AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I gasp in horror. This can’t be true. If he’s finally being honest with me, it means our meeting wasn’t a coincidence. It was a carefully calculated plan. A plan I’m sure his father and my uncle came up with, but he followed through. And that may be even worse.
“You ambushed me!” I cry out, putting all the pieces together in my head. I march toward him, angrily poking at his chest as he steps back. “We didn’t meet by chance, did we? You went searching for me at The Jungle that day?”
He shakes his head in denial, but I no longer know what to believe. “No Stella, I promise. Meeting you there was nothing but a crazy coincidence. I had spoken earlier that day with my father, he’d mentioned how Stephan had come to him with a business opportunity, a proposal he couldn’t refuse, but when I went to The Jungle later that night, the last person I expected to find there was you.”
The possibility of us meeting coincidentally, the same day his father and he spoke about me is too low for me to consider he’s telling the truth. The universe can’t possibly be so fucked up.
“I only recognized you because my father had shown me a picture of you to convince me to follow his plan.”
Of course, my uncle was treating this whole situation, me, like a business transaction. Selling his niece off to the highest bidder, or whoever has something he wants. In this case, it would be highly beneficial to his corrupt empire if he were to have the highest esteemed Judge in the state as part of the family. Not to mention at the head of the country.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I plea, hurt more by the fact he hid his true identity from me than the whole fucked up situation. “You continued to lie to me, knowing the whole time who I was and what you all had planned for me.”
Elijah grabs my hand on his chest, clasping it in his. “What was I supposed to say, Stella? Hey, you don’t know me, but I’m about to become your future husband. Can I buy you a drink?”
I try to pull away from him, “Don’t try to be cute now Elijah. It’s not working in your favor.” Rolling my eyes, I turn my back to him and head to the right side of the garden, toward a white metal swing fastened on the large oak tree.
He follows quickly behind me, like a puppy asking for forgiveness. “Stella, please, this all goes way beyond what you’re thinking. It’s best if you don’t ask questions and just accept it. We both know the kind of monster Stephan Silver is. We don’t want to be caught on his bad side.”
I burst out into full-blown laughter at his observation. “That’s where I’ve found myself my entire life, Elijah. No need to remind me.”
He circles around to stand across from me while I gently swing back and forth on the swing. This was my safe haven. My little piece of joy amidst the chaos that surrounded me here. I have nothing but terrible memories of The Silver Estate, except for this little nook of contentment. Now all I can think of is how this is where he confessed his lies and betrayal to me. I understand why he did it, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to just forgive and forget. He should have trusted me and came clean before I found out this way. Especially after I confessed how hurt I had been from all of Kai’s lies and games. He went and did the same thing, only I don’t know the entire story, which means he’s still hiding something.
If I’m going to go through with this plan of theirs, I need to know everything. “No more lies Elijah,” I say, and he stares at me, confused. “There’s one thing I still don’t understand?”
“What is it, Stella?” he asks, willingly.
“Why the Cobras? You're rich, like really wealthy. I know all about your father and the legacy your grandmother left him. I assume that was your family yacht we were on, Lady Justice.” He nods in acceptance but doesn’t answer me. “Why are you working the streets of Pleasant Hills as a fucking Cobra, when you’re the wealthy grandson of a Supreme Court Judge?”
Elijah clears his throat, suddenly nervous. “The Cobras are my legacy. Not literally, but it's something I’ve done on my own.” He can obviously tell I don’t buy that answer. “There is a reason I just can’t tell you yet.”
I stand, ready to walk away from him. “We can’t do this if you’re not honest with me. I won’t. I can’t stand to be around someone else who blatantly lies to me.”
“I will tell you everything Stella, I just need you to trust me and understand there is a reason I can’t tell you now. It’s asking a lot of you, and I certainly don’t deserve it, but I’m asking you to trust me.”
I nod in agreement. I have nothing to lose. What Elijah is offering is the best option, the only option I have right now. “I know this comes as a shock to you, Stella. It probably makes little sense now, but I care about you, and I want to help you in any way that I can.”
He pulls a small velvet box out of his coat pocket. My heart jumps. I know what he’s going to do, and I can’t stand here and allow him to do it, but I also can’t get myself to say anything to stop him. It’s like I’m frozen in place just watching this unfold before me.
As expected, Elijah drops to one knee, a sight so familiar to what happened just last week on the yacht. “Stella Silver, I know I can never make you truly mine, but how would you like to make me yours?”
