The days that followed Adrien’s confession were agonizing for Elara. The truth hung over her like a storm cloud, casting a shadow on everything she had once felt for him. The man she had painted so vividly, who had seemed like a figure from her dreams, was now tied to her greatest pain.

But even in her anger, Elara couldn’t ignore the complexity of her emotions. Adrien’s remorse had been genuine, his pain palpable. She found herself questioning whether she could separate the man he was now from the mistakes of his past.