Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Back Home.
Three years.
Three years had passed since Elara Ashford left New Jersey without looking back.
It had been three years since she last saw these familiar streets. Her eyes stayed outside the whole way back in Uber.
Everything looked exactly the same as she remembered. Yet nothing felt the same.
A bittersweet smile curved across her lips.
I'm really back…
For three years, she'd buried herself in lectures, internships, and endless nights of studying at Cambridge University overseas.
Everyone believed she'd left for better opportunities, for a better life. Some thought it was heartbreak.
But only Elara knew the truth.
She had run away.
She quietly looked away from the window.
The driver seemed to say something, but her mind wasn't on him.
Four years earlier, her life completely changed.
It was the darkest moment of her life.
Her father had passed away in an attack.
Even now, she couldn't make herself believe it.
Her father was perfectly healthy. They had talked that morning.
But an hour later… He was gone. Dead.
She didn't even get to hug him, and tell him how much she loved him.
And before she could accept that loss, weeks later, her mother married another man.
Someone she had barely known.
He was young. Adventurous. And, every bit different from her father.
She'd been furious.
In her memory, she had already convinced her mother had betrayed her father.
She'd fought with her constantly.
Elara clenched the hem of her dress as she recalled that day. The day she last saw her.
She'd run away from home after fighting with her. She screamed at her. Accused her of betraying Dad. Called her every cruel name she could think of.
And… She died.
She never knew. Her mother had cancer.
That regret still lingered.
Sometimes, when sleep refused to come, Elara replayed their last conversation over and over, wishing she'd swallowed her pride and hugged her mother one final time.
But regrets were useless.
The dead never came back.
She inhaled deeply, forcing herself to push the memories aside.
But she didn't run away from her loss.
She ran away because of a man. A man who refused to leave her mind.
He was rugged, hot, very dangerous, and someone who shouldn't be trifled with. And… He was forbidden.
She remembered his piercing blue eyes, his crooked smile.
She could still hear his teasing voice calling her ‘Little Storm,’ the nickname he'd stubbornly refused to replace no matter how many times she'd complained.
Had he stopped using it?
Or...
Had he already given someone else a sweeter nickname?
The thought stung far more than she wanted to admit.
She'd tried denying. Lied to herself that she didn't have a crush on him. Told herself that she couldn't love him. Said that he was forbidden.
But…
Elara sighed. She was still in love with the ridiculous Rowan Maxwell.
Yes, him. Her stepdad.
Her heart thumped louder as she noticed the familiar streets.
She'd dreamed and yearned to come back here every day she was away.
She hadn't told anyone she was returning. Not her old classmates. Not the neighbours. Not even her friends.
Certainly not him.
She wanted to see his expression when they met again.
Part of her wanted to surprise him.
The other part feared discovering she had become nothing more than a forgotten memory.
Did he already forget her and move on? Would he even remember her?
She'd questioned it a million times.
She was afraid of wanting him.
But… She could never forget him.
Elara closed her eyes for a brief moment before releasing a slow breath.
No more hiding.
Whatever answer awaited her… She would face it.
Even if it meant getting her heart broken or meant crossing a line that should never be crossed.