Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Elena : POV

I slid past him into the back seat, my heart pounding, my lips still tingling from the kiss. The leather was soft and warm, the interior smelling of his cologne-something expensive and woody that always made my heart race despite everything

He got in beside me, dabbing at his lip with a handkerchief, and the driver pulled into traffic.

Silence settled between us, thick and uncomfortable. I stared out the window, watching Manhattan blur past-the gleaming towers, the crowded sidewalks, the life happening outside this steel and glass cage.

I could feel his gaze on me, but I refused to turn.

“My grandfather expects us to act like a real couple,” Julian said finally, his voice cutting through the quiet. “That means no coldness, no distance. We smile, we touch, we look happy.”

I turned to face him, my voice flat. “I know how to play my part.”

His jaw tightened. “Do you? Because lately you’ve been…” He trailed off, his eyes flickering to mine before looking away. “Distant.”

A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it. “Distant? You want to talk about distance?”

“Elena

“Forget it.” I turned back to the window, blinking against the sudden burn in my eyes. “I’ll be whatever you need me o

grandfather. Because I really do adore Grandpa from the bottom of my heart.”

I felt his gaze on me, heavy and inscrutable. But he said nothing, and the silence returned.

be for your

The Connecticut estate appeared through the trees like something from a fairy tale-all stone and ivy and manicured gardens.

The place where I’d spent my childhood running through the servants’ passages, stealing glimpses of the main house where Julian and his family lived like royalty.

Now I was supposed to walk through the front door as if I belonged there.

The car stopped at the circular drive. Julian got out first, then extended his hand to help me. I took it, his fingers warm and strong around mine, and let him pull me to standing.

“Remember, he murmured, his lips close to my ear. “We’re happily married.”

Then his arm slid around my waist, drawing me against his side. The touch was possessive, intimate everything we weren’t behind

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Chapter 6

closed doors.

But I leaned into it, placed my hand on his chest, and smiled up at him like he was my whole world.

His eyes darkened as he looked down at me, something flickering in their depths that I couldn’t read. For just a moment, his hand tightened on my waist, his thumb stroking small circles against my hip through the dress fabric.

The front door opened, and Arthur Sterling stood there, leaning heavily on his cane but grinning like a man half his age.

“There they are!” He moved forward, arms outstretched. “My favorite couple! Come here, let me look at you.”

Julian’s arm dropped from my waist as we approached. Arthur pulled me into a hug first, and I breathed in the familiar scent of pipe tobacco and peppermint that always clung to him.

“Elena, sweetheart,” he said softly, pulling back to study my face. “You look tired. Is my grandson working you too hard?”

“No, sir,” I started, but Julian interrupted.

“She’s been putting in long hours on the new collection,” he said smoothly, his hand finding the small of my back. “I keep telling her to delegate more, but she insists on perfection.”

The lie was smooth as silk. In reality, he barely acknowledged my work at all.

1. go. The sweeping staircase I’d dusted a thousand times as a teenager, behind the grandfather clock, watching the family come and

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