Chapter 2

My silence made Carter think he'd finally gotten to me.

His voice softened.

"I'm sorry,Elara.That was harsh.But I just want you back.I really do."

"I knew it wouldn't last the moment you married Julian.

I've been waiting for this day for five years."

His words dragged up memories I thought I'd buried.

Back on the Columbia campus,on the lawn,him clutching onto my backpack charm with a flushed face,asking,"Elara,can I be your boyfriend?"

I thought he was sweet and ambitious—a world apart from everything I knew.I thought a guy like him could never hurt anyone.

But I was wrong.

When a"good guy"goes bad,he's far more ruthless than any real villain.

I scoffed."Five years?Carter,you could wait fifty,and it still wouldn't change a thing.We ended a long time ago."

I turned and grabbed my suitcase.

My fingers,once so agile on the piano,felt stiff and clumsy from the old injury.

Carter stepped forward,blocking my path again.

"You don't have to love me.But what about Chloe?She needs her father."