To Love a Shadow To Be the Sun novel Chapter 188

Jason grinned. "Bad boys are always in demand."

Elara took a sip of her coffee.

Black, bitter, but bracing all the same.

"With your skills, Mr. Lawrence, you could charm any naïve girl or hopeless romantic. Shame you don't put that talent to use in business…"

She curled her lip in contempt.

"…instead, all you're good for is chasing after aging rich widows."

Jason's gaze darkened.

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted a divorce from Brian? Brian cares about appearances more than anything. If I buy the headlines and stir up a scandal about you, the public pressure will make it impossible for him to stand by your side."

Elara forced her trembling fingers to steady, her voice icy. "So your way of helping is to destroy my reputation?"

"Don't make it sound so harsh," Jason replied, taking a leisurely sip of his latte, utterly unfazed. "It's like a tabloid rumor—by tomorrow, it'll be old news, replaced by the next big scandal. No one will care. But the damage you inflict on Brian's pride, that's permanent. There's no fixing it. Divorce is the only way out."

Elara had half a mind to throw her coffee in his face, but she held back.

"You're not doing this for me. You just want to hurt Brian. Everything you've done, every move, it's all about getting back at him."

"And you've always known that, haven't you?" Jason's faint smile lingered, impossible to shake off.

"That's why Ignition Dynamics was right not to partner with Blackstar. The character of our associates is just as important as the deal itself."

A bitter smile played at Elara's lips. Even the brush of her coat as she left carried a sense of finality.

Jason suddenly felt something catch in his throat—he couldn't cough it up or swallow it down. It left him uneasy, unsettled.

Elara slid into her car, squeezing her eyes shut to force back the tears stinging at the corners.

She drove across town, to the west side's run-down tenements.

At the street corner, she honked twice. Stella Knightley emerged from a narrow alley and slumped into the passenger seat, her shoulders drooping.

"Sorry," Stella murmured, defeated. "I think I blew it."

After the day she'd had, Elara was ready for anything.

"Tell me everything."

Stella tried to hide the marks on her neck. "We went wild all night, didn't part ways until noon. Before he left, he asked where I lived. I said I was renting a room in this dump, and he didn't even offer to help me out—just handed me a card with five grand on it. I tried to withdraw the money, but it didn't work. Guess he was just using me for fun."

Frozen.

"No way," he muttered.

He hurried after the nurse to the lobby to try an ATM, desperate.

Lina, still desperately seeking Brian's approval—and leverage—could only keep goading her mother.

"That's it. All Gareth's cards are frozen. Those photos you sent didn't work; all it takes is a word from Elara and my brother listens only to her. No money for treatment. Get ready to be thrown out."

Nanette clutched her blanket, shaking. "What are we supposed to do?"

Lina pulled out a USB drive. "Elara really did sleep with a man that night, just not in the room you set up—it was on the top floor. I don't know the exact room, but when I had your phone's deleted data recovered, I also got hold of a hotel surveillance clip. It shows her being carried into a room by a man. If my brother saw that video, he might just want to kill her."

"Really?" Nanette's eyes lit up.

"I know Elara's attending the Aurora Energy board's business mixer tomorrow. My brother will be there too…"

Lina leaned in, her voice low and conspiratorial.

"Do you dare show up in person and play that video on the big screen for everyone to see?"