The day after I signed my divorce papers with Julian Vanderbilt,my ex showed up at my door. Carter Reed,the tech billionaire who ruined my life,stood there wearing a smug smirk. “You’ve had your fun,Elara,”he said,taking a step closer. “You got out of that cage.Now isn’t it time to come back to me?” He dialed back the Silicon Valley arrogance and played the devoted man.”I’m done with Maya.I swear,Elara.This time,I’ll give you everything.” Hearing that name made my blood run cold. Maya. She was the waitress Carter bankrolled into a Hollywood star. Because of her,I lost my baby. Because of her,the hands that were supposed to play Carnegie Hall were ruined. Carter had taken a Juilliard prodigy and driven her to the edge of madness. So I looked him dead in the eye and said,”Coming back?Not in a million years.” Carter dropped the act instantly.”Why?”he snapped. “Julian took over the Vanderbilt empire. The whole Upper East Side knows he dumped you. Who else is going to take you in?” I turned to look at him,my eyes cold.”Who said he dumped me?” … Carter paused for a beat,then let out a scornful laugh.”Elara,you never change.Always living in your own little fantasy.Julian Vanderbilt is the sole heir to a billion-dollar empire.He went back to claim what’s his. Why would he keep a girl with no family and a ruined past?He got bored.Face it.” Let him believe that. Sure,the papers are signed.But Julian didn’t dump me. Five years ago,he walked away from his trust fund just to marry me. The succession war within his family was getting vicious. To keep me and our daughter safe,he had to go back and claim his throne. This divorce is just a cover. It’s our little secret. But to Carter,I was nothing but a woman the old money had chewed up,spit out,and forgotten.
My silence made Carter think he’d finally gotten to me. His voice softened. “I’m sorry,Elara.That was harsh.But I just want you back.I really do.” “I knew it wouldn’t last the moment you married Julian. I’ve been waiting for this day for five years.” His words dragged up memories I thought I’d buried. Back on the Columbia campus,on the lawn,him clutching onto my backpack charm with a flushed face,asking,”Elara,can I be your boyfriend?” I thought he was sweet and ambitious—a world apart from everything I knew.I thought a guy like him could never hurt anyone. But I was wrong. When a”good guy”goes bad,he’s far more ruthless than any real villain. I scoffed.”Five years?Carter,you could wait fifty,and it still wouldn’t change a thing.We ended a long time ago.” I turned and grabbed my suitcase. My fingers,once so agile on the piano,felt stiff and clumsy from the old injury. Carter stepped forward,blocking my path again. “You don’t have to love me.But what about Chloe?She needs her father.”
At the mention of my daughter,every defensive wall I had went up. “Chloe is Julian’s daughter and mine,”I spat. “She has absolutely nothing to do with you.Stop flattering yourself.” Carter frowned,clearly not buying a single word.He took a step closer,his gaze locked on my face.”Chloe is six years old,Elara! She was already born when you married Julian five years ago. We hadn’t even officially broken up back then.You were pregnant with my baby!” “Is admitting you had my child really that humiliating for you?” The more confident he sounded,the more absurd it was. The man who had thrown me away for some cheap actress now wanted to claim another man’s treasured daughter.He didn’t get to have it both ways. I didn’t bother arguing.My Uber was already idling at the curb. I brushed past him,pulled open the car door,and gave him one last,freezing look. “Believe whatever you want.I have nothing to say to you.” The car pulled away.In the rearview mirror,Carter’s figure shrank into New York’s concrete jungle,until the rushing traffic swallowed him whole. I let out a long,shaky breath. Chloe is actually only five years old. Five years ago,Julian pulled some highly illegal strings to protect me and secure our marriage. He used his wealth to alter her birth certificate,making her a year older on paper. It was a risky move,but Julian did it to protect us. My daughter shares not a single drop of blood with Carter Reed.My hand drifted unconsciously to my stomach,my fingertips trembling slightly. There had been a time when I carried his child in here. But his brutal betrayal ruined everything. I lost the baby,and he broke me.
The year I graduated,I turned down Carnegie Hall. Instead,I crammed into a tiny Brooklyn apartment with Carter,using every penny I made tutoring piano to fund his tech startup. My clients were ultra-rich. One hour of teaching paid more than a normal weekly salary. I taught from dawn till midnight,my fingers swollen and my voice hoarse,just to scrape together his startup capital. The day his company launched,he lifted me up by the Hudson River,laughing like a kid. “Elara,I see our future,”he promised. “Once we go public,I’ll buy out Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue and make the happiest bride in the world.” We both thought the hard times were finally over. But I had no idea.It wasn’t the end of the struggle.It was the beginning of my hell.
Once the cash started rolling in,Carter got busy. Then came Maya—a waitress who delivered his lunch,the one variable I never saw coming.He pitied her,fell for her acting dreams,and decided to play hero: “Want to be a star?Let me help you.” Just like that,the money I nearly killed myself to earn became Maya’s stepping stone. He paid for her elite acting school in LA and bought her a supporting role in a hit show. When I confronted them on set,Carter shielded a sobbing Maya and shoved me to the ground. I was pregnant. I fell,my stomach slamming into the sharp edge of a metal prop box. Blood soaked my dress. My baby died right there—killed by his own father. Carter panicked.He swept me up and rushed me to the hospital,crying and begging for forgiveness the entire way.Numb,I told him it was over.But he lost it.He grabbed a knife,slit his wrist,and used self-harm to threaten me. “We’re just business,Elara!”he cried. “I was just doing charity.Didn’t you fall in love with me because I’m kind?” Yes.I used to believe that was kindness.But he had no right to feed that”kindness”of his with my flesh and blood.I was weak.I forgave him. Until my birthday.I received a teaching offer from Juilliard and called him,dying to share the news.Over the line,all I heard was the unmistakable sound of a man and a woman,breathing hard together—nauseating and undeniable. After what felt like forever,Carter’s panicked voice came through:”Baby,I’m almost home.”In that second,our six years together died.
