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.

and thought she was doing him a favor. She even turned down the Ivy League tutor her father

a joke, tearing her down every chance he got. He'd call her dumb as a brick, say no matter how hard he tried, she'd never learn a

him

about my dad's company? You promised me-if I signed it over to you, you'd marry me. Now you're marrying someone else... I just want some

Chapter 1

idea of marriage a long time ago. All she wanted

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

clueless? You really think I'd

the

he never missed a chance to throw that in her face. Elara's heart cracked under the weight of his words. 'How did my life end up such

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

away, she forced out a whisper. "Asher. I just need

asking that question is an insult to my intelligence. You've been nothing but dead weight, a goddamn

last time?"

fucking worth it. I wouldn't even bother

her whole. She had no idea how long had passed when her phone's ring cut through the

voice came through.

swollen, tear-streaked eyes, a faint glimmer of hope sparking to life. 'Could Asher be feeling guilty? Is he trying to make things right?

up to this?"

sharp, dripping with mockery. "Oh fuck no. This

smugness. "I couldn't sit around watching you debase yourself any longer. Elara. Are you seriously still pining for Asher? Are you that fucking dense? He

vicious, mocking laugh. "Ever wonder how

a beat. "What._ what the hell

dumb. He didn't want to marry you, so he had someone jab you with an HIV-infected needle. Made it easier to ditch you without a speck of guilt.

the

it slipped from her trembling hand, landing with a

through her mind. She had poured everything into loving Asher, only to learn in the end that

last clear memory was in the