Chapter 90: Secrets.

July 16 2026, 11:14am.

The sound echoed around the corridor, carrying so much weight that it pressed down on Elara’s chest.

For several unbearable seconds, she could not move. She remained pressed against the wall, her fingers curled tightly around the edge of her blouse, as though the smooth material could somehow keep the world from shifting beneath her feet.

Your daughter.

The words echoed again inside her head, shattering whatever was left of the reality she had grown to believe.

Wasn’t her real father dead again? Hadn’t he died six years after she was born?

The words hit her like a freight train but you know what hit her the most? The conviction in her mother’s voice when she’d said the words: She is your biological daughter.

"No," Elara muttered, blinked rapidly. She must have heard wrong. There was no other explanation.

Perhaps her mother had said something else. Perhaps she had misunderstood the conversation entirely because of how chaotic it was. Perhaps exhaustion and her anger towards Tristan had twisted the words into something they were never meant to be.

Yes, that had to be it!

Her stepfather was not her father. He could never be.

Because come to think of it, if he was her biological father then that meant that her mother must have been cheating on the man she called dad with her best friend’s husband.

How messy!

Her breathing grew shallow, but ignoring it, she pushed herself away from the wall and wiped the tears off her eyes.

Her body protested but she pushed herself forward toward her room. First, she started by taking one step, then another.

Her legs felt strangely distant as she moved. It felt as though they belonged to someone else. She staggered away from the corridor, barely aware of where she was going.

But she knew that she needed her room.

That she needed to think.

She needed—

Your biological daughter.

Her mother’s voice was still there, mercilessly clear and tauntingly echoing at the back of her skull. If Kai was her father then does that mean that Tristan is her brother? Her blood?

Has she been fucking her brother all along?

Embarrassment made Elara squeeze her eyes shut in annoyance. "Stop," she whispered under her breath, but her mind refused to stop.

Memories began rushing through her head in a dizzying blur. And at the moment, she could not help but start to recollect the way her mother had always looked at her. The way her stepfather had sometimes watched her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention.

She thought about every strange silence and every unexplained kindness. Every moment that had once seemed insignificant suddenly felt like a piece of a puzzle she had never known she was solving.

No.

No, no, no.

She shook her head violently. It couldn’t be true. If it were true, then everything she knew about herself was a lie.

Her family. Her childhood. Her entire place in this house. All of it.

Elara stumbled around the corner and as she moved, the hallway swayed before her. Desperately, she reached for the wall, but her fingers scraped uselessly against the surface. Her heart was pounding so violently that she could hear it in her ears.

You’re his daughter.

The thought struck her like a blow. Her stomach twisted possibly and when she tried to breathe, she couldn’t.

"Mom wouldn’t lie about something like that," she murmured.

Then another thought followed.

But why would she tell him during an argument?

Elara’s steps faltered. She had to be wrong. Perhaps there was another explanation. There had to be. Some misunderstanding. Some secret that sounded horrifying when taken out of context but would make perfect sense once explained.

She only needed to ask. She only needed to turn around and go back.

But the moment she imagined facing her mother, Elara’s entire body recoiled.

She couldn’t.

Not yet.

Her room was just ahead. So close... so close she could almost feel herself sinking into her bed. She fixed her eyes on the door and forced her legs to move forward.

However, just as she moved, another voice whispered in her ears. It was louder this time. Firmer.

"Is that why Tristan has changed?"

Her knees suddenly buckled and in panic, Elara gasped and grabbed for the wall. Her palm struck it, but there was no strength behind it. Her body wasn’t listening anymore.

Her legs trembled violently beneath her. She tried to straighten. Nothing.

"Please..." Her voice came out as little more than a breath. Then her knees gave way completely.

The force made Elara pitch forward. She didn’t even have time to put out her hands before her face struck the floor with a sickening thud.

Pain exploded across her cheek and nose, and for a moment, she lay completely still. Her eyes watered as they remained open.

The ceiling blurred above her, but despite the pain, despite the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, only a few things continued to pound through her mind.

Your daughter.

His daughter.

Elara’s lips trembled and for the first time in her life, she had no idea who she was.

For several seconds, there was nothing. No footsteps. No voices. Only the faint ringing in Elara’s ears.

Then—

"Elara?"

Her mother’s voice slithered into her mind and her eyes fluttered.

She couldn’t move but she felt her cheek throb where it had struck the floor. Something warm trickled beneath her nose. Her vision remained blurred, the hallway reduced to hazy shapes and shadows.

"Elara!" Her mother’s footsteps came rushing toward her, and before long, a pair of hands slipped beneath her shoulders, carefully turning her onto her back.

"What happened?" her mother cried, her voice trembling with panic. "Elara, sweetheart, can you hear me?"

Elara did not respond but stared at her.

For a moment, she didn’t recognize the woman kneeling over her. She did not even recognize herself or her surroundings...

Then slowly... she did. And her heart stopped.

Mom.

The word felt different now.

Wrong.

Her mother’s face was pale with fear as she brushed the hair away from Elara’s forehead.

"Open your eyes, baby. Please."

Elara flinched at her touch and her mother noticed.

She froze. "What is it?"

Elara’s lips parted almost instantly. She wanted to ask. She needed to ask.

Is it true?

But the words wouldn’t come.

Instead, her eyes drifted past her mother’s shoulder toward the corridor... toward the room where she had overheard everything.

Her mother followed her gaze and for a split second, understanding flashed across her face.

It was quick... so quick that Elara might have convinced herself she hadn’t seen it.

Fear.

Her mother’s eyes widened before she looked back at her. "You heard us... you heard me."

It wasn’t a question. Elara’s chest tightened just as her mother’s expression crumbled.

"Oh, God." She cried, reaching for Elara’s hand. But before her mother could touch her, she pulled away.

The movement was weak, barely more than a twitch, but her mother recoiled as though she’d been struck. "Elara..."

"Is it true?" The words finally escaped. It was so low, it was barely audible.

Her mother stared at her for a moment too long and due to the pain lancing across Elara’s midsection, she could only swallow painfully.

"Is he..." she began to say but her voice broke. She tried again. "Is he my father?"

Silence.

That silence was enough. It was enough to make Elara’s eyes fill with tears instantly. Her mother opened her mouth, but no words came. And the silence was so stifling, it nearly suffocated an already weak Elara.

"Say something." She murmured weakly, hating herself. Hating her mother.

"I..."

"Please."

Her mother looked away, as if admitting to the crime. A sob caught in her throat and in that moment, there was only one word she could mutter:

"No." She shook her head. "No, no, no."

Her mother reached for her again, her hands shaky. "Elara, listen to me—" she started to say but was rudely interrupted when Elara scuttled away slowly.

"No!"

The sudden strength in her voice startled them both and in one final desperate move, she tried to push herself upright.

Pain shot through her head, making the hallway spin but before she could fall, her mother caught her shoulders.

"Don’t move. You fell."

"I don’t care."

"You could have hurt yourself."

"I don’t care!"

Tears spilled down Elara’s cheeks and her body shook with so much force, it was impossible to breathe. When another painful thought struck her, she looked up at her mother and asked;

"How long?"

Her mother went completely still. "How long have you known that I am his daughter?"

"Elara—"

"How long?!" She yelled this time until her voice cracked.

Her mother lowered her gaze. "Since you were born."