Chapter 112
112
~Elara’s POV
Linda’s words hit me like a slap to the face. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at her as if she had spoken in a language I had never heard before. It sounded too messy, too humiliating, too tangled to be real, and yet her shaking voice and swollen eyes made it impossible to doubt.
“Say that again,” I said slowly, because I needed to be sure I heard her correctly.
Linda swallowed hard and forced herself to speak, even though her voice trembled as if she might fall apart at any second.
“Lira is threatening me with a video. The video of…Ronan and me p>
A bitter laugh slipped out of me, not because it was funny, but because it was so absurd that my mind didn’t know what else to do. I shook my head slowly, trying to make sense of the chaos that had unfolded, but every thought twisted into another knot of disbelief and anger.
“So that is what he has become now,” I muttered under my breath, my voice sharp and cold, and I felt the tension in the room thicken like smoke. “A public dog. A camera on legs. I should have known he would not stop at destroying emotions; he also records them.” The words cut through the silence, heavier than I intended, but I couldn’t soften them.
Linda flinched as if I had hit her physically. Her eyes went wide, and she pressed her hands to her face like she could hide from the truth of my words. I could see the shame and fear pooling in her body, making her smaller, almost fragile.
“I fell for it,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, trembling like a leaf in the wind. “I fell for everything he said p>
I stepped closer, leaning just enough to let my shadow fall over her, and my voice dropped, not soft but full of disbelief. “How?” I asked, trying to understand what part of her mind could justify this. “How does something like that happen if you were not looking for it? If you weren’t trying to be manipulated, how did you allow it p>
She shook her head violently, covering her face with both hands. “Because I was weak. Because my husband… my husband stopped touching me after we got married, and I did not know what to do with that craving sitting in my body like a wound that wouldn’t heal. Because Ronan told me he understood. He told me I deserved to feel wanted. He told me he wouldn’t judge me. And I… I believed him. I believed him like a fool p>
I felt a mix of frustration and disbelief twist in my chest. I wanted to scream at her, to make her understand that falling for lies didn’t absolve her from the consequences. Yet I also felt a strange pang of pity. She had been ensnared in something she didn’t fully understand, and now that trap had spilled into my world.
“And Lira,” I said slowly, letting my words sink in like ice water, “she knew. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she used you. She didn’t care about your feelings, your fear, or what you might lose. She only cared about herself and her plan p>
Linda’s voice shook. “I know. I know I should have… I should have told you. I should have protected the work, protected everything. But I was scared. I was ashamed. I didn’t know what to do. I thought if I did exactly what she said, everything would be fine p>
I took a deep breath, letting the silence hang, heavy and suffocating. “Thinking isn’t enough,” I said finally, my voice hard but steady. “Doing the right thing isn’t about what you feel or what you think. It’s about what you choose to do, and you chose wrong. You let fear decide for you, and now everything is in ruins p>
My jaw tightened.
“And he recorded it p>
She nodded quickly.
“I didn’t know. It happened in the bathroom. He told me the steam made my skin glow, and I was stupid enough to think it was a compliment. He kept touching me, and I was too lost in the moment to notice his hand behind me. I only realized when Lira sent the video to my phone the previous night p>
“And she offered you a deal,” I said, already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” Linda whispered, her shoulders shaking. “She said if I did not send the designs, she would show my husband. She would show the whole pack if she had to. She said she would ruin me the way she feels ruined. I panicked. I did not think clearly. I did not come to you. I let fear control me p>
I stared at her, and for a moment I felt nothing. I was too tired to feel anything. Too exhausted to choose between anger and pity.
“You harvest what you grow,” I said quietly, not shouting, not even raising my voice. “Every decision you plant grows into something. Sometimes it grows into roses, sometimes into poison. You let poison grow, and now you are shocked that it is burning your hands p>
Linda sobbed harder.
“I know. I am sorry. If I could go back, I would do everything differently. I would tell you. I would fight her p>
“You should have told me,” I said, my voice cracking despite how hard I tried to control it. “You should have trusted me. Even if you thought I would be angry, you should have at least given me a chance to protect what we built together p>
“I was afraid,” she whispered. “I knew you would hate me p>
I shook my head slowly.
“Hate is not the worst thing you could have faced. Betrayal is p>
She looked up helplessly.
“Can you forgive me p>
Forgiveness tasted like broken glass in my mouth.
“This apology cannot fix anything,” I said. “We cannot even use the designs anymore because they have already been released. Everything we planned for Fashion Week is gone. Every stitch, every sketch, every hour I did not sleep, all of it is contaminated. It is not just the business that you damaged. It is me p>
Linda pressed her hands against the floor.
“If you want me arrested, I will not run. If you want me gone, I will walk out on my own. I will not fight. I lost the right to defend myself p>
For a moment, I thought I might scream. For a moment, I thought I might collapse. Instead, I exhaled like someone was peeling something heavy off my ribs.
“No,” I said. “I do not want you arrested. Not yet. I want you to write everything down first. A confession. A timeline. Every message she sent you. I want the evidence, not revenge. Revenge comes later p>
Linda nodded like a child being scolded.
“I will write it p>
“And when you are done,” I added, “you will leave this company. Whether your husband stays with you or not, whether your marriage survives or not, whether you ever forgive yourself or not, that is your burden. Not mine p>
She nodded again, tears falling silently this time, because crying loudly no longer made sense.
“Yes. I understand p>
I turned to leave.