Recap from Chapter 37
The delicate facade that held this fractured family together is starting to crack — and fast. After days of uneasy silences and loaded glances, James left for a quick trip to the vineyard, blissfully unaware that the storm he's been trying to ignore is already brewing inside his own home.
While he's gone, Aaron returns, and Elena is there — alone. The air between them is thick with everything unsaid, a mixture of guilt, longing, and the kind of ache that never quite fades. They haven't been in the same room in weeks, but when they finally speak, it's less of a conversation and more of a reckoning. The tension boils over when Elena asks the one question neither of them has the courage to answer: Was it love, or just desperation?
