Elena’s POV

The silence that followed Mr. Nik’s words was so complete it felt like the entire mansion had been plunged underwater.

“My fiancée.”

Two words.

Quiet.

Calm.

Absolute.

They hung in the air of the high-ceilinged sitting room and refused to settle. I felt them press against my skin, against the still-healing place in my shoulder, against the frantic, disbelieving beat of my heart. Every pair of eyes in the room had locked onto me with a force that made breathing feel like a conscious decision rather than an automatic one.

The woman who had rushed forward,beautiful, polished, radiating the kind of effortless belonging I had never possessed,stared at...