Chapter: Holding On Anyway(Rue’s POV)I stayed there in the garden, just standing. The spade dropped loosely from my hand, but I didn’t even notice. My head was somewhere else—stuck on her face, her voice, the way she looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t.I hated how I’d just spoken to her. It came out cold, like I didn’t care. But I did. More than I should.I let out a breath and rubbed my hands over my face. I didn’t want to be that guy—the one who acted like a child just because his feelings weren’t returned. But damn, it hurt.I waited a few more seconds, then turned and walked toward the house. My hands were still dirty, but I didn’t care. I stood in front of her bedroom door and knocked.A moment passed.Then another.“Vicky?” I said, gently.She answered from inside, voice low. “What?”I swallowed. “Do you… still want to go on the date?”There was a pause. The door opened slowly.Vicky stood there, her expression unreadable.She looked tired—emotionally, not phys
Chapter: Grown Woman MovesDay 35/365Vicky’s POVThe moment I hung up on Williams, I let out a dry laugh and tossed my phone on the couch.“Let the best man win?” I muttered to myself. “Yeah, right. Let’s see how he handles losing to a woman.”My heart was racing, not from nerves, but from the thrill of it all. That man thought he could scare me into backing down? Over my dead body.I grabbed my phone again and called Julia. She picked up after the second ring, her voice groggy.“Vicky? Everything okay?”“I need to shake the table, Jules. Shake it hard.”That woke her up.“Ooh,” she said, dragging out the word. “Say less. You remember Sophia? The PR strategist I mentioned?”“Yeah? The one who worked with Cartier last year?”“She finally agreed to meet you. I’ve been working on it for days. She just got back in town.”I sat up straight. “Wait, seriously?”“Dead serious. I told her you’d reach out.”“Oh, Julia. I could kiss you.”“Do it after the event,” she laughed. “Let’s plan for la
Chapter106: Bad News Over Whiskey“I’m not going to work next week,” Williams muttered as he buttoned up his shirt slowly, pacing the room.Valerie looked up from the couch, her eyes tired and dull. “Is it because of the baby?”He nodded, even though it wasn’t just that. “Yeah. I just… need a break.”She didn’t argue. She just looked away, hugging the blanket tighter around her. He wanted to say something comforting, but he had nothing left to give. So instead, he grabbed his car keys and left.A few hours later, he was seated at a quiet bar downtown. , soft jazz was playing in the background, and two familiar faces across the table—Uncle Barth and Christopher.“Thought you’d never show,” Christopher said, already halfway into his drink.“Yeah, well,” Williams slid into the booth, “I needed a break. Figured whiskey and familiar faces might help.”Barth chuckled. “It’s been a while since we did this.”Williams waved the waiter over and ordered. “How are things with the board?”“Busy.
Chapter: A Hard MorningI sat on the edge of Rue’s bed, still wrapped in the sheets, my hair a mess, and my heart even messier.Rue stood near the window, the morning sun glowing on his face. His expression was calm, but something about the way his hands stayed in his pockets told me he was nervous.“I want to talk to you,” he said, still not looking at me.I pulled the blanket closer. “Okay… shoot.”He turned slowly, and his voice was careful. “How would you feel… if we stopped the whole contract thing?”I blinked. “What do you mean stop?”He stepped closer. “I mean… what if we made it real?”I felt my heart skip. I opened my mouth but didn’t know what to say. So I laughed softly—awkwardly. “Real? Rue, I never said I wanted to marry you.”“I’m not saying marry me right now,” he said quickly. “I’m saying… we stop pretending. No contract. No rules. Just… see where it goes.”I shook my head gently. “That sounds like a relationship.”He smiled a little. “Yes. That’s the point.”I stood u
Chapter 104: Beyond Contracts . VICKY I quietly slipped into my room, careful not to wake Rue’s grandma. She’d barely been here for a few hours, but the energy in the house had already changed. She was sweet, but her presence meant we couldn’t keep pretending to sleep in separate rooms. She was old-school. She’d start asking questions—questions we weren’t ready to answer.I sat on the edge of my bed for a few minutes, thinking. The whole scene with Williams earlier was still playing in my head. His yelling. The way he blamed me. The miscarriage.Was it really my fault?I picked up my phone, my fingers hovering over the screen. I typed, “Hey… I just wanted to check on you. I’m sorry about everything.” But after staring at it for a few seconds, I deleted it.“What if they’re just twisting this to make me feel guilty?” I muttered to myself.I stood up, grabbed my phone and nightwear, then slowly walked to Rue’s room. When I opened the door, Rue looked up from his laptop.“I’ll take the
Chapter 103 _ A Great Loss _ or not “This…this is all because of Vicky,” he said bitterly, pacing out of the bathroom and into the living room. “It’s the stress. All this madness. The insults. The drama. You’ve been in and out of tears for weeks.” Valerie didn’t say anything. She stayed where she was, staring at the spot of blood on the tiled floor that hadn’t been cleaned yet. “She’s been attacking you from every angle,” Williams continued, voice rising as he walked in circles. “The press, the office, the house—always on edge! You didn’t deserve this. You didn’t deserve any of it.” She could hear the anger bubbling in his voice, the blame shifting heavily to Vicky as if it were the only thing he could hold on to. But Valerie didn’t flinch. She didn’t respond. She simply reached for a cloth and began to clean the floor around her. A quiet fury brewed in her chest, but it didn’t look like sadness anymore. She moved with a certain calmness—like someone who had crossed a line and