Ernest drove Elissa back to Lion Bay, navigating the winding roads that led to her house, headlights carving a path through the gathering darkness.

The vehicle rolled to a smooth stop at the ornate entrance, tires crunching softly against the gravel.

“The hour grows late.” Ernest remained seated, hands still resting on the steering wheel. “I’ll keep watch until you’re safely inside.”

“Okay.” The metallic click of Elissa’s seatbelt releasing preceded her exit from the warmth of the car into the cool night air.

“Elissa.” Her name hung between them, laden with unspoken meaning. Ernest called after her.

“Hmm?” Elissa pivoted, caught off guard by the urgency in his tone.

Ernest’s eyes captured hers with unflinching intensity, his voice dropping to a resonant murmur. “Everything I expressed to your grandfather this evening was the absolute truth. One word from you—just one—and we could be married without delay.”

The declaration struck Elissa with the force of something both expected and impossible—familiar yet startling. These words had fallen from his lips with increasing frequency in recent weeks. Yet, she guarded herself against believing, afraid to trust in something that felt so impossible.

The gulf between their social spheres stretched vast and impassable. Accepting his offer would mean embracing him as her redemption, her unexpected second chapter in a life she had thought was already written. But what about Ernest’s perspective?

For a man of his stature and resources, her presence or absence likely represented little more than a minor variable in his expansive equation of life.

“Elissa.” Ernest’s warm fingers enveloped her hand, his touch achingly tender. “Promise you’ll genuinely consider what I’m offering. Locke has already celebrated his fourth birthday. Time stolen from us can never be reclaimed.”

Emotion flashed across Elissa’s features before she withdrew her hand from his grasp. “This conversation deserves a proper moment. Not now, not here.” She retreated with barely contained haste, her footsteps quickening to just shy of an undignified flight.

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Morning broke on the weekend, bringing with it new possibilities and familiar obligations. Ernest appeared at Elissa’s place precisely on schedule, chauffeuring her to her appointment at Hamza’s specialized clinic.

The protocol prohibited Ernest from entering the treatment chamber, condemning him to pace the sterile waiting area for the duration of her therapy. When the door finally opened and Elissa emerged, her complexion had taken on an alarming pallor, and her movements were unnaturally stiff.

“What happened?” Ernest closed the distance between them in two swift strides, his arm encircling her shoulders with protective urgency. His eyes scanned her face, dark with worry, as he took on her weight. “Are you alright?” Ernest shifted his attention to Hamza, concern etching deep lines across his forehead. “Was today’s treatment particularly intense?”

“No more than usual,” Hamza replied, shaking his head in a measured denial. His clinical gaze assessed his patient. “It appears she’s accessed a distressing memory fragment.”

“Is that so?” Ernest’s focus returned to Elissa, his eyes searching her face.

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