Before I could even grieve,Maya cornered me in the music academy restroom with two bodyguards. She raised a hammer and brought it down hard on my Steinway—the one that had been with me for years. The keys shattered. My dreams shattered with them. Maya smirked,looking like a lunatic. “You think you’re something just because you can play a few songs,Elara?Come after my man again,and this is what you get.Carter was sick of you long ago.Get a clue!” During the struggle with her bodyguards,one of them stomped on my hand. Two of my fingers broke instantly,twisting at a sickening angle. My piano career was dead. The moment I left the hospital,my first thought was revenge.I sent the proof to The New York Post. Carter siphoning my money to launch Maya’s career.Maya’s deliberate assault.Every single detail. Maya was a rising star,so the scandal exploded online.Furious fans flooded Carter’s socials demanding answers.But he publicly gaslit me. “Elara’s mental health has been unstable.We broke up long ago.Please stop harassing my friends.” Maya followed up,painting herself as the victim and me as a bitter,obsessed stalker. Overnight,I became the laughingstock of New York. I was terrified to leave my apartment,hiding like a sewer rat. I begged Carter to just tell the truth.I promised I’d walk away forever. He just looked at me,cold and unmoved.”Maya’s career is just starting.I can’t let her be ruined.Just bear with it,Elara.I’ll make it up to you later.” Bear with it?Make it up to me? Everything I had suffered came from him. I went to his office to make a scene,and he had me arrested. At the police station,the man who bailed me out was Julian. Back in college,he was the one who would sit in the last row of the concert hall,day after day,just listening to me play. He draped his coat over my trembling shoulders. “You’re a free bird,Elara.You don’t belong in a cage.Let me take you home.” He pieced my broken soul back together. To give me a safe haven,he fought the entire Vanderbilt family,gave up his inheritance,and married me. “Elara,I won’t just say’I love you.’I will share your fate,for better or worse. We are each other’s destiny.”
I carried my bags to the apartment Julian had prepared for me. It was our safe haven.Warm,beautiful,and hidden from everyone. The door flew open,and Chloe ran out on her tiny legs,throwing her arms around me. “Mom!You’re back!Daddy says this is our secret castle!” Julian and I had agreed: once he took full control of the Vanderbilt empire,we would officially remarry. Life should have been peaceful,but Carter wouldn’t leave us alone. Every morning,he had fresh roses delivered to my door. Every evening,he stood outside the building,desperate for a glimpse of Chloe and me. He even bought out the entire FAO Schwarz toy store,crouching down to win over my daughter.”Chloe,I’m your dad.Can you call me dad,just once?” I immediately covered Chloe’s ears and walked right past him. “Chloe,remember,you only have one father.His name is Julian Vanderbilt.” Chloe gave a firm nod,her little face serious. “I know!That weird uncle bullied Mommy.He’s a bad guy!” I patted her head and smiled. “Yes.A bad guy.”
I ignored him.But Carter only pushed harder. One day,he planted himself at my door,arms full of property deeds,stock transfer agreements,and a pile of asset documents.”Elara,I’ll give you everything.Just come back.” “You and Chloe won’t have to keep hiding.Isn’t this the stability you wanted?” I looked at him.Two cold word:”Get lost.” Three months later.Julian called. “Darling,let’s remarry.” After the paperwork,he took an overjoyed Chloe to kindergarten.”I’ll pack at the apartment.Pick me up later.” He leaned in for a kiss,pouting. “You don’t even miss me?” I laughed.”So childish.” His eyes turned serious. “The ones who are loved never need to pretend to be mature.” At my apartment,I froze. The walkway was covered in red roses.Endless. Carter knelt with a massive diamond ring. “Elara,I know you’re still angry with me.” “But I’m willing to put up with every mood,every moment of it.You used to be the one giving everything—now let me be the one who comes to you.Marry me.” The neighbors who had gathered,oblivious to the truth,erupted.”Say yes!Say yes!” I walked up. I slapped the ring out of his hand. My heel crushed the roses. “I refuse.” Carter stood up,eyes bloodshot. “Why?!You still love me!” “I don’t,”I snapped. I held up the marriage certificate—still warm from my hands—for everyone in that room to see.”Because I’m already married.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs.”Oh my god,she’s married.What a clown.” “Come on,man.Stop embarrassing yourself.” Carter stared at the paper,his eyes wild. “It’s fake!You divorced three months ago!You’re lying!” He lunged and grabbed my wrist. The familiar fear rushed back. The miscarriage.The helplessness. “Let go!” He ripped the book from my hands. He opened it.The husband’s name: Julian Vanderbilt. Carter burst into manic laughter. “Julian?A billionaire like him would never take you back!” “He threw you out like trash!” “Enough!”My voice shook with rage. “He is nothing like you.” I snatched it back,then tucked it carefully into my bag,turned,and headed upstairs.
Watch👉 https://cps-front.novelix.live/app-api/ext/new/20260731beqeqt1Icb 🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “Novelix” app 🔍 search for “ni313502”, and watch the full series ✨! #Novelix
Leave a Reply