His Brother’s Ruin
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Elara Vance (26), a successful graphic designer, is happily engaged to kind-hearted Liam Vanderbilt (28). At their engagement party, her perfect future shatters when she meets his brother, Kaelan (30), his wealthy, cruel high school bully, who is now the ruthless CEO of the family empire. A charged look confirms their past is very much alive.
Kaelan initiates a campaign of psychological warfare, using unnerving "gifts" (like her own restored, defaced artwork) and cryptic messages to remind her of their history. Flashbacks reveal the depth of his past torment. In the present, his attention shifts from cruel to obsessively possessive. Elara is torn between her safe love for Liam and a dark, addictive pull toward Kaelan, who frames his past bullying as a twisted form of obsession. Their forbidden attraction culminates in a secret, passionate affair.
Liam discovers the affair, resulting in a devastating confrontation that fractures the Vanderbilt family. Kaelan is given an ultimatum: renounce Elara and keep his place in the empire, or choose her and lose everything. Simultaneously, Elara must decide between the stable life she always wanted and the all-consuming, morally complex passion Kaelan offers.
Kaelan chooses Elara, defying his family. Elara, in turn, chooses him, accepting the dark, powerful future he represents over the gilded cage of her old dream. They do not get a traditional "happily ever after," but a Dark Victory. They unite as a formidable, ruthless power couple, securing his empire on their own terms, while Liam is left heartbroken. The family is shattered, but Kaelan and Elara have each other in a love built on obsession, honesty, and ruin which conflicts with her internal (Elara): Safety vs. Passion, Identity vs. Assimilation, Healing from Trauma vs. Being Defined by It and external: Forbidden Love (Brother's Fiancée), Family Loyalty vs. Personal Desire, Fight for Control of the Vanderbilt Empire.
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