ELARA

Why not start my revenge right now?

The thought settled into my mind, igniting a dark curiosity I hadn't felt in years. I stood at the foot of my bed, my breathing shallow as I stared at the packed bags resting on the deep-blue silk duvet.

It would be a delicious satisfaction, watching Shawn face the kind of genuine company crisis he had always pretended to have. The same crisis he'd used as a pathetic excuse for his late nights, his missed anniversaries, my forgotten birthdays, and his total emotional abandonment of our marriage.

A sinister smile curved my lips, pulling at muscles that had grown stiff from years of forced smiles. Yes... now will do.

I reached for the bags, my fingers tightening around the leather handles as if I were gripping the throat of every future mistake I intended to rectify. With controlled movements, I lifted them and tucked them deep into the wardrobe.

I couldn't have him finding out my plan just yet.

Crossing the room with newfound purpose, I walked to my private cabinet and unlocked it. From the hidden compartment inside, I pulled out a black, worn laptop bag that felt heavier than it looked.

"I've missed you too," I murmured under my breath, feeling tears sting my eyes.

Why had I given up all these for a man? Worse, a man who deserved it not.

I sniffed, pushing back the urge to cry.

You've wept enough!, I scolded myself, while opening the bag. I pulled out my heavy black laptop.

I powered it on, entered my complex passcode, and immediately gained access to its encrypted contents. I navigated to the dark web without a second of delay, setting the machine down on my dresser as the screen's blue light reflected in my hardened eyes.

My gaze turned to steel as I tapped on a familiar group icon and typed a simple, single greeting.

Hello.

As I stretched my fingers, rolling the built-up tension from my wrists until they clicked, notifications began to explode across the screen in a frantic, digital blur.

"Oh my goodness, Nuxia is back!"

"Boss, is that you?"

"It's been five years too long! We missed you!"

"Welcome back, boss!"

A dry chuckle left my lips. Welcome back, indeed.

I had buried this powerful part of myself just to play the obedient, invisible housewife Shawn and his toxic family demanded. I had softened my edges and dulled my own power for the sake of a man who never deserved a single sacrifice I made.

And what had I gotten in return for my loyalty?

Penury. Neglect. A cold-blooded betrayal.

I touched my belly, my fingers resting there with a sudden, fierce protective instinct that made my heart hammer against my ribs.

At least I had this. At least I had a reason to fight.

For this child, I would burn down entire worlds, and I would build a better one from the ash. I would make absolutely sure my baby never grew up begging for crumbs of love from someone who had no heart to give.

"Do I merit a welcome package?" I typed, a ghost of a predatory smile flashing across my face.

Emojis flooded the chat. Stickers of celebration.

"Of course, boss! What do you want? Give us a target."

My smile turned dangerous, my eyes narrowing. I typed exactly what I wanted.

A virus bug. A clean, silent infiltration into Shawn's company servers. Something jagged that would expose sensitive customer data, shake every ounce of investor confidence, and drag him into the kind of agonizing, sleepless nights he had spent five years faking to avoid me.

I wanted to make him truly, deeply panic.

"Consider it done, boss!"

"Did the director of this company offend you?"

If only they knew the half of it.

"Yes," I typed simply, my fingers hovering over the keys. "Do your best."

They didn't disappoint. My people never did.

Unlike Shawn.

I logged off, the screen fading to black, and closed the laptop with a definitive snap. Then I rose and walked out of the room, my stride humming with a dark, focused intent. I headed straight toward Shawn's personal office.

It was time to reclaim every single thing I had ever given him.

It was better to pull my financial support now, before the entire company collapsed under the weight of the cyber virus I had just unleashed.

Inside his office, the scent of his expensive woodsy cologne hit me like a physical blow. My jaw tightened so hard it ached as I moved to his computer, knowing I had less than an hour before he returned to take me to his grandfather's birthday dinner.

There was no time to dawdle with emotions.

I connected my laptop to his system.

My fingers moved with an efficiency fueled by a righteous fury that made my skin tingle. Through an anonymous profile I'd kept hidden for years, I submitted a formal request for the buyback of my shares.

