Chapter 6 Unveiled Intentions

His girl still won't say yes, and now his mom's gone and picked out a whole new fiancée for him. Classic. So here's Elvano, stuck between ticking off his own flesh and blood or stabbing in the back the woman he's basically built his life around. Not exactly a fun place to be.

"Are you kidding me?" Elvano raked his fingers through his hair, practically yanking it out. His chest felt like a washing machine on spin cycle. Marry some stranger? Like his mom wants? Yeah, right. There's just no way he could do that. Not to her-not to the one he actually loves. Not happening.

Frustrated as hell, he banged on his mom's door, voice cracking as he begged her to just show her face. Nothing. Not even a peep. Just silence, thick and suffocating. He let out a guttural noise, kicked at nothing, and stormed off. Honestly, all he wanted right now was a hug from his girlfriend, just something to remind him he's not totally alone in this mess.

***

Next morning, Elena shows up at Narima's place. Narima's already sitting there, looking way too serious, holding a photocopy of the land deed like it's a fragile egg or something.

"Elena, I've done the survey, and my assistant finished the valuation. Turns out, the land's worth a lot more than what you offered yesterday." He handed her the report, expression tight.

"For real?" Elena arched her brow, not even trying to hide her shock. She started flipping through the thick stack of papers.

"Yeah," Narima said, watching her read.

Elena's eyes darted across the report-she'd done this dance before, so she knew exactly what to look for. When she hit the number she'd been hunting, it was like someone sucker-punched her right in the gut. She just sat there, frozen, eyes wide and unblinking, looking about as rattled as someone who'd just seen a ghost.

"Jeez... is the world actually losing its mind? Land costs this much now?" Elena mumbled, heart pounding like she'd just run a marathon.

Most folks would've popped champagne over sky-high land prices-easy cash, right? Not Elena. To her, it just meant more headaches trying to find someone dumb or rich enough to shell out for overpriced dirt. Maybe some giant company, but regular people? Forget it.

She crunched the numbers and, yeah, turns out land shot up 50%. Makes sense, sorta. She'd been going off prices from, what, three years ago? Didn't even bother to Google the latest rates. Not her brightest move, but hey, stuff happens.

"So... ma'am-"

"Call me Narima, please."

"Alright, Narima. So, uh... you're passing on the land?" Elena asked, voice all flat and defeated. Like she already knew she'd lost.

Narima smiled, that soft, pitying kind of smile. She could see Elena was basically radiating panic and frustration. Looked like she might cry, honestly. Before Narima could even get a word out, Elena blurted,

"What if I stick to the old price? The one from yesterday? You wouldn't have to take all of it, just, like, 2,000 or 3,000 square feet. Seriously, that'd mean everything to me," Elena begged, eyes wide and desperate. Girl needed cash-like, yesterday.

"Elena," Narima said quietly, squeezing her hand. "I'll buy it at today's price. Actually, I want to buy it right now."

Elena's whole face changed-relief, hope, everything flooding back in. But just as she was about to really believe it, Narima added, voice barely above a whisper-

"On one condition-you become my daughter-in-law."

Yeah, okay, Elena was not ready for that one. Her face just... drained. Like someone had pulled the plug on her, seriously. She blinked at Narima, mouth hanging open just a bit, basically short-circuiting.

"Uh... come again?" Elena managed, praying she'd misheard and this wasn't about to get even weirder.

Narima didn't even flinch. "Yes, Elena. I want you to marry one of my sons and become my daughter-in-law." Her tone? Calm as a monk, but there was this stubborn edge underneath. "I know it's out there, but I just want what's best for my son. And honestly? You seem like the right one."

Elena let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Here's the thing: she needed the cash, but not enough to just trample over her own heart-or the person who'd been by her side all this time. "Look, Narima, I do need the money-God, do I need it-but I can't just throw away the feelings of someone who's been there for me. I'm sorry."

Narima just nodded, looking at Elena with that weird, soft intensity. "I get it. I do. But I want you as my daughter-in-law more than you think. My son deserves the best, and I honestly think that's you."

That made Elena snort, just a little. She couldn't help it. The whole thing was so absurd, it almost felt like a prank show. She'd barely talked to this woman! "We hardly know each other," she said, half-laughing, trying to lighten things up. "You don't even know if I'm secretly awful, and I don't even know which one is your son! What if he's got a girlfriend already? Or a secret identity or something?"

Narima just smiled, undeterred-like she'd already made up her mind and that was that. She reached across, took Elena's hand, gentle but weirdly insistent. Honestly? Elena had no clue if she should be flattered or running for the hills.

"Elena, please... just hear me out, okay?" Narima's voice was barely above a whisper, but damn, the desperation in her eyes? Hard to ignore. "Yeah, my son's got a girlfriend. But she's all wrong for him. I can see right through her little act-she's bad news, trust me. I'm terrified he's gonna get hurt, and by the time he figures it out, it'll be a mess. I need you to help me keep him from getting wrecked by someone like her."

That whole speech sort of just... lingered. Like thick fog you can't quite get out of your lungs.

Narima squeezed Elena's hand, not letting her pull away. "This isn't just about me buying your land, you know," she said, voice tightening up. "I get it-you're strapped for cash. You need help with the land, your dad's hospital bills. Look, we can help each other out. You save my son, I'll bail you out of this mess."

Elena's heart was doing its own drum solo. Everything Narima said hit a nerve. She needed the money, that was no secret. But could she actually do it? Sell out her own feelings just to make the numbers work?

"I know I sound like a total villain," Narima's words shook a little, like she hated herself for saying them. "But I'll admit it-I am being selfish. I have to be. That's what you do for your kid. Maybe you'll get it someday, if you ever become a mom."

Her face was so open, it was almost painful. No fake smiles, no scheming-just straight-up panic from a mom who'd do anything for her son.

Elena felt like she was drowning in her own head, second-guessing everything. Her eyes-dark, kinda haunted-locked with Narima's. You could practically feel the electricity buzzing between them.

"And what if you end up hating me more than you hate her?" Elena shot back, voice trembling but fierce. "You don't even know me."

Narima just smiled-nothing fancy, just this warm, wordless thing, like she was saying, "Yeah, I get it," without any judgment at all.

Inside, though? She was freaking out a little. Relieved, sure, because Elena actually had the guts to put her thoughts out there. Most people around Narima were all about sugar-coating or dodging the truth, but Elena? Nope. There was something raw about her honesty. It was almost... intoxicating, to be honest.

But then, bam-that relief vanished. Her chest got all tight, and she felt like she'd swallowed a brick. Ugh, she was about to say something that could blow up whatever trust was sprouting between them. Great timing, right?

"No, Elena," Narima said, voice low, barely hanging onto calm, guilt creeping in around the edges. "Honestly, I already thought you were something special-just from the way you act. But then I, uh, asked my assistant to... check into your background."

Yeah, those words? They dropped like a lead balloon.

Elena shot up so fast her chair almost toppled. Her face went beet red, eyes burning holes through Narima, lips parted like she couldn't quite breathe.

"What are you saying?" she snapped, her voice shaky but sharp enough to cut glass. "You looked into me-behind my back?"

Narima scrambled to her feet. "Elena, wait, I just-"

"How could you?" Elena's voice hit the room like a slap. Her fists were balled up, knuckles white, whole body trembling with barely-contained rage. "I really thought you were helping out of kindness. I mean, I believed you. But now..."

She dropped her gaze, just for a second. When she looked up again, her eyes were cold, wounded, and-ouch-full of disappointment.

"Even before I said yes, you'd already crossed the line."

The room went dead silent. Just the stupid clock ticking, like it was rubbing it in.

Elena turned, ready to bail, but paused at the door. Didn't look back, just tossed out a quiet, brutal parting shot:

"If this is how you pick a daughter-in-law... maybe your son doesn't deserve a wife."

Yeah. Oof.

To be continued...