The Truth

The tension in the room was thick. As though every word was a heavy weight hanging between them. Elijah had spent the last few weeks trying to ignore the desires he felt every time she thought about Jasmine.

But now, in the quiet of his study, he couldn’t deny it anymore. He was drawn to her, as much as he tried to fight it. And everything about this moment; the way he was standing before her and the quiet desperation in her eyes made it impossible for him to ignore.

Jasmine adjusted the stack of papers in her hand, her nerves rattling. She had agreed to help Elijah organize his office; it was just a job. It should have been simple, just some paperwork and organizing of old files, but the air between them had changed. The office felt smaller, suffocating, as if they were both trapped in a tension neither of them could escape.

Jasmine’s question still unanswered.

“Jasmine,” Elijah said, his voice drawing her attention. He stood across from her, his brow furrowed in thought. “I need you to understand something. It’s about Clara.”

Jasmine paused mid-task, glancing up at him. His tone was different this time… calm, but with an undertone of something deeper. Something that made her heart skip.

“You’ve been wondering about her, haven’t you?” he continued, his eyes flickering with a mix of frustration and weariness. “About why things are the way they are between us?”

Jasmine felt a stir of curiosity in her chest. She had always wondered, ever since seeing their unattached exchange of subtle hostility. She wondered why Clara’s presence in his life seemed so forced, so unnatural. It was obvious there was something more going on than just a typical couple dynamic. But hearing Elijah speak about it now, she realized she hadn’t truly grasped the weight of the situation.

She nodded, setting the papers down on the desk and folding her arms across her chest, unsure of how to respond. The closer he stepped, the more her body betrayed her. She didn’t want to let herself get lost in this, but she couldn’t help it. Her heart was racing.

“I don’t need to know the details,” she said carefully, choosing her words. “But it’s clear there’s something… off. The way she treats you. The way she’s so indifferent. And the way I saw you speak to her.”

Elijah’s lips tightened as he stepped toward the desk, his eyes now fixed on her with an almost pleading intensity. “It’s because it’s not real,” he said, his voice tight. “It’s all just a show. A business arrangement.”

Jasmine’s heart stopped beating. “A business arrangement?” she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper. She hadn’t expected that. She hadn’t expected to hear him speak so candidly about his relationship with Clara. She was a beautiful model figured woman with a flawless face that carried herself regally.

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident with each of his movements. “Yes. My family promised me to hers when I was just a thought. It was all about alliances. My grandfather promised his first grandson to his enemy in order to take control of the entire upstate. It was about status and political connections. My father was forced to agree or lose everything he had been entitled to inherit.”

He paused, his face darkening with the weight of it all. “They didn’t tell me until I turned 18. I never wanted it. I never wanted Clara. I didn’t even know her, even though they raised her for this sole purpose. This whole thing. It’s never been about love. It’s about business. About obligations that I didn’t ask for.”

Jasmine absorbed his words, her mind racing to process them. She had known, of course, that something wasn’t right between them, but to hear Elijah lay it all bare made her feel a sense of sympathy for him she hadn’t expected. It wasn’t just Clara. It was his entire world, everything he had been born into, everything that controlled his life. He was someone who she had started to see as more than just a handsome man.

“I don’t understand,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “If you don’t want this. This marriage, then why go through with it?”

Elijah’s eyes darkened, and he sighed heavily, looking away for a moment as though struggling with how much to say. “Because I didn’t have a choice. My family made sure of that. They drew up a contract before I was born. If I refuse, then my family must hand over everything. This decision doesn’t just affect me, it has a trickle-down effect to every member of the Daniels family. Every generation”

“Okay, so marry her.”, she paused, “then you can divorce her.”

He gestured to the grand surroundings of the office, the expensive furniture, the high ceilings that felt almost suffocating now. “This house, this life… it’s all mine, but to keep it Clara has to produce an heir that ties our two families together.”

Jasmine now saw the corner he had been back into, “Isn’t there a way out of it?”

He took a step forward, “I have been searching for something.”, his voice quiet but edged with frustration, “Clara comes and goes as she pleases. She spends all my money without a second thought. She’s only interested in what I can provide, and it’s been that way for years.”

Jasmine felt the sting of his words, felt the sincerity in them. It wasn’t just about Clara’s coldness or the financial strain. It was about a life Elijah had been forced into. A life he had never asked for. It was about the pain he must endure to continue a family name.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small envelope, holding it out toward her. “This is my prison,” he said quietly, his voice tight with emotion. “The contract. It’s the agreement that bound me to her family. I had no say in the matter. And I checked the legality, it’s legal.”

Jasmine’s heart pounded as she reached out, taking the envelope from his outstretched hand. The weight of it seemed symbolic. Heavy with years of obligation and the life he had been forced to live. She opened it slowly, her fingers trembling as she pulled out a crisp, official-looking document. She scanned the text quickly, her eyes widening as she processed what it was.

“This is…” she trailed off, looking up at him. “This is terrible. You didn’t have a choice.”

Elijah nodded. “No and Clara knows it. She knows that I’m stuck. And she uses it to her advantage. She acts like we’re a happy couple in front of others. She tries to seclude me by firing all my staff and trying to isolate me in this house. She doesn’t care about me. We have never even slept together, but I am supposed to have a child with her.”

Jasmine’s chest tightened as she felt the weight of his words settle in. She had seen the way Clara treated him, the way she had dismissed him so casually, but now it was clear: it wasn’t just about their lack of love. It was about power. About control. And Elijah was caught in the middle of it all.

He stepped closer to her, his eyes never leaving hers. Jasmine’s breath hitched in her throat as she felt the sexual tension between them rise. It was so palpable now, so irrefutable, that she could almost taste it.

“I’m not asking you to fix it,” Elijah said, his voice quiet, almost pleading. “But I want you to understand. This isn’t the life I want. I want something real. I want to feel like I’m not just someone’s pawn. I want to feel alive.”

Jasmine didn’t know what to say. The truth of his words hit her hard. She had assumed Elijah was more than just a wealthy man in a situationship, but this? This was something deeper. It was his purgatory that exposed his vulnerability. This was a man who had been trapped in a world that never asked him what he wanted.

And somehow, despite all the reasons she shouldn’t, she felt herself drawn to him. Even though he was engaged, and she was just a college student trying to make it on her own. She wanted to reach out, to take his hand and show him that he deserved more than this.

But as she stood there, staring into his heavy eyes, she couldn’t ignore the tension that had been building between them. He was so close now, his presence overwhelming. And as his gaze flicked down to her lips, she felt the world around them narrow until it was just the two of them, caught in the storm of their emotions.

“Jasmine,” Elijah whispered, his voice breaking through her thoughts. “I don’t know how to make you understand, but I need you to know that everything I’ve said, it’s real. I’m not just looking for something…” he paused, “temporary.”

Her heart raced in her chest, and for a fleeting moment, she wanted to allow herself to be with him. The chemistry between them was undeniable and she knew he felt it too. But she also knew she couldn’t afford to cross Clara.

“I need to go,” Jasmine said softly, taking a small step back, her pulse racing. She had to break the tension. She had to leave before she let herself get lost in him.

But Elijah didn’t move. He just watched her, his gaze intense, as if silently begging her to stay before confessing; “The first day you were here, I noticed you the moment you walked in. You captivated me and I just wanted a chance to feel you in my arms. Something about you drew me to you. I wanted you.” He paused, “I want you. I will lose it all for a chance at something real.”

And in that moment, Jasmine wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave at all.