A Love Buried by Secrets novel Chapter 1

The night of the family banquet, everyone but Serena Lorne and Elliot Lowell were present.

Unbeknownst to the others was that beyond a single door, the two were intimately entwined, lost in a passionate embrace.

As Elliot unbuckled his belt and sank into her entirely, he let out a low, sultry moan. Serena's back arched, and she had to bite down on her lip to stifle her own cries.

She pleaded softly, "Gently, Eli. Mom and Dad are right outside."

The door rattled violently as he planted another kiss on her neck. With a cynical smirk in his voice, he whispered hoarsely, "So what? If they ever find out, we'll just elope to Ezvora and get married."

Serena blushed in response and said no more. She couldn't hide the hopeful gleam in her eyes as she stared at the devastatingly charming man before her.

Her shyness caused Elliot's eyebrow to rise, and he deliberately thrust a little harder just to tease her.

"No response? You've devoured me clean, and now you don't want to take responsibility, huh?"

Her eyes shimmered with a thin film of tears. A few years ago, she would never have imagined being so wild. Look at her—sleeping with her stepbrother, especially when her presence was expected at a family banquet!

The infatuation in her eyes did not diminish at all as she choked back a whimper. "I'll take responsibility. I want to marry you, Eli."

The clock ticked on, round and round. After an unknown amount of time, they finally called it a day.

Elliot watched her limp toward the door. He couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips. He scooped her up by the waist and teased, "Didn't you say you were meeting your friends today? Come on. It's almost time."

She snapped back to reality and tried to fumble to her feet. However, Elliot carried her straight into the bathroom instead.

The two ended up having another steamy session inside before Serena threw on an outfit and dashed out the door.

Fortunately for her, the family banquet had already ended by then. The living room was empty, and not a single soul was in sight.

As she exited the villa, she fished out her phone to call her friends and inform them of her lateness. All of a sudden, she heard a loud buzzing in her ears.

Looking up, she saw a car lose control and skid toward her. Her pupils shrank in terror as the distance between them diminished by the millisecond.

Before she could react, the car collided with her. The impact sent her flying several yards away before her body crashed heavily to the ground.

The pain ripped through her nerves, tearing through her like lightning. Blood gushed out and pooled beneath her.

With great effort, she pried her eyes open. ​​Through her fading consciousness, she saw Elliot running toward her frantically. "Rena!"

From there on, Serena's surroundings became distorted. Accompanied by the ringing in the background, footsteps and voices faded into a distant blur.

Sometime later, her mind briefly regained clarity amid being submerged in darkness. In the haze of unconsciousness, she overheard Elliot and his buddies talking.

"Eli, there's still a chance to save your stepsister's legs with surgery. Are you really forgoing the procedure? If not treated, she'll be disabled for life."

Elliot's voice that followed was colder than she'd ever heard. He sneered. "I arranged the accident myself. Why would I choose to save her? She's the daughter of the woman who wrecked my family. This is their karma. It's the payback they deserve."

"I get it. But she loves dancing. If she finds out she's crippled, she'll lose her mind. Come to think of it, you've dated her for five or six years now just to get back at them. You've slept with her all this time, and now you want to take her legs away, too? Can you be any crueler? Be honest. Do you really have no feelings for her?"

"Feelings?" Elliot cackled, amused. "All I want is for the two of them to suffer the pain my mom went through—ten times over. I could never fall for her. Cut the crap about feelings. Oh, do remember to pay the driver off. Make sure he takes this secret to his grave."

Every word struck Serena's heart like a lightning bolt.

She couldn't believe it. All these years, Elliot had been dating her not for love but for revenge.

When she was 15, her mother married into the Lowell family. Overnight, Serena became the stepsister of the most popular boy at Greenfield High School, Elliot Lowell.

At Greenfield High, there was a phrase that went around, saying, "You might not know the principal, but you're sure to know Elliot Lowell."