Chapter One – The Day Everything Changed
Elara had always thought her mother's second marriage was strange — a woman full of laughter and color marrying a man like him.
Adrian Cole.
A billionaire businessman with calm eyes that could silence a room and a voice that could make anyone obey.
He was twenty-five years older, powerful, self-contained, and completely unlike anyone her mother had ever loved.
But he treated them well. He made her mother happy.
And when her own father's memory began to fade, Elara found herself quietly admiring the way Adrian moved through the world — always in control, always untouchable.
Then her mother died.
The house changed overnight.
Laughter vanished. The air grew heavy. And suddenly, Adrian wasn't just her stepfather — he was the only family she had left.
Elara tried to ignore the way her heart raced when he looked at her too long. She told herself it was grief, confusion — anything but what it truly was: an ache she didn't understand.
He was kind but distant, protective but guarded. Sometimes she caught glimpses of something softer in his eyes when he spoke her name, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
And deep down, she knew one thing for certain — there were things about Adrian Cole her mother had never told her.
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