Everyone was seated around the Stone mansion’s dinner table, awaiting the arrival of the patriarch, Mr. Stone. The table’s atmosphere felt even more uncomfortable than normal.A few minutes passed when Mr. Stone finally arrived. He took his seat, his eyes scanning everyone.“These imbeciles shouldn’t even have a place at this family dinner,” Mr. Stone said, his voice angry. His words were quite obviously directed towards Carlos and Marcus.The whole family couldn’t hide their shock at Mr. Stone's words, he had already demoted the both of them. Wasn’t that enough of a punishment?Eleanor’s breath felt stuck in her, her eyes wide with shock. And Elijah, who sat beside her, raised an eyebrow in surprise. Eleanor glanced towards Carlos’ direction, but his gaze was stuck on the untouched plate of food in front of him. He looked like he had a thousand thoughts running through his mind.Marcus, however, straightened his position, his eyes wide as he began to plead. “Grandfather,” Marcus beg

From the guesthouse, Eleanor could hear the raised voices coming from the main mansion. She was sitting on the couch, her hands around a book.Yet she was barely paying any attention to the words written. She knew whatever argument was going on had something to do with Carlos’s actions at the dinner two nights ago. The shouting slowly quieted down, and the silence of the guesthouse returned. Eleanor closed the book in her hands, standing and heading to the kitchen to check on the lasagna she had in the oven. It was her grandmother’s signature dish, and she’s been craving it for days. She always did when she missed Henrietta.Just as she stepped back into the living room, a knock sounded on the door to the guesthouse. She slightly furrowed her brows in confusion before walking over to the door.Behind the door stood Carlos, who leaned on the doorframe. His expression was tired, yet he forced a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Mind if I step in?”Eleanor blinked in surpr

Sunlight streamed through the extravagant curtains in Candice’s room, lighting up the room.Eleanor was seated on the couch near the windows, her fingers restlessly tapping against her arm. It’s been more than 30 minutes since her mother, Candice, had called her in for help with something.Yet, for the past 30 minutes, she’s been doing nothing but happily gossiping with her best friend over the phone as she rummages through her drawers.Candice’s phone was on her vanity, on speaker, allowing every bit of gossip to be heard. Candice laughed at something her friend said, not that Eleanor was paying attention, her attention was on the clock, looking at how much time had passed.“Tell me about it. I was shocked to the core when I found out Ciera’s husband was cheating. Can you imagine?” Candice said.Eleanor sighed lightly, adjusting her position on the couch, it didn’t seem like her mother would be done with her phone call anytime soon.Candice’s friend replied with a scoff, her tone ju

“An affair?” Elijah’s voice was low, close to a whisper, the disbelief he felt was evident on his face, and his heart dropped, so low it felt like it would fall out. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Eleanor’s tears began to fall, and her tone got louder with every word. “Yes, an affair! Tell me, Elijah, why?! Why have you been taking your calls in another room? Why do you hide your messages when I’m nearby? And every time, every single time, it’s a work call! Do you think I’m stupid?” Elijah was stuck in his place, her words heavy in his ears. He had only seen tears in the eyes of Eleanor once before. At grandmother Henrietta’s funeral, when they both stood in silence, in mourning. But today, her tears were because of him, and the realization made his heart ache. “El,” he said softly, taking a step closer to her. His tone was urgent, almost pleading. “No, Eleanor, I promise you, I would never. I would never do something like that.” He thought of the promise he had made t

Eleanor sat alone in her room. She had just gotten out of the shower, and she was currently sitting at the vanity, brushing through her damp hair. Her gaze was on the mirror, looking at her reflection, which stared back at her. She was zoned out, and her movements were almost robotic. Carlos’s words from earlier were replaying in her mind like a tape on repeat. She had told him all about the fight last night and her reasons for such suspicions. And Carlos’s response was, ‘“I understand, Ellie. But I don’t think I agree with you. You know Elijah more than I do, but come on, this is Elijah we’re talking about, the man who refused to divorce you, withstanding three years of torment from our family. The man who was offered money to save his mom in exchange for a divorce but still refused, the man who was buried in poverty, offered millions, but yet still refused. A man who stayed loyal to grandmother’s will… I refuse to believe he would ever have an affair.”’ Eleanor let out a sig