He crossed his arms and looked at her steadily. “Let me put it another way. In what role do you think you can command me?”

His voice grew quieter, laced with meaning. “You realize, don’t you, that I don’t take orders from just anyone.”

A subtle shift crossed Elissa’s face. Despite this, Ernest simply nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint smile as he held her gaze. “You’re right. All of this started because of you. Thanks to you, my own brother turned his back on me…”

His voice dropped to almost a whisper, sounding more like he was talking to himself than to her. “All these years, I’ve never laid a hand on him before. Now you’re asking me to just let it go?”

Elissa’s pulse quickened, unease settling heavily in her chest.

“Imagine this.” Drawing out his words, Ernest acted as though he was mulling it over. “If you were his sister-in-law, my wife, then he’d have no choice but to help you back then, wouldn’t he?”

A flash of tension made Elissa bite down on her lower lip.

With deliberate calm, Ernest set his documents aside, his eyes never leaving her. It was clear he had been steering things toward this moment all along. He spoke in a slow, measured tone. “Eric grew up with me. I see him as family—no different from a real brother. Whether that bond remains or breaks apart is now in your hands.”

Elissa stared at him, lost for words. Did he really mean to give her a choice?

After hearing everything he said, could she even pretend she had a real choice? She had already made things so difficult for both Hadley and Eric. Allowing Eric and Ernest to become enemies over this would be the worst outcome imaginable.

The cruelest part of it all was that Ernest never actually voiced a threat. She had practically handed him this opening herself.

When you held the weaker hand, even fighting back felt pointless.

“So, which will you choose?” Ernest’s words came slowly, almost lazily. “Will you stay a stranger, or will you be his sister-in-law?”

She fixed her eyes on him, silent for a couple of heartbeats.

The rest on g?l?ν?

A sudden, cool smile touched Elissa’s lips. “Fine. I’ll go along with your demands…”

A spark of happiness flickered across Ernest’s face.

“Don’t get too excited.” Elissa saw his reaction and shut it down fast. “Let me tell you, even if I go along and accept all your arrangements, there’s still no way we’ll ever get married.”

A trace of unease flashed in his eyes, though he kept his features composed. He didn’t have to ask—he knew she was thinking of Linda.

“We’re going to get married.” Ernest squeezed her hand gently. “I just need a little time, that’s all.”

A dry laugh escaped Elissa’s lips as she pulled her hand away. “You should focus on your work.”

Turning back toward the window, Elissa bit her lip so hard she broke the skin, a trace of blood rising in her mouth.

The taste stung—sharp and bitter, like a tiny splinter stuck in her chest.

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