Then, I hacked directly into his profile as Managing Director and approved the deal. I had no more time for protocols.

Seconds later, the confirmation flashed on my screen: The funds have been transferred.

A satisfied exhale escaped me, a weight lifting from my shoulders.

Then, on a sudden impulse, I decided to snoop through his private drives.

And oh... the wells of absolute corruption I found lurking beneath his "perfect" businessman exterior.

He had been stealing from the very company his grandfather handed to him on a silver platter. Embezzling funds. Laundering money. I saw chats where he spoke comfortably with men of the underworld, using his family's legacy as a cleaning ground for their dirty cash.

My lips curved into a venomous, sharp smile. So this was the man who had the audacity to call me useless?

I transferred everything-every document, every chat log, every shred of proof-to my private system. Then I logged into another anonymous profile. Blogger: Stormbringer.

I scheduled the evidence to be released to every major news outlet exactly twenty-four hours from now.

He wanted to ruin me. He wanted to drug me and destroy my reputation in front of the world.

Fine. He would have front-row seats to his own public execution.

I shut down the systems and left his office without a single backward glance.

My phone beeped just as I stepped back into the sanctuary of my room.

Grandfather Max.

"Elara, I hope you are still coming with your husband... we have a lot of guests waiting."

A sad smile touched my lips as I read the text.

Yes, he was a cold calculative patriarch, more concerned with his public image than anything else, but he was also the only person in that entire viper's nest of a family who had ever treated me like a human being.

And what better gift could I give him than the hard truth?

I would show him that his grandson was unfit to rule anything but a pile of ruin.

"Yes, Gramps. I will be there. Happy birthday once again!" I replied.

My smile widening into a sinister thing, I walked to my wardrobe to pick a dress for the dinner.

Out of habit, my hand reached for the black, somber gown I usually wore... a dress too big, too dull, the drab uniform of a dutiful, invisible housewife. My fingers brushed the scratchy hem, then paused.

No more of this either, I mused, feeling a strange, electric thrill run through my veins.

My eyes drifted to a bold, blood-red gown hanging at the far end of the wardrobe, and my smile widened even more.

Perfect.

It was better to dress how I've always longed to. Better to show up as my real self.

No more hiding in the shadows for a man who deserved the dark.

ELARA

I smoothed the invisible creases on the red gown I wore, my eyes catching the steady tick of the clock on the wall.

7 p.m. And Shawn wasn't here yet.

Did he seriously forget?

The birthday dinner had been scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m. We were already almost two hours late!

I picked my phone up from my clutch purse, uncrossed my legs, and dialed his number.

Surely, he couldn't choose Miranda over his own grandfather? Not tonight at least...

There was no answer the first time. None the second.

Impatience bloomed into a restless, prickling heat beneath my skin. I got to my feet, my fingers tightening around my clutch as I paced the sitting room and dialed again.

My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror of the west wing of the sitting room, and I couldn't help but smile at the transformation. I wondered, for a brief, fleeting second, what he would say when he finally saw me.

Would he rethink things? Would he-

Idiot. I cursed myself. I stomped both the thought and the dying embers of love that tried to swamp me. I didn't need his approval. And I definitely didn't want his love anymore!

I had to be strong. For me. And for the baby.

Finally, he answered on the fourth dial.

"Shawn..."

Music throbbed in the background of the call. Laughter. Then his mother's voice drifted through the line, clear enough to cut.

"Where is that peasant you call a wife? Did she forget what today was?" A pause, followed by a conspiratorial hiss. "I have told you to divorce her already... you are still going on with the plans, right..."

I inhaled slowly, forcing the oxygen into my lungs even as my chest tightened with a cold ache. So they all knew. The whole family was in on the plan to ruin me.

I ended the call without waiting for him to speak.

But he called back instantly.

"Elara, where are you?! Did you forget what today was?"

I snorted softly, the sound bitter in the quiet room. The fool didn't even suspect I might have overheard. He must be quite confident in my supposed stupidity.

"You mentioned we'd be going together," I said coolly. "Did you forget?"

A pause on the other end. Then Miranda's sickly sweet voice floated into the receiver, dripping with fake innocence.

