Mira Thornvale

Elaine loved James, but he only wanted her stepsister Lucia. In desperation, she tricked him into intimacy, but he refused her—until Lucia got leukemia. Elaine agreed to donate marrow only if James married her. Their marriage was icy, and when Lucia returned years later, she stole James back. After Elaine lost their baby in a setup, even her family turned against her. When James finally discovered Lucia’s lies—and that Elaine was his true savior—he chased her down, consumed by guilt. But she was done. Their twisted battle of love and revenge left them both broken.


I Shouldn't Have Let You Go

The hospital walls whispered sterile apologies. Elaine lay still, bandaged and hollow, eyes fixed on the ceiling tiles.


The doctor’s words repeated in her head like thunder:


Elaine knocked the vase over the moment the door shut behind her.


Two days later, Lucia hosted a press conference on the hospital steps.


“She’s struggling,” Lucia said, blinking tears. “I forgive her. Trauma makes people do terrible things.”


“Are you saying Elaine attacked you?”


Lucia lowered her eyes. “I’m not pressing charges. James and I just want peace.”


Flashbulbs lit her face like stage lights. Her bandage perfectly wrapped. Her expression rehearsed.


Elaine watched the broadcast from her hospital bed, hands clenched.


When she was discharged, no one greeted her.


Chapter 8 – Schemes Under Starlight