Novel-novel oleh Aisy David

Day after day passed. Bella began to notice changes in Aaron. She felt neglected. However, Bella did not want to drown in prolonged sadness. Bella got up because finally ... she knew she had to stop hoping. That morning, she sat upright on the edge of the bed, fighting the nausea that came in waves. Her hands trembled for a moment, then she took a deep breath. Slowly. Like someone who was resetting herself. Crying wouldn't change anything. Waiting wouldn't do her any good. And she knew that. Everything that had happened since the beginning... was never about love. Never. Bella realized that she was the one who had started to forget. She was the one who had been fooled by Aaron's frequent presence, his overly intense attention, his lingering touches, despite her status as a contract wife. Bella stared at the mirror. Her face was pale, but her eyes were no longer empty. "This is business," she said to her reflection. "And I'm paid well. I have to be professional.” She snapp

Lucienne began to act spoiled—in a very measured way. She no longer touched Aaron first. She didn't demand hugs. She didn't ask to be accompanied. On the contrary, she often took half a step back, as if giving him too much space. That space made Aaron anxious. When Aaron tried to get closer, Lucienne would sometimes smile slightly and say, "It's okay. You must be tired." It was a simple sentence, but it was enough to make Aaron feel guilty because he was indeed tired—and that tiredness was largely because he was spending too much time at Bella's house. Lucienne also began to play hard to get. Not cold. Not rejecting. But always a little out of reach. One afternoon, Aaron came home early. As he walked towards their room, his steps stopped in front of the half-closed door. From inside, he heard Lucienne's voice. "...I don't know how long I can pretend to be strong," she said softly, as if talking to someone on the phone. "Aaron is spending less and less time with me. It feels...

Lucienne wasn't stupid. And she wasn't the kind of woman who would scream or throw a tantrum when she lost attention. She observed. Aaron was spending less and less time at his main residence. Even when he did come home, his mind was elsewhere—at the smaller house, which was supposed to be just a contractual facility. The house where Bella lived with her frail body and increasingly rounded belly. Lucienne knew one thing for sure: she couldn't fight the pregnancy. So, she changed the game. That day, Lucienne canceled three social engagements and one board meeting. She let her maid panic, let Aaron's secretary receive vague news: Mrs. Lockwood had been feeling unwell since morning. When Aaron finally arrived, Lucienne was already lying in bed, the curtains half-closed. Her face was pale—or at least it looked pale in the dim light. Her hair was left loose, her breathing short, as if her body was completely exhausted. "What's wrong?" asked Aaron. His tone automatically tensed. Lu

Bella lived in a luxurious house provided by Lucienne. A two-story house with a narrow backyard, a white fence that was always locked, and a security camera in the corner of the roof. Everything seemed perfect, complete with an additional contract that Bella signed without saying much. "If you get pregnant, the facilities will be upgraded. A bigger house. Permanent servants. A personal guard." The words were written coldly on the paper. Pregnancy as a condition for promotion. Bella didn't feel like a mother-to-be. She was more like someone waiting for a verdict. Since the two lines appeared, her body no longer felt like her own. The nausea never stopped. Her vision often blurred. Several times she woke up on the bathroom floor, her cheek pressed against the cold tiles, with a metallic taste in her mouth. And every time that happened— Aaron came. Not Lucienne. Always Aaron. Lucienne never really cared about Bella. She only cared about the heir growing inside Bella's womb. That

Texas greeted the morning with a pale sky and a dry wind sweeping across the small yard of the house where Bella lived—a house rented by Aaron, complete with a camera in the corner of the fence and a schedule dictated by others.Bella stared at the two red lines for a long time. Her hands trembled, her breath short. She should have cheered, or at least smiled with relief. But instead, she felt a hollow emptiness pressing down on her chest. Those two lines weren't just a sign of life—they were proof that the contract had worked, that her body had carried out the command.She sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees. Her mother flashed through her mind. The mother who always said that a woman's body wasn't a machine. The mother who would hug her if she knew the news. Bella swallowed, wiping away tears before they fell.Her phone vibrated. Aaron’s name appeared.“The test?” the man’s voice was brief, controlled.Bella took a breath. “Positive.”Silence. A few seconds that felt like

The car sped away from Lucienne's house. The lights of Austin that night were like blurry lines behind the window glass. Bella sat stiffly in the passenger seat, her hands clasped together in her lap. Aaron drove silently, his jaw clenched, one hand gripping the steering wheel too tightly. No one spoke. The silence in the car was far more frightening than screams. Bella glanced at Aaron. The man looked like someone who was fighting with himself—his breathing was heavy, his eyes focused ahead, but his mind was clearly in turmoil. As soon as the car stopped in the driveway of Aaron's main house, he immediately got out, slamming the door. Bella followed, her heart beating fast. She had just stepped inside when the door opened again with a loud bang. Lucienne. The woman stormed in, her face no longer smiling, her hazel eyes burning with unconcealed anger. Her high heels clattered loudly on the marble floor. "You humiliated me," she said sharply. Aaron turned around. "You started t