Novels by Author Ada

NARANobody moved for a second.My father’s fake smile was still sitting on his face and Camille had gone completely still while Danielle was looking at Jared with wide eyes with me just standing there in the middle of all of it, bruised and tired and trying to understand what I was looking at.Jared came for me?I turned that over in my head and it still didn’t make sense.“Jared!” My father stepped forward with his arms open like they were old friends. “What a wonderful surprise. Please come in, sit down, let us get you something to eat.”“That won’t be necessary.” Jared’s eyes moved to me briefly then away. “I came for my wife. That’s all.”My chest tightened.Wife..The word felt so strange in his mouth.. like it didn’t belong there.Camille smiled wider. “Of course. Of course. That’s good. That’s very good. We were just telling her the same thing.”I turned slowly to look at her.She didn’t even hesitate.“We told her you would come,” she continued smoothly. “We kept encouraging

NARAI blinked at her and for a second, I actually thought I heard wrong.“…What?”“Since when do I need permission to come back to my father’s house?” I added.Danielle’s eyes narrowed. She looked me over slowly, the way she always did, like she was searching for something to pick apart.“Since you got married,” she shot back immediately. “Since you became Mrs. Jared Wilson.”I frowned. “What does that—”“It means,” she cut in, pushing herself off the doorframe, “you stopped being a daughter of this family the moment you walked out as his wife.”I stared at her.“You belong to your husband now,” she continued, her tone sharp. “So go back to him. To your cursed husband and his cursed family.”Something snapped.Before I even thought about it, my hand was already in the air.The sound of it landing shocked even me.Danielle staggered back a little, her hand flying to her cheek. Her eyes went wide like she couldn’t believe what just happened.“You—” she breathed. “You just— you slapped

NARANobody stopped us as we left.I was aware of the eyes though. I could feel them the way you feel heat, not directly, just the warmth of it on your skin as Jared walked me through what remained of the gathering. Some people had the decency to look away while others just didn’t bother.His hand was still holding mine.I didn’t know what to do with that. I kept my eyes forward and focused on walking because my legs had decided they were no longer fully reliable and my cheek was still burning from where Ophelia’s hand had connected the second time and my whole body was doing that deep quiet trembling that comes after something terrible. The night air hit us when we stepped outside, it was cool, dark and quiet after all the noise of the hall.We kept walking when I stole one look at his face and immediately wished I hadn’t. He was staring straight ahead, jaw set, expression completely closed off. I couldn’t tell what was underneath it. Anger at me? anger at Ophelia, anger at the whol

NARAMy cheek burned.The slap didn’t feel real at first all I felt was the heat. Then the sharp sting came and my ears rang so loudly I could barely hear anything else.I didn’t move as everything around me just blurred. Faces, lights, the soft gold of the decorations… none of it made sense anymore.The nurse was standing behind Aunt Ophelia.My chest tightened so fast it hurt.No… My heart began palpitating so fast it felt like I was running out of breath.No, she couldn’t have told her….But the way she looked at me… like she knew. Like she’d already said something.My fingers tightened around my clutch.She definitely told her… everything..Panic rushed up my throat, but I swallowed it down hard. I couldn’t lose it here. Not like this.I slowly looked at Aunt Ophelia. My voice came out small, shaky, but I forced it steady.“Aunt… what did I do?”She didn’t answer.I swallowed. “Why did you—why did you slap me?”Her face twisted instantly.“What did you do?” she repeated, her voice

NARAThe day passed by in a blur, and Jared hadn’t come back home yet. Today was the day of the family gathering meant to celebrate my ridiculous marriage, and my husband was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t called or reached out to me or anyone else.I had busied myself with little chores since the majority of the housework was being done by the staff. The house had been peaceful throughout, and it actually began to feel more like a home and less like a prison.I was genuinely beginning to enjoy the solitude, and I just wished that this peace would last. Maybe it could even become something frequent with Jared; he would leave the house for days, come back, then leave again.Staring at my reflection in the mirror as I dressed for the party, I admired the way the gown clung to my body like a second skin. Studded with glittering stones and adorned with delicate embroidery, it was beautiful yet simple.Jared’s mother handpicked this gown specially for me. She was such a good woman. If only

8NARAHours had passed since that horrifying experience with Jared, and he still hadn’t returned home after leaving the room. I tried to wrap my head around what had happened. One moment, he was on top of me, and the next, he vanished as though he had disappeared into thin air.I had hurried out of the room immediately, terrified he might return and continue-perhaps even succeed this time. But now it was past ten, and there was still no sign of him.The house felt unusually calm and quiet. That calm felt like a premonition, a warning of something terrible waiting to happen later. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. Jared was unpredictable.The meal laid out on the dining table had gone cold. I had made sure the cooks prepared everything to perfection, hoping to avoid anything that might trigger his anger. But now, it all felt pointless.I sat alone in the living room, one part of me praying he wouldn’t come home tonight, while another part still hoped foolishly that he was safe.“