Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Chapter 123

(Trigger warning: This Chapter contains explicit content and is suitable for mature readers.)

Elara’s POV

I answered the communication stone before the vibrations faded.

"Ela." Kaelen’s voice poured through, low and warm. "Where are you?"

"Just leaving the upper corridor." I turned away from Sylvia and walked toward the enchanted lift. "Why?"

"Come downstairs. I’m at the main entrance."

I glanced back. Sylvia stood in the doorway of what used to be my office, her posture immaculate, her smile a perfect porcelain mask.

"Have a lovely evening, Elara," she called after me. Sweet as poisoned honey.

I didn’t respond. I stepped into the enchanted lift and let the platform carry me down. My reflection caught in the polished brass doors—wrinkled cardigan, tired eyes, hair escaping its ponytail. I tried to smooth the worst of it. Gave up.

The doors opened to the ground floor. Evening air swept through the vaulted entrance hall, carrying the scent of rain-washed stone and something else. Something warm and sharp. Cologne. His cologne.

Kaelen was waiting near the palace entrance, driving his royal carriage. The palace lamps threw gold across his jaw. He wore dark trousers that hugged his thighs and a fitted gray wool sweater that pulled across his shoulders in a way that made my mouth go dry. No court tunic. No imperial insignia. Just him.

He looked unfairly, devastatingly handsome.

His gold eyes tracked me as I descended the steps. They moved slowly—face, throat, body, legs—then back up again. When they reached my eyes, his mouth curved.

"Beautiful," he said.

I laughed. A real, exhausted laugh. "I have dust on my clothes and I’ve been sitting in a closet. I look like a complete mess."

"Beautiful," he repeated, catching my hand and pulling me closer. His thumb swept across my knuckles. "I only say that to dates I’m planning to take to bed, so take it as a compliment."

Heat flooded my cheeks. "That’s your strategy? Flattery and honesty?"

"Is it working?"

It was absolutely working.

He opened the carriage door and handed me up. The interior smelled like leather and cedar. Velvet cushions. A fur blanket folded across the seat. I settled in, and he climbed up beside me—not across from me, beside me—his thigh pressed against mine from hip to knee.

The carriage lurched forward. Cobblestones rumbled beneath us.

His hand found my leg. Palm flat against my thigh, just above the knee. Not moving. Just resting there with quiet, possessive weight. Every nerve in my body shivered with sparks.

"Where are we going?" I managed.

"Somewhere that isn’t the palace."

We rode through narrow streets, past lantern-lit squares and shuttered market stalls. His thumb traced idle circles on my thigh through the fabric. I stared out the window and tried to remember how breathing worked.

The carriage stopped in front of a restaurant I’d never seen. Small. Tucked between stone buildings. Enchanted star-lights drifted beneath the low ceiling inside, casting everything in soft gold. Candles flickered on the table. Jasmine hung from stone terraces, filling the air with sweetness.

There was only one table set. Ours.

"You booked the whole place," I said.

"I wanted you to myself."

An attendant appeared with expensive red wine. Kaelen poured for me before the attendant could, his fingers brushing mine when he handed over the glass.

We ordered. Exquisite handmade pasta with truffle cream and seared steak with roasted root vegetables. The food arrived in courses, each one more exquisite than the last. But I barely tasted any of it because Kaelen was watching me with that look—heavy-lidded, intent, like I was the only solid thing in the room.

"Tell me about your day," he said, cutting into his steak.

I twirled pasta around my fork. "Uneventful."

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