Chapter 47 Jason’s POV I woke up feeling the weight of Claire’s arm draped over my chest. Her bare skin pressed against mine, her blonde hair falling over her breasts. She looked beautiful in the soft morning light—angelic even. But as I stared at her, I couldn’t pinpoint whether last night had been a night of passion or just another way to distract myself. I sat up and slipped on my robe. The movement caused Claire to shift on the bed, her lashes fluttering as she woke up. “Good morning, baby,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. “Good morning, sugar,” I replied, turning back to her with a small smile. She sat up, stretching lazily, her bare hips swaying as she moved closer and pressed a lingering peck to my lips. “Last night was fire,” she whispered, her fingers tracing over my chest. “I know. You kept screaming my name.” My hand brushed against her lips. Claire blushed and looked away, biting her lip. “So… about Andrea—” “Oh, Jason, not again! Not this morning,” she cut m
Chapter 48Andrea’s POV“You don’t have to babysit me, you know,” Jake murmured, giving me his usual teasing look.I shot him a glance as I shifted in my seat. “How is accompanying you to the hospital considered babysitting, Jake?”“You don’t get my point, Andrea.” He exhaled dramatically, leaning back against the seat. “My hand has an issue, not my legs or eyes. I could’ve come to the hospital by myself.”“Stop whining. We’re already here.” I gestured toward the window as Paul pulled the car to a smooth stop in the hospital parking lot. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”“If I didn’t come with you, I’m sure you’d just sit in your room and rip the stitches out yourself, not caring if it got infected,” I added.A smirk pulled at his lips as he turned to me. “You think that little of me, huh?”I gave him a pointed look. “You can be reckless, Jake. Now, let’s end this conversation and get you checked.”To my surprise, he didn’t argue. Instead, he pushed open the car door and stepped ou