"Oh, Shawny, come on, let's go see Grandfather. They're already bringing out the gifts..."

Shawny?

I scoffed. It sounded like the name for a lapdog-which, frankly, was exactly what he was to her.

"You went with Miranda?" I baited him, my curiosity thriving over my common sense. I wanted to see how far he would go to cover his tracks.

He cleared his throat, sounding slightly flustered, the sound of a man caught in a web of his own making. "We met at the office, so I came with her since she mentioned you invited her..."

I nodded slowly to the empty room. I never invited Miranda. In fact, I had started avoiding her months ago, ever since my instincts began screaming that she wasn't the "best friend" I'd known in high school.

"All the same, start coming," he continued, his tone turning dismissive and cold. "Grandfather is getting anxious. Should I send an Uber, since you can't drive?"

"No, don't worry. Enjoy the party. I'll be there in about ten minutes..."

Then he ended the call, leaving me with the dial tone.

Inhaling deeply again, controlling my emotions, I slipped my phone back stiffly into the purse, strolled to the dining area, and collected the meticulously packaged gift I had for Grandpa Max. Then, I walked out of the house.

On second thought, I turned back, headed to the basket of keys in the hallway, and picked the one for the red Porsche, Shawn's personal baby.

Might as well confuse them.

The compound was filled with a sea of guests when I arrived at the mansion ten minutes later. There wasn't a single place to park, but because the Porsche gleamed, one of the security guards-assuming I was some visiting dignitary or high-society heiress-cleared a path immediately.

I felt the weight of a hundred gazes as the guests turned to see who had arrived two hours late.

The guard respectfully pointed me toward a parking space right near the entrance.

When I turned off the ignition, I removed my sunglasses slowly. I was fully aware of the attention-on the car, on the flash of red, on the woman driving a machine worth more than most of their homes.

I could already see Shawn's mother approaching from the entrance, her spine stiff, preparing to act like a gracious hostess to a guest she didn't recognize.

This would be fun.

Another deep inhale. Gift and purse in my right hand, I pushed open the door and stepped out.

The guard bowed, the tips of his ears turning a bright pink as he hurried aside at the matriarch's approach.

He hadn't recognized me. None of them had.

Interesting.

"Hello! Welcome, welcome!" Linda beamed, actually looking beautiful in her own way as she waved me forward with a fake, practiced smile.

I couldn't help the smug smile that slithered across my lips. "Good evening... Mother..."

I watched the transformation happen in real-time, and it was glorious.

I watched her smile dry up and wither the second she realized who was standing before her. I watched the confusion taint her face as her gaze dragged over me from head to toe, taking in every expensive inch of the silk and the terrifying confidence in my eyes.

"Elara?"

"The one and only," I mused lightly, then looked past her at the watching crowd, my chin tilted high.

The whispers were already reaching my ears like the buzzing of a disturbed hive.

"Is that Elara Lindays?"

"I can't believe it. Has she always been this beautiful?"

"Is that an Areso gown? And those killer heels... oh my goodness..."

"Shawn really hid this beauty at home, and for what?"

"She's still a peasant though... from the countryside. What's the use of her beauty then..."

I tuned them out. Ignoring Linda's shocked silence, I started toward the heart of the party, where I was sure Grandpa Max would be waiting in his seat of honor.

But my movement snapped her out of her daze. She reached out and grabbed my arm, her grip tight and claw-like.

"Where do you think you're going? Why are you coming at this time, you stupid girl!"

I cocked my head slightly, staring at her intensely, but said nothing.

She must have been unsettled by the sheer coldness of my gaze, because she blurted out, "Do you think dressing to the nines will change who you are? Will it detract from the scolding you will receive from Shawn?"

How had I tolerated this for five years? I wondered, looking down at her hand on my sleeve with a sense of clinical detachment.

Slowly, I removed her hand from my arm, finger by finger. Then I glared at her-smiling faintly when she took a step back, shock flashing in her eyes at whatever cold steel she saw reflected in mine.

Then I walked away. I had to see Grandfather.

He was exactly where I expected, under a mini canopy where the elite guests stepped forward to present their offerings. When he saw me, he beamed, his face lighting up with genuine warmth as he called me over.

