"Pack your things. You're moving in with me."
Elara blinked.
"What?"
Alexander didn't repeat himself.
"You heard me."
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
"I just got married to you not up to three days ago," she said slowly. "You don't get to start controlling my life immediately."
His jaw ticked.
"This isn't control."
"Oh, really?" she snapped. "Because it sounds like control."
He stepped closer.
"You're my wife now," he said quietly. "People might start asking questions. The board, the media, my enemies…"
"I don't care about your enemies."
"You should."
"If you stay with your family," he continued, "it raises suspicion. If you move in with me, it looks real."
Elara crossed her arms.
"And if I don't want it to look real?"
His eyes locked on hers.
"Then this marriage becomes useless."
"I didn't marry you to perform wife duties," she said.
"And I didn't marry you for charity."
She flinched.
"Look," he said, voice dropping slightly. "I'm trying to protect what we both signed up for."
She laughed bitterly.
"You mean what I was forced into."
His eyes darkened.
"You signed willingly."
"I signed because I had no choice!"
"Then let me make it worth it," he said quietly.
Her breath caught.
"How?" she whispered.
____
He hesitated.
"I'll fix everything for your family."
Her chest tightened instantly.
"You already said that."
"No," he said. "I mean everything."
"No eviction. No debt."
"I will clear every debt in your family's name." He added.
"And what do you get?" she asked carefully.
His gaze dropped to her lips again.
Then back to her eyes.
"You."
Her breath hitched.
"Not like that," he added quickly, like he caught himself.
The air between them changed.
"I need my wife where I can see her," he said.
Elara looked away first.
Because she didn't trust herself not to feel something.
"Fine," she said. "I'll move in."
"But this doesn't change anything," she added.
"It changes everything," he said.
The Ride
The car was quiet.
Elara sat beside him, staring out the window.
Her reflection looked… different.
Like someone in prison.
"You're thinking too much," Alexander said.
She didn't look at him.
"I always do."
"You regret it?"
She hesitated.
Then…
"I don't know yet."
That answer seemed to satisfy him.
Because he didn't ask again.
But then….
His phone rang.
He picked it up immediately.
"Yes."
His tone changed instantly.
"No, I told you to hold the shares."
His jaw tightened.
"I don't care what the board thinks."
"Victor is not making that decision. I am."
"You better fix this," he said finally, and hung up.
"What's going on?" she asked quietly.
He didn't answer immediately.
Then…
"My company is under attack."
Her chest tightened.
"What kind of attack?"
"A takeover."
"And Victor?" she asked carefully.
Alexander exhaled.
"He's trying to…. manipulate things as usual.'"
Before she could ask more….
It happened.
___
THE CRASH
A loud horn.
"Watch out!" Elara screamed.
Everything happened at once.
The car swerved violently.
Tires screeching.
Metal grinding.
For one second…
Everything slowed.
Elara's hand shot out instinctively….
Grabbing Alexander's arm.
Their eyes met.
Then…
BOOM.
The impact hit like a bomb.
Glass shattered.
The world spun.
Elara's head slammed back.
Pain exploded behind her eyes.
For a second…
She couldn't hear anything.
Then…
Noise rushed back.
Screams.
Horns.
Shouting.
"Elara—!"
She heard Alexander's voice.
She turned.
Slowly.
Dazed.
There was blood.
Running down his forehead.
"Alexander…" her voice broke.
He wasn't responding.
"No. No, no, no…"
She forced her door open.
Stumbled out.
Almost fell.
People were gathering.
Voices everywhere.
But she didn't hear any of it.
She ran to his side.
"Alexander!"
He was slumped.
He was barely moving.
Her hands shook as she reached for him.
"Hey… hey… look at me…"
Her chest tightened.
Panic rising.
"Please…" she whispered. "Don't do this…"
Sirens.
Getting closer.
She grabbed his hand.
But it was cold.
"You promised…" her voice cracked. "You said you'd fix everything…"
His fingers twitched.
Hope sparked.
"Alexander?"
His eyes fluttered.
Opened slightly.
"Stay with me," she whispered.
His lips moved.
Barely.
"…Victor…"
"What?"
But his eyes rolled back.
And he went still.
"NO!"
___
THE HOSPITAL
"Move!"
"Clear the way!"
They rushed him in.
Elara followed.
Barely keeping up.
"Are you family?" a nurse asked.
Her throat tightened.
"Yes," she said. "I'm his wife."
The words felt heavy.
"Wait here."
And just like that…
She was alone.
Hours passed.
Or maybe minutes.
She couldn't tell.
Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Her mind wouldn't stop racing.
Then…
The doctor came out.
"Elara Moore?"
She stood up so fast she felt dizzy.
"Yes. How is he?"
"He's alive."
Relief at last.
"But…"
That word again.
"He has head trauma," the doctor continued. "We're concerned about neurological damage."
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"It means…" he hesitated. "If he wakes up, his memory may be affected."
"Memory loss?"
"We're not sure yet."
We are still monitoring him.
HOURS LATER
"His fingers moved!"
Elara shot up.
Alexander woke up hearing different voices.
He perceived something, it was the smell of hospital antiseptic. He hated going to the hospital due to this smell.
His head felt like it was split open and put back together wrong.
"Stabilize him!"
"blood pressure!"
"Alexander," someone said. "Can you hear me?"
He turned his head slightly.
A woman stood right beside the bed.
Dark hair. Brown eyes. Pale face.
She looked… relieved. As if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
"Alexander…" she whispered, stepping closer. "Thank God…"
His gaze sharpened.
"…Where is Victor?" he asked.
"What?"
"I said," his voice strained, "where is Victor?"
The room went quiet.
"I'm here, you don't need Victor." she said softly. "It's me…"
His eyes moved to her.
"…Who are you?"
Her breath caught.
"It's me… Elara…"
"Elara Moore," he said, taking his time. "Aren't you the woman who almost bankrupt my company?"
Her face turned pale. All the color just drained away.
"No," she whispered. "That's not …"
"Get her out of here," Alexander said sharply. His tone froze immediately he spoke, even though his voice showed that he was still hurting.
"I don't want her coming near me. " She is bad news
Elara staggered backward, the very thing she was so scared of happening to her was now happening and she was powerless like she couldn't do anything about it.
Dr. Cole stepped in quickly. "Alexander, you've been through trauma. Your memory …"
"I know this woman, I know her very well," Alexander cut in, eyes locked on Elara with something close to hatred. "And I don't want her here."
Security stepped forward.
"Elara Moore," one of them said. "Could you please …..please step outside for a moment?
She looked at Alexander one more time.
This was a man who had signed a contract with her three days ago.
A man who had promised her protection.
The same man now looked at her like an enemy.
"I'm your wife," she whispered.
Alexander laughed, short, humorless.
"That's funny," he said slowly like someone who's about to die. "Because I would never marry a traitor as a wife. It's not possible that I am married to a betrayer."
His head started hurting badly, get …. get … get out, he struggled to complete the sentence.
Dr. Cole rushed him,to check his vitals
Alarms started beeping.
"His vitals are dropping!"
"Step back!"
"No!" she cried. "Alexander…."
But he was already slipping.
His eyes rolled back.
Nurses rushed in.
Voices everywhere.
"Elara, you need to leave…"
She stumbled back.
The world was spinning.
Because the man she just married…
Didn't remember her.
Worse…
He remembered her as his enemy.
And as the doors slammed shut…
A nurse whispered something that made her blood run cold.
"He's slipping into a coma."
Elara froze.