THE TRUTH IN OUR EYES

Name: THE TRUTH IN OUR EYES
Rating: 5.0 (1 reviews)

Vera’s Adventure

Billionaires | Ongoing

5.0

Comment(s)

View

Chapters

Five years ago, Elara Monroe vanished-pregnant, heartbroken, and hunted. Now she's back under a false name, working inside the empire of the man who ruined her life. Roman Thorne doesn't recognize her at first. But when he does... nothing will ever be the same.

R18+ Modern Betrayal Revenge Age gap Romance Billionaires Revenge

Chapter 5 The Whisper Between Walls

06-18 09:58

Chapter 1 The Woman in the Rain

The rain didn't wait for permission.

It poured from the heavens like punishment, like the sky had seen what she'd done and wanted her soaked to the bone in shame. Elara stood at the edge of the estate gates, hood drawn, hair plastered to her cheeks, a duffel bag clenched to her chest like a life raft.

She hadn't meant to return. God knew this was the last place she should be.

But when you're desperate, when your past starts catching up faster than your breath, you run back to the only place you swore you'd never see again.

She took one shaky step toward the black iron gates of the Valerius estate. The same gates she ran from five years ago, barefoot, bruised, and bleeding.

Now, she was back-under a different name, with a fake résumé, and a lie so fragile it could shatter if anyone looked too hard.

Her hands trembled as she pressed the intercom button.

"Yes?" The voice was clipped, male, bored.

Elara licked her lips, keeping her voice steady. "My name is Elena Ross. I'm here for the nanny position."

There was a pause. A silence so loaded it prickled her skin.

Then a buzz, and the gates groaned open.

Her boots squelched on the gravel as she walked up the long driveway. The mansion loomed through the downpour, all steel and stone, as cold and unreachable as the man who lived inside it.

Roman Valerius.

He had built empires with bare fists and dirty money. The kind of man who didn't ask for forgiveness because he never thought he'd need it. Elara had loved him once. Or maybe she had just loved the boy he used to be-before violence turned him into something unrecognizable.

She reached the front door and lifted the brass knocker. Her fingers hesitated.

This is stupid. He'll know.

She was about to turn and run when the door opened.

And there he was.

Roman.

Older. Colder. Sharper.

The years had carved him into a weapon. His jaw was set in stone, his eyes as gray as a coming storm. He wore a dark shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows, the top buttons open. No warmth. No softness. Nothing like the boy she'd once known.

He looked her over without blinking. She kept her eyes down, praying he wouldn't recognize her. She was thinner now. Paler. Scarred.

"Ms. Ross?" he asked.

She nodded once. "Yes, sir."

His stare was a weight pressing into her chest. "You're early."

"I don't mind waiting."

Roman stepped aside. "Come in."

She crossed the threshold, nearly choking on the scent-his scent. Expensive cologne and memory. Her hands tightened on the strap of her bag.

"Your résumé said you worked for the Dawsons in New York?"

"Yes, sir. Two boys. Ages six and three." She recited the lie like a script.

"And why did you leave?"

"They moved to London." Also a lie.

His eyes narrowed. He didn't believe her. Not yet. But he was calculating, observing.

Elara fought the urge to flinch. He used to look at her like that-before everything fell apart. Before she ran.

He led her through the grand hall, past portraits and marble, into a smaller room-elegant but sterile.

"You'd be responsible for one child. My son."

Her stomach flipped.

His son?

Roman had a child?

"How old is he?" she asked, barely able to get the words out.

"Four."

Four.

She almost dropped her bag.

Because that didn't make sense.

Unless...

No. It couldn't be. Could it?

She swallowed hard. "I'd love to meet him."

Roman didn't respond. He just studied her like he was peeling layers back with his eyes.

"I don't like strangers in my house," he said. "My son's been through enough."

"I understand."

"Then understand this-if I find out you've lied, about anything, you're gone."

Her heart slammed against her ribs. "Of course."

He stared a second longer, then nodded.

"I'll have the housekeeper show you to your room."

She waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hall before releasing the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Four years.

She thought she had hidden well enough. That no one would ever find them. But now, standing in this house again, the lie she'd built felt thinner than paper.

Because if Roman's son was four, then...

He might be hers too.

And if Roman ever found out-

She pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from crying.

Upstairs, a door creaked open, and a small voice called out, "Daddy?"

Elara froze.

The voice was soft. Innocent.

And painfully familiar.

Before she could stop herself, she turned toward the sound. A boy padded into view. Dark curls. Pale skin. Big gray eyes.

Her knees nearly buckled.

He looked exactly like Roman.

Exactly like the child she had carried alone, in silence, far away from the blood-soaked life they'd once lived.

Her son.

Her baby.

She hadn't seen him in over three years. She'd left him with her cousin in Italy to keep him safe, planning to bring him back once things settled. But when her cousin suddenly sent him back to Roman without warning, she knew it was only a matter of time before the past came to collect.

And now she was here, under a false name, pretending to be someone else... just to get close to her own child.

The boy stared at her, then tilted his head. "Are you my new nanny?"

Elara nodded, choking down a sob.

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm here to take care of you."

From behind, Roman's voice came sharp.

"Elio. Bed."

The boy looked up. "But I want-"

"Elio."

Elio turned and trudged upstairs, dragging a stuffed wolf behind him.

Elara stood still, hands clenched, eyes burning.

Roman stepped into the hallway again, his gaze locked on her.

"I don't trust easily," he said coldly. "Don't make me regret hiring you."