Forever After All(68)

“For a while, everything went back to normal. Your father and I… we managed to work things out, though it was never the same. I was fine, though, because I had Matthew. And not too long after, I had you. Both of you were my entire world, and that was enough for me. At the time, I didn’t realize that your father was still seeing Jade. I didn’t know that he’d been taking Matthew to see her every month. I didn’t know that Matthew was aware that I’m not his real mother. I had no idea that not only did he stay with Jade, they had a daughter together too. I didn’t find out until a few days before my car accident.”

I look at Sarah in disbelief. Elise is Elena’s half-sister? Elena raises her head to look at her mother, her eyes red. She looks so heartbroken, so hurt.

Sarah smiles and cups Elena’s cheek. “So tell me,” she says. “Tell me what you’ve been up to. Tell me what you’re planning. Tell me what you need from me, Elena. I’ve given your father and brother everything… and now I want it back.”





Chapter 48





A lexander



Elena twists and turns in bed, unable to fall asleep. I roll over and wrap my arm around her waist, pressing my lips against her neck.

“Can’t sleep?”

She sighs and turns to face me, her nose brushing past mine. She shakes her head, looking lost. “I can’t stop thinking about Matthew, about my father… about everything my mother told me. How could Matthew have done this? My mother raised him. Growing up, she always treated us the same. If anything, she’d treat Matthew better. She gave him everything he ever wanted, and this is how he repays her?”

I bury my hand in her hair and sigh, not knowing what to say. I don’t think Elena needs me to say anything anyway—she just needs me to listen, so I do.

“And my father? My mother saved his company, and thereby his family, from ruins. He’d be nothing without her. He should’ve been devoted to her, but instead he had an entire second family behind our backs. What kind of person does that?”

Elena grits her teeth, her eyes flashing with fury. I stroke her hair gently, wanting to make her feel better, but unsure how. “It’s beyond anything I expected, too, baby. I never liked your brother, but this isn’t something I thought he was capable of. We can’t reverse time, Elena, but what we can do is make up for lost time. We can move forward. I see how hard you’re working, and within just a few weeks, you’ll be able to give your mother back every single thing she’s lost, and more.”

She looks into my eyes and nods. There’s hatred flashing through her eyes, and I hope she won’t let it consume her. I hope this won’t change her beautiful heart. If I could, I’d take the Rousseaus down myself. If it were up to me, I’d never let her dirty her dainty hands. But I can tell that she needs to be the one to do this, and I can’t take this from her. I can’t take away her control the way so many others in her life have. So I’ll stand back. I’ll let her handle her business, and if she needs me, I’ll be right behind her.

“Alec, all I ever wanted was a family of my own, a husband that would love me. I wanted a home filled with love and laughter—I wanted what I’ve never had before. But if this is what love is, I want no part of it.”

I stroke her hair, my heart breaking for her. Elena has always been naive, and the innocence she views life with is what makes her so unique. It keeps her heart pure in this fucked-up world. I hate seeing her lose it.

“Love… it corrupts,” she says. “Looking at your mother and mine makes me see it for what it is. It’s selfishness. It reminds me of religion, you know? I lost faith in God, when no matter what I did or how much I prayed, my mother wouldn’t wake up. Love is the same way. Blind faith, when logically you know better.”

“Baby,” I murmur. “That’s not—”

I don’t even know what to say, because I agree with every single word she just said. Yet when it’s Elena uttering these words, it makes me feel horrible. It makes me want to protect her from every bit of pain she’s had to experience, every single thing she’s had to witness, everything that made her lose faith.

She pushes against me, and I fall onto my back. Elena smiles as she climbs on top of me, and I place my hand around her waist. Her long dark hair covers her shoulder and arm, and I grab the ends of it, twisting it around my fingers.

“You and I won’t be like that, Elena,” I promise her. “We won’t let waning emotions consume us. You and I… we won’t let our judgment be clouded.”

Elena and I aren’t like our parents. Our marriage isn’t built on flimsy and changing emotions. Our foundation is far stronger than that.

She nods as I thread my hand through her hair, pulling her closer. I need her in a way I never have before. I need her body close, her lips against mine. I need her locked into my arms. I want to take away the sorrow in her eyes.

Elena smiles as she leans in to kiss me. I raise my hips and turn her over. She falls back onto the bed, and before she can protest, I cover her body with mine.

I fist her hair and kiss her roughly, deeply. A moan escapes her lips as her tongue tangles with mine, but it isn’t enough. I want her panting my name. I move down, kissing her neck, marking her as mine.

“Alec,” she whispers, and I smile against her skin, satisfied.