Chapter 169

ELORA’S POV I don’t remember when the tears started falling. Only that at some point, I was on the floor of my living room with my back against the couch, knees pulled to my chest, hands tangled in my hair like that might stop my head from splitting open. My chest burned, my throat hurts, my eyes felt swollen with dark circles under them, but the tears kept coming anyway. I didn’t know what to do. Every option felt wrong. If I speak, I would destroy Lucian. If I stayed silent, I would destroy myself, and possibly my career, my credibility, everything I had rebuilt with shaking hands after walking away from him. I had told myself I hated him. I had said it so many times that it almost felt true. Almost. But hate didn’t stop my hands from trembling when I thought about his name being dragged through the mud. Hate didn’t stop the ache in my chest when I imagined Nora growing up one day and seeing her father labeled a liar and dragged on social media. I couldn’t afford to ruin him. No, not