To Love a Shadow To Be the Sun novel Chapter 379

Fiona's heart leaped, and she instinctively tried to cover her tracks. "What are you talking about? I… I wasn't saying anything bad. You must have misheard."

"There's no need to deny it," Pearl interrupted gently, her smile widening. "I heard everything. And to be honest, I can't stand Elara either. She's always trying to get close to my brother-in-law. It's infuriating."

"What?" Fiona dropped her facade, her voice sharp with anger. "So she was just using the pretense of repaying a debt to become my son's fiancée, all so she could get cozy with Zane and have him do her favors? I knew that woman was trouble!"

Pearl glanced at her, internally scoffing at her denseness. She couldn't openly reveal Elara and Zane's true relationship—partly out of deference to Zane, and partly because it wouldn't benefit her. It was better to keep it a secret for now; it might be useful later. But she had practically spelled it out, and Mrs. Lawrence was still this clueless.

She looked at Fiona, her tone taking on a condescending, instructive quality. "The best way to deal with someone like her is to keep her under your thumb, in a place where… she thinks she's winning, but is actually trapped. Then, whether you crush her or mold her will be entirely up to you. Taking your time makes it much more satisfying, don't you think?"

Fiona's eyes lit up. A look of malicious excitement spread across her face, as if she could already see a future where Elara was completely at her mercy.

…

That evening, Elara returned to her apartment and took a shower. Thinking about her fight with Zane, she decided they needed to talk things out calmly. She went next door.

She rang the doorbell several times, but there was no answer. He probably wasn't back yet.

Remembering he had given her the keypad code that morning, Elara hesitated for a moment before typing it in and pushing the door open. The apartment looked exactly as it had when she left, except the dirty pots and pans in the kitchen were now sparkling clean and neatly put away. She could picture him, after she'd gone, pouring out the unfinished breakfast and washing the dishes with a heavy heart.

She regretted her earlier outburst. She should have just asked him for the truth calmly.

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