"My dear, you look gorgeous!"

I smiled, fully aware of Shawn staring at me from across the lawn, standing with Miranda, with the rest of his judgmental family. I was aware of Linda stepping into the canopy behind me, her face red with fury. Aware that we had suddenly, violently, become the center of everyone's attention.

"Thanks, Gramps. Happy birthday!"

I was just about to hand him my gift when Miranda closed the distance between us, her arms lifting as if to pull me into a sisterly hug.

I raised my hand, stopping her dead in her tracks with a single gesture.

"Stay away," I said coolly, the words loud enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly. "You smell like shitty perfume."

ELARA

I'm not a mean girl by nature, I promise, but seeing the look of pure, startled shock on Miranda's face at the insult made something inside me purr. 

"What is the meaning of that, Elara? How can you say such a thing to your best friend? What is wrong with you?" Shawn shouted, his voice booming across the canopy. 

He stepped protectively close to Miranda, whose eyes immediately blurred with fake tears. In the next breath, she buried her face against his shirt for consolation, acting as if my words had physically wounded her.

Over a simple insult?

I scoffed, my lip curling in a sneer. The sheer audacity of these fools was breathtaking.

"Is that why she would put her face against the chest of a married man?" 

I made sure my voice was loud, projecting it so the surrounding guests couldn't possibly look away. 

"Or is there something going on here that I'm simply not aware of?"

I caught the guilty, frantic darting of eyes between Shawn and his family-his rude, entitled sisters and his overbearing mother. The air under the canopy grew thick with the sudden, awkward silence of a possible secret being dragged into the light.

Grandpa Max, however, didn't look guilty. He looked thoughtful. And dangerously angry.

"Shawn, push that woman away from you this instant! Since when did you two become such close friends?"

I smirked, watching Shawn hesitate. He was caught in a visible tug-of-war between his grandfather's authority and his obsession with Miranda. 

Yet, deep down, a sharp pain kept cracking the remains of my already shattered heart.

This was the man I had given up my life-and my health-for.

And here he was, on the verge of publicly disobeying his grandfather for the first time, all for the woman currently clinging to his buttons like a parasite.

"I doubt he would, Gramps..." I taunted, the bitterness bleeding into my tone as I fought back the tears threatening to spill. "I think they are best friends. Or maybe... they're much more."

"Shut your mouth, peasant!" Linda shrieked, her eyes unsettled. "You think you can come here and cause a scene? Father, can't you see what she's doing? This is your birthday and she is-"

"All I can see is that she is telling the truth," Grandpa Max interrupted, his voice like gravel. He stared at his grandson, who was still holding Miranda. "Are you cheating on your wife, Shawn?"

Shawn blanched, his face turning a wrong shade of pale as he shook his head quickly. He pushed Miranda away-gently, but with enough force to put distance between them that hadn't been there before.

"Of course not," he said, rushing to my side. He flung an arm around my waist, pulling me close in a way that felt more like a restraint than an embrace. 

"I love Elara. She is the best wife a man could ask for. I'm just unhappy that she would insult her best friend this way, especially when Miranda only wanted to give her a hug..."

I saw Grandpa Max glance at me, looking for an explanation, but I couldn't bring myself to lie to the old man. Not today. Instead, I simply pushed the gift toward him again, my fingers trembling slightly.

"Here, Gramps. Open it."

All the while, I fought the bile rising in my throat. I wanted to shrug off Shawn's filthy arm, especially when he leaned in, a sleazy smile on his lips as he whispered into my ear.

"You look so good tonight, wife. I can't wait to strip you inch by inch when we get home..."

He nipped at my ear, a gesture that used to make me shiver with love, but now only made me feel cold.

The display seemed to placate Grandpa Max for the moment. The old man smiled broadly, his tension easing as he began to open the gift I'd brought. But that smile wavered into confusion the moment he lifted the golden pocket watch from its lining.

"Thief!" Linda shouted, her eyes flashing with a sudden, triumphant contempt.

Shawn's hand instantly fell from my waist as if I had turned to lead. He didn't even wait for me to speak before he stepped away, distancing himself from the "scandal."

