The CEO’ s second choice novel Chapter 51

　　Elena

　　I scan the horizon and let out a miserable sigh. How did it come to this? I went from being the happiest woman in the world to the most depressed all within the space of an hour. Sebastian and Isla wrapped up in one another’s arms a sight I never thought I would see. What happened that he needed to seek refuge in her arms? Was I not a good wife? Did I not treat him well? Did the money and power eventually go to his head?

　　Well, I could wonder about it until I was blue in the face, and still not come up with a viable answer. Tears still did not come as I ran my hand over my belly. I was about to tell him the news that I was pregnant with his child, a child Mirabelle begged me for and instead, I ran straight into heartache. A small part of me wondered what would have happened if I let Sebastian explain what I had walked in on. What excuse would he have dreamed up to take the image away? And would I have been stupid enough to believe him?

　　I would always be a beautiful fool for him and he knew it.

　　Hugging my coat closer to my body, I walk back inside my room at The Royal Hideaway and lay down on the soft couch. Would Sebastian find me here? I bought tickets to different places and booked into different hotels, but in the end, I came back to the first place I had ever run away to Tenerife. I have switched my phone off since I left London 3 days ago and didn’t dare to switch it back on. Why would I? Just so I can get more lies spewed to me from Sebastian and Anabelle? Everyone I loved and cared for has betrayed me, lied to me, made a fool of me, and for what? What did I ever do to deserve this?

　　Regarding Anabelle, I haven’t officially broken my friendship off with her even after 5 months of me finding out she was a snake. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, even though I knew she hated me. Which begs the question as to why exactly she wanted to see me fall. What exactly did I do wrong except expose Nicholas?

　　My head hurts, I need to stop overthinking things and focus on the present. I had a baby growing inside of me. There was no time to wallow and feel sad. Maybe a walk along the beach would help clear my mind, so I grab my sunglasses and call an Uber to take me to Playa La Caleta beach.

　　The moment the sea breeze hits my face, the nausea evaporates and with a smile on my face; I walk along the rocky coast to make my way to the hidden beaches. I don’t know what it is about Tenerife that I love so much and apart from being roofied last time; I loved it here. I felt… free and unguarded. Sebastian would find me soon enough and race here, this I know, but for now, I could embrace my pain and think of what to do next. Again my thoughts swerve between hearing him out and just not forgiving him for the sight I saw. The mere touch of another man, besides Isaac, repulses me to the point of a near panic attack, so what made his embrace with Isla so special? Why was she even there???

　　I think my sadness has turned to anger because for the rest of the way I am filled with a burning in my chest that I cannot explain. I gave Sebastian all of me, ignored other men’s advances and gave him the most intimate part of me. Only for him to turn to his ex-lover for some or other reason. Was I really that replaceable? Was I still truly the second choice in everyone’s life?

　　I ponder these thoughts as anxiety has me in its grips once again when I realise that I was alone on this beach. Or so I thought. In the distance, I spot a speck standing at the edge of the water gazing into the horizon. Should I turn around? Should I run? Maybe this person was dangerous. I mean, I was all alone on this beach with a stranger standing in the distance. Instinctively, my hands flew to my belly as I walked, but somehow I couldn’t stop being drawn towards this person. The closer I got, the more familiar the speck got until it was the shape of a tall, handsome Adonis with long, curly blonde hair.

　　“Elijah?” I whisper, incredulous and shocked at this revelation. As if he could sense my presence, he turned around and when his eyes fell on me, a confused frown crossed his brow. “Elena?” he asks in a breathless voice as I slowly walk towards him. What was he doing here? I hope he wasn’t following me or setting this up to look like a coincidence!

　　I can’t help but smile as I walk up to him, he seems to have that effect on me. He returns my smile and turns to face me, meeting me halfway. “How are you, Elena?” he asks, as if he was just meeting me in the coffee shop we both love to frequent. I shrug, “I’m fine. How are you?” I try to make casual conversation, but he only shakes his head. “You’re not fine, I can tell.” He says with a sigh and a sad smile crosses his lips before he looks away from me again. What was going on with Elijah?

