lelanidebbiee

After a fleeting one-night affair with a stranger, the wealthy and beautiful Lani  Carlisle finds herself the target of public scorn. The situation worsens when her father drove her out of the house. Driven by the pressure, Lani becomes a workaholic and hires a personal assistant to care for her kids. But everything changes when her daughter becomes deeply attached to him, even wishing he were her father.

As Lani unexpectedly falls for him, she faces judgment from both her family and society. Will she accept her fate, or fight for the love she desires?

Find out in "Unbreakable Ties"

Unbreakable Ties

Elias remained in the hospital for observation, though he hated every second of it. He wasn't used to being the one taken care of. Yet, every time he thought about walking away, he'd see Lily and Luca's worried faces, or Lani's determined gaze, and he knew he had no choice but to stay and fight.

Lani had barely left his side, juggling work and the kids while still finding time to be with him. Olivia was handling business affairs at Lelani Tech, and even Nina had stepped up, making sure things ran smoothly. It was overwhelming how much everyone cared.

That evening, Elias sat up in bed, scrolling through his phone, when the door creaked open.

Lily peeked inside, clutching her stuffed bunny. Behind her, Luca stood with his arms crossed, trying to look indifferent but failing.

Elias smiled. "Hey, princess. What are you two doing here so late?"

Lily ran to his bed, climbing up beside him. "Mommy said we should go home, but I wanted to stay."

Luca sighed, walking in and sitting in the chair beside the bed. "She wouldn't stop crying, so here we are."

Elias chuckled, placing a hand on Lily's back. "I'm okay, sweetheart."

She sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "But I got scared when you were coughing blood…" Her voice trembled. "I don't want you to go away."

Elias felt a lump in his throat. He glanced at Luca, who was staring at the floor, tense and silent.

"I'm not going anywhere," Elias promised, pulling Lily into a hug. "I'll do everything I can to get better."

Luca finally looked up. "You better."

Elias smirked. "You sound like your mother."

Luca rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, Dad."

The word hit Elias harder than he expected. Luca had never called him that before—not directly.

Elias reached out and placed a hand on Luca's shoulder. "I know, son. And I promise—I'm not giving up."

Luca didn't move for a moment, then finally nodded, accepting the answer.

Lily yawned against Elias's chest. "Can we sleep here tonight?"

Elias hesitated. "I don't think the nurses would be happy about that."

"I don't care," Luca said, crossing his arms. "If she stays, I stay."

Elias sighed, shaking his head. "You two are impossible."

Just then, the door opened again, and Lani walked in, sighing when she saw the scene.

"I should've known you'd sneak in here," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Lily pouted. "Please, Mommy? Can we stay?"

Lani gave Elias a look, as if asking what he wanted.

Lani sighed again, running a hand through her hair. "Fine. But only for tonight."

Lily cheered, snuggling deeper into Elias's side. Luca simply leaned back in his chair, content.

Lani walked over and adjusted the blanket around Lily. She looked at Elias, her expression softening. "You're really going to fight, right?"

Elias reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. "Yeah. For all of you."

Lani nodded, squeezing his hand. "Then we'll fight with you."

As the night settled in, Elias felt something he hadn't felt in years—peace.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't alone.

And he was going to do whatever it took to stay.

Chapter 43: Fighting for Tomorrow