristan’s POVI can hear voices from inside the office, loud and almost intense.I know that that woman is Alexander’s mother.The family resemblance jumped out at me from the moment she turned around, although I did conclude at first that she looked a little too young to be his mom. But the way she called him darling and the way she held him told me that she couldn’t be his sister. It would’ve been way too strange. I tried to stop Elena from making a fool of herself but she was too full of jealousy to make sense of it.I still don’t know how to feel about that. I don’t know what to do with her jealousy.It’s hard to see how much she cares about Alexander and where I stand in all of it.Actually, I know where I stand in all of it.Outside, just listening to the vague sounds from inside and not knowing if Alex’s mother is tearing Elena a new one and making her feel bad. Ignoring the protective feelings rising out of me, leading me closer to the door in an attempt to open it and try to
Elena’s POVShe’s beautiful.The woman has dark hair, almost blue with how dark it is. Her skin is pale and smooth, like a statue’s. Her face has wrinkles, especially at the side of her mouth and her eyes, like she smiles a lot.But that smile is not here now.Her cool blue eyes sweeps over me up and down, smoothing her hands over her dress. A lush velvet black number that goes well with her gloves. Her heels are sky-high, with gleaming red bottoms. It makes a soft clacking sound as she makes it to me, her crimson red lips stretching into what looks like an expression of distaste.“Well, well, who is she?” The woman faces Alexander and lets out a snort. “I definitely didn’t expect you to have any visitors.”“I told you not to go here,” India hisses behind me. She tries to snatch my hand and pull me back, but I don’t pay attention to her. “Goddammit, Elena!”“You should go, India, it’s fine,” the woman says, waving her off. “The cat’s already out of the bag.”India doesn’t give up, tug
Elena’s POV“Émeraude takes the country by storm.”“A startup by a single mother is now giving Cartier a run for its money.”“Van Cleef and Arpels is out—Émeraude is in.”The headlines start to pour in, five days after the launch and the fiasco that came with it. It hasn’t been long, and yet everything feels so far away.Sophie is recovering well. Tristan has once again stepped in and donated blood, which fast-tracked everything. She’s now out of the hospital and back at home, ready for their school break, a week-long affair that’s designed to give the kids a breather.“Look how lucky they are,” Alexander mused when he found out. “I remember being their age and being worked to the bone like a fucking herd dog.”Tristan just rolled his eyes. “Are you seriously jealous of the kids’ vacation?”“Yeah.” Alexander looked at him like he just grew corn out of his ears. “Aren’t you?”Speaking of Alexander and Tristan, they’re getting along… well.Maybe a little too well.During our hospital s
Elena’s POVThe night passes, and finally they let us into Sophie’s room when they bring her to the VIP suite as requested.“Based on the records that her previous healthcare provider sent over, it’s her anemia acting up again,” was what the doctors told me.Even though a part of me was glad that it wasn’t something else, something worse, my heart still breaks for her, knowing that she might deal with this often in the future.The sun is almost out now. Uncle Marcus has taken Grandpa Harold home. He said he’ll be back with clothes and other supplies for me and Sophie. He also tried to get Liam to go back with them, but he refused. He also refused to sleep. He’s been watching her all night, ever since they allowed us to come in.She’s still in bed, weak and asleep. Liam is next to her, stroking her hair.“When is she going to wake up, Mommy?” he asks in a low tone. “Is it my fault? Did I save her too late?”“Honey, no.” I look at him intently. “None of this is your fault. She’s sick, a
Elena’s POVThat night, I go home feeling… weirdly uplifted.I don’t know if it’s because I have a solution for the party and how to escape the scrutiny I know I will receive, or the fact that I agreed to a date with Alexander. All I know is that after this whole day—which is utter disaster in ever
Tristan’s POV“Who released this statement?” I roar, looking at the faces in front of me.I gathered all my staff to talk about the reports circulating. I just can’t believe that they would say something about the break-in without my permission. Something so big and damaging that it could destroy w
Tristan’s POVMy ears start to ring just hearing that from my mother.What the hell is she trying to do?Elena looks uncomfortable now. “I don’t like exposing them to gatherings that are meant for adults.”“It’s only for one night,” Mom insists. “It’s a big party, and a lot of our friends are invit
Tristan’s POVI came to Elena’s house fully prepared to confront her about what she did to our kids, about the two miscarriages she had that she felt the need not to tell me about. I’ve been angry and hurt and distraught. I was ready to fight. I didn’t care about her threat of being able to take me