　　“It was lovely seeing you again, Elena,” is all he says, then turns around to walk away from me. Wait, what? In all the time that I have known Elijah, he would think of any excuse to talk to me, but I haven’t seen him since the coffee shop fiasco. So what was up? Curiosity gets the better of me, and I follow him. “Elijah, what’s the matter?” I ask him, and he stops in his tracks. “I am keeping away from you, as promised to Sebastian. If you would excuse me,” he says without turning to face me, but I wasn’t having any of it. There was something wrong. I run after him and grab him by the wrist, “Elijah, don’t lie to me.” I urge, not letting go as he peers down at me with sad eyes. I could tell that he was close to letting me in, battling between being honest or being an ass, but when his shoulders slump I could tell it was the former that won. “I’ve come here to mourn my wife.”

　　Eh? What? Sorry? Wife???

　　He sees the confused look on my face and lets out a sad chuckle. “This was our beach, we met here 10 years ago when I was in town for an urgent meeting. The only reason I came to this beach was to get away from everyone, but I ended up meeting the love of my life.” He says, retelling what seems like a tragic love story. We walk as he continues to relay his story “What a firecracker she was, challenging me at every angle and always needing to have the last say; sort of like another rebel I know.” He says with a chuckle, and I immediately knew he meant me. “I think that is why I felt so drawn to you for the longest time. You remind me so much of my Irina.” I peer up at him when he says this, “Why have you come to mourn her? What happened?” I ask him and see how he stiffens at my question. This must be extremely difficult to talk about, and it left me with a guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I’m sorry, Elijah, you don’t have to answer me,” I say but he only shakes his head.

　　When he looked at me again, tears were brimming his eyes and he looked so… lost. The look on his face made my own heart begin to ache! “She hid her cancer from me until it was too late to do something about it. She wanted to pass away as God intended her to, with no doctors or treatments and only with me at her side.” He admits and faces the ocean with his hands in his pockets. I clutch my chest as tears well in my own eyes. How could a man like Elijah keep a hurt like this hidden for so long under the guise of ego? “It has been years after her passing and I still cannot forgive her for doing that, for showing me the beauty of love and ripping it away after we barely started our lives together.”

　　“That’s how bitterness starts, Elijah, with the unwillingness to forgive,” I say, but only get a scoff from him in return. “I know that, Elena. But I cannot help the darkness that clouds my mind when I am reminded of how utterly alone I am when I could have done something to save her. I loved her, and now she has left me. You wouldn’t understand, Sebastian has never betrayed your trust.” He says and continues to walk from me, but this time I do not follow him. I wouldn’t understand, hey? My shoulders slump at the thought, and I decide to turn around and head back to the hotel.

　　I wouldn’t understand, right? Sebastian would never betray me with someone else. He loved me too much; he told me so, right? I was pregnant with his child right now and we were building an empire together. He wouldn’t betray me, right? RIGHT?!

　　Falling to my knees, the tears that never came when I think back to him in Isla’s arms now fell. My sunglasses dropped from my face and I see Elijah’s worried eyes peer down at me. He takes me in his arms, and for some reason, I am not repulsed by his touch, instead, I am comforted. Holding me close, he strokes my hair, “Elena, what happened? What’s wrong?” he asks as he strokes my hair, but all I do is lean in closer for more comfort until his cologne invades my senses. I wonder what would have happened if they did not give me to Sebastian as appeasement. Would I have met Elijah?

　　I peer up at him and he wipes away my tears and cups my cheek in his palm; it was only then that I noticed how beautifully broken Elijah was behind his blue eyes. He strokes my cheek and pins me with that icy gaze of his as he leans in close, planting a kiss -