"You stole Miranda's idea, didn't you? Too bad for you... she already gave Father the exact same gift!"

I frowned, my heart sinking as I looked at the table of gifts. What?

I looked at Miranda. She was tearing up again, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. 

Does the well in her ever run dry? I wondered, disgusted by the theatricality of it.

"I'm sorry, Elara... I shouldn't have..." Miranda whimpered.

"Don't apologize to her, my dear," Linda snapped sharply.

I looked at Miranda, my eyes narrowing into slits. "You shouldn't have what?" I needed to hear the lie she had concocted.

Miranda looked as though I had sucker-punched her. She shook her head frantically and dissolved into fresh, loud sobs. I wanted to throw up my hands at the sheer performance of it all.

"One more word, Elara, and I will cut that sharp tongue right out of your mouth! How dare you bring a fake gift to Grandpa? There is only one of these in the entire state!" Claire, Shawn's elder sister, snapped, stepping forward like a guard dog.

I ignored her completely and turned to Grandpa Max, my voice steady. "Is your friend here? The one who owns the jewelry company?"

Grandpa Max raised a brow, obviously curious. After all, in all the years he knew me, I never fought back, never defended myself.

He beckoned to a staff member, but before anyone could move, Arthur-the owner of Becketts Jewelry-stepped out of the watching crowd.

Without a word, he took the pocket watch from Grandpa Max's hand, weighing it in his palm for a long, silent moment. He pulled a jeweler's loupe from his pocket and inspected the gears. Then, he looked up and smiled.

"This one is the real one. 100% authentic. It's the masterpiece I personally engraved." He then glanced at Miranda's gift on the table. "That one... is a high-quality counterfeit."

Shocked murmurs rippled through the guests like a tidal wave. Even Shawn stared at Miranda, his mouth slightly agape, the shock of her failure written all over his face.

"I... maybe she exchanged it?" Miranda stammered, her voice thin, desperate, and cracking.

I scoffed, stepping closer to her. "Give up the charade, Miranda. You've been found out."

She shook her head, looking to Shawn for help, but Grandpa Max had seen enough. The old man's face was like stone.

"Get her out of here!"

The guards moved to drag her away, but I felt a sudden, burning urge to speak to her myself, to see the mask slip completely. I raised a hand, stopping them. 

I tapped her lightly on the shoulder and walked out of the canopy toward the back of the estate, knowing her pride and her desperation would force her to follow me.

We ended up by the edge of the massive swimming pool, the water dark and still under the moon, reflecting the cold light of the stars.

But before I could get a single word of my victory out, the woman flung herself into the pool.

I stood there, paralyzed by the sheer shock of it-the stillness of the night only breaking when she started screaming for help, thrashing in the water as if she were being pulled down by a monster.

Immediately, Shawn appeared. He ran toward the water like he had been standing in the shadows, waiting for his cue. 

I wondered, with a sick, sinking feeling in my stomach, if she had planned this entire thing, if maybe she had gestured that he should follow her...

He dove in without hesitation. He pulled her out just as quick, and when she finally gasped for breath after he performed a panicked first aid, he lunged toward me. 

He gripped my arm so hard I knew it would leave a permanent bruise.

"What is wrong with you?!" he screamed in my face, his eyes wild with a terrifying, unhinged rage. "Do you want to kill her? You know she can't swim!"

The lie was so absurd I actually laughed. 

Because I knew for a fact that Miranda could swim.

"You are really such a pawn..." I laughed some more, shaking my head at him as the moonlight caught the tears I refused to let fall. "You are a pathetic, blind pawn, Shawn."

"You really expect me to believe you didn't push her?" Shawn's mouth worked in silent anger, his face contorting into something monstrous.

Before I could even think to defend myself, he shoved me into the pool.

He shoved me with all his strength toward the deep end. Knowing I couldn't swim. Knowing about the trauma of the water that lived in my very bones.

I hit the water and sank like a stone. Then I came up for air once, screaming for help, my lungs burning... but no one seemed to hear. 

Instead, I watched through blurred, stinging eyes as he lifted Miranda into his arms and walked away toward the lights of the party, never once looking back.

He was going to leave me here to die.