After Death, Love Unveiled

Chapter 1

The day Elara Kensington lost her battle with HIV just so happened to be the day Asher Blackwood tied the knot..

She sluggishly opened Twitter, and the first thing to pop up was a headline: [Asher Blackwood, CEO of Blackwood Group, marries his long-time love, Daphne Wagner, after fifteen years together.I At that moment, Elara was lying alone in a dark, damp room she rented in a run-down building on the outskirts of town.

The place was a dump-barely two hundred square feet-with peeling paint, mold crawling up the walls, and a heavy, choking. stench of mildew hanging in the air.

Her whole life had gone to shit. She was battling the disease, flat broke, and no one would give her a job. She scraped by, collecting plastic bottles and cardboard just to survive.

But even in her despair, she forced herself to dial Asher's number, her fingers trembling like a leaf.

"Hello?" Daphne's voice crackled through the line, cautious but cold as ice,

Elara took a shaky breath. "Daphne, it's me. Can I talk to Asher? I... I need to borrow some money."

Since her AIDS diagnosis, her immune system had crashed, leaving her trapped in a revolving door of hospital visits. Without cash for proper treatment, the relentless pain was pure hell. She was only thirty-one, but she looked like she'd aged ten years-worn down, beaten by life.

Daphne's voice turned sharp, almost cutting. "Again? Are you fucking serious, Elara? Haven't you already taken enough?"

"I'm sick, Daphne. I need money for the hospital," Elara pleaded, her voice barely holding together.

"And why the hell is that our problem? You screwed up your own life. What's any of that got to do with us?" Daphne shot back, her tone dripping with scorn. "Does Asher owe you something?"

"I didn't screw up! I swear I didn't," Elara cried, her voice trembling. "Daphne, please. I know he loves you. I promise, this is the last time I'll ask. I just... I'm desperate here. I can't take it anymore...

Regret clawed at her as memories flooded back. If she hadn't been so eager to please Asher, if she hadn't handed over her father's company just to secure a future together, she wouldn't be in this mess now, Daphne let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Oh, come on. Asher's already given you more than enough over the years. What, you think he's supposed to bankroll you forever? Grow the fuck up, Elara."

Tears stung Elara's eyes. "He's only given me a few thousand-pocket change compared to what I used to give him every month. I built the damn company he's got now. When he met me, he had nothing! His dad was our family's driver, for fuck's sake! I kept him afloat!" Asher's voice suddenly cut through the line, dripping with sarcasm. "Elara, your dad's been dead for years. You still living in that little fantasy world of yours? You were a mess back then-couldn't keep up in school for shit.

"Who do you think dragged your sorry ass through? Yeah, me. That money you keep bringing up? It was for those damn tutoring sessions. And guess what? No amount of tutoring was ever gonna fix that thick head of yours."

His cold words sliced through Elara's mind like a razor, forcing her to face the brutal reality of her own naivety.

him dirt poor and thought she was doing him a favor. She even

He'd call her dumb as a brick, say no matter how hard he tried, she'd

him

to you, you'd marry me. Now you're marrying someone else... I just want some

Chapter 1

the idea of marriage a long time ago. All she wanted now was to

sharp and mocking. The company? Don't make me laugh. If it weren't for me, you would've run it into the ground ages

I'd marry you after

the

a chance to throw that in her face. Elara's heart cracked under the weight of his words. 'How did

a shot at a normal life. But now, it was way too

a whisper. "Asher. I just need to know...

asking that question is an insult to my intelligence. You've been nothing but dead weight, a goddamn pain in my Her voice shook as she made one last desperate plea. Tm dying. Could

last time?"

not fucking worth it. I wouldn't even bother

shadows swallowing her whole. She had no idea how long had

end, Daphne's voice came through. "You

a faint glimmer of hope sparking to life. 'Could Asher be feeling guilty? Is he trying to make things

up to this?" she rasped,

"Oh fuck no. This was

longer. Elara. Are you seriously still pining for Asher?

out a vicious, mocking laugh. "Ever

missing a beat. "What._ what the hell are you talking about? What

jab you with an HIV-infected needle. Made it easier to ditch you without a speck

react, the call cut off

blankly at her beaten up phone as it slipped from her trembling hand, landing with a

years surged through her mind. She had poured everything into loving Asher, only to learn in the end that his heart had always been made

clear memory was in