He turned and walked out, the bedroom door clicking shut with a finality that made her flinch. Outside, she heard him say a brief, dismissive word to Seren before the front door slammed.
Elara sat in the silence, her fingers trembling as she reached for the money. The bills felt oily in her hand. But it wasn't the shame that made her blood boil, it was the name he had dropped.
Amara.
While Elara was selling herself in a dark room to keep a roof over her daughter's head, Amara was whisked away to a luxury villa with Julian. Amara was the reason Seb had turned cold. Amara was the reason the Creed family had cast her out.
The grief in Elara's heart curdled into a sharp, crystalline rage. She clutched the money so hard it wrinkled. She didn't just want a new apartment anymore; she wanted to see the look on Amara's face when everything she loved was burned to the ground.
