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Chapter 9: Family, Fallout, Whispers

Penulis: Elena Thorne
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-03-09 22:51:25

The morning after the ink dried on their contract, Mia walked into her office like a general returning to the battlefield. The glass walls of the building gleamed in the sun, but inside, whispers traveled faster than the elevators.

“She married him?” one assistant muttered as she passed.

“Carter Tech and Cross Enterprises merging?” another whispered.

“She didn’t even have a wedding must be a stunt.”

Mia ignored them, heels clicking against the polished marble. She was used to rumors, but this,t
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  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 58: Too late Jared.

    Mia hadn’t planned on going to the gala.She was standing in her bedroom, halfway out of her dress, staring at herself in the mirror with a kind of detached exhaustion. The swelling of her belly was unmistakable now. Her body felt heavier, slower, like it belonged to someone else.After the photoshoot she had told Ava she’d stay home. She had told herself she didn’t have the strength for bright lights and fake smiles.Then her phone rang.Jared.She frowned, answering slowly. “Hey.”His voice came through tense, urgent, stripped of its usual calm. “Mia, I need you to come to the gala.”She straightened. “What? Jared, I’m not feeling great”“It’s important,” he cut in. “Really important. There’s something I have to tell you. You and Liam. In person.”Her pulse skipped. “Tell me what?”“I can’t say it over the phone.”That alone was enough to make her uneasy. “What is this about, Rose?”There was a pause. Just a fraction too long.“Yes,” he said carefully. “And Victor Grant.”Her stomac

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 57 — Leverage

    Rose hated Victor’s house at night.In the daylight, it was all power and polish glass walls, marble floors, art that cost more than most people’s lives. But at night, when the lights dimmed and the city glittered below like a kingdom he believed he owned, the place felt like a cage.She stood near the window of his study, fingers curled around the edge of the desk, breathing carefully. Slowly. Steadily. As if one wrong breath might set him off.Victor Grant stood by the bar, his back to her, pouring himself a drink. The clink of ice against crystal sounded too loud in the silence.“You’re late,” he said calmly.“I had to be careful,” Rose replied. “I can’t be seen coming here too often.”Victor laughed softly. It wasn’t warm. It never was.“You live in the enemies house,” he said. “Don’t insult me by pretending discretion suddenly matters to you.”She didn’t answer.He turned then, glass in hand, eyes sharp and assessing as they dragged over her face, her body lingering, calculating.

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 56 — The Space Between

    Mia realized it one morning when she reached across the bed and touched cold sheets.Liam hadn’t come back.She lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the city outside. Her body felt heavy, her limbs slow, like grief had finally settled into her bones instead of hovering over her head.She pushed herself up and padded into the hallway.The guest room door was ajar.Inside, Rose lay propped against pillows, a glass of water on the nightstand. Liam sat beside the bed, sleeves rolled up, rubbing slow circles into her back while she retched softly into a bowl.“I’m sorry,” Rose whispered weakly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”“It’s fine,” Liam murmured. “Breathe.”Mia stood there, unseen, watching.This wasn't just care.It was worse.It was romance.The kind of care that used to belong to her.Her stomach tightened not with jealousy, but with something quieter and more devastating: recognition.She turned away before they noticed her.Later that af

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 55 — The Quiet Shift

    The change didn’t happen all at once.It came in small decisions Liam didn’t even remember making.He started waking earlier, slipping out of bed carefully so he wouldn’t disturb Mia. He told himself it was kindness. She needed rest. The pregnancy had been hard on her. Some mornings she barely slept at all.But Rose was already awake.She would be sitting at the kitchen counter, wrapped in a cardigan, tea untouched in front of her, eyes shadowed with fatigue.“You should be sleeping,” Liam would say.She’d smile faintly. “I tried.”Then she’d press a hand to her stomach not dramatically, just enough to be noticed.“I don’t know why I feel so weak lately,” she’d murmur. “The doctor said the first trimester can be… delicate.”Delicate.The word lodged itself somewhere deep in Liam’s mind.At first, he stayed only a few minutes. Asked if she needed anything. Made sure she ate. Told himself it was responsibility, nothing more.But minutes stretched.Rose spoke quietly, as if afraid of tak

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 54: Difficult to get rid of a Stray

    Liam had always believed guilt was loud.He’d imagined it as something that screamed sleepless nights, shaking hands, obvious tells. But this guilt was quieter. Heavier. It sat in his chest and pressed down every time Mia smiled at him like she still trusted him.Like she still belonged to him.He watched her from the doorway as she slept, her breathing soft, one hand curled protectively over her stomach. The moonlight traced her face gently the woman he loved, the life he had sworn to protect.And yet.He turned away before the thought could finish itself.At the office the next morning, Liam moved on autopilot. Meetings blurred together. Numbers meant nothing. Every email felt like a static. He hadn’t realized how bad it was until Jared stopped talking mid-sentence.“Okay,” Jared said slowly. “That’s the third time you’ve stared through me today. Want to tell me what’s actually going on?”Liam blinked. “Sorry. Just didn’t sleep well.”Jared didn’t buy it. He leaned back in his chair

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 53 — Quiet Corners

    The city looked different at night when you weren’t running from it.Mia sat in Ethan’s parked car, engine off, the streetlight above them flickering like it couldn’t decide whether to stay alive. Rain misted the windshield, soft and patient, as if even the storm was tired of being dramatic.Neither of them spoke for a while.Ethan leaned back in his seat, arms folded, eyes fixed on the dark outline of the building across the street. Mia sat with her hands clasped in her lap, thumb rubbing slow circles into her knuckle a nervous habit she hadn’t noticed herself developing.“Say it,” he finally said.She exhaled. “I’m scared.”He turned to her, fully this time. “Of what?”“Of being right,” she said quietly. “And of being wrong.”He didn’t interrupt.“If Victor is behind all of this,” she continued, voice low, “then my life didn’t fall apart by accident. It was dismantled. Carefully. And if I’m wrong…” Her lips trembled. “Then I’ve destroyed my own marriage by suspecting shadows.”Ethan

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 52 — Fault Lines

    Jared noticed the silence first.The penthouse had always been loud in subtle ways music humming low, Mia’s heels clicking, Liam pacing during calls. Now it felt… muted. Like the air itself was holding its breath.He stepped out of the elevator with a slim folder tucked under his arm, adjusting his

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 51 — What the Walls Remember

    Mia didn’t sleep.She lay on her side, knees drawn up, one hand curved protectively over her stomach while the other pressed into the mattress like she needed something solid to keep her from drifting apart.The house was quiet in the way only broken homes were.Not peaceful. Just holding its breat

  • An Almost Honest Affair    Chapter 50 — The Sound of Glass Breaking

    “What?”The word barely left Mia’s mouth.It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t angry. It was thin like it might shatter if pressed too hard.Rose’s hand trembled where it rested on her stomach. She looked pale suddenly, fragile in a way that felt rehearsed. Her eyes flicked to Liam for half a second just long

  • An Almost Honest Affair    CHAPTER 47 — LINES THAT BREAK

    The night smelled like rain and the Earth Mia sat in the driver’s seat of her car, parked two blocks from Grant Industries, watching the tall mirrored building glow like a fortress. Her hand trembled slightly as she checked her phone.One new message.Ethan: Back entrance. 9:00. Come alone.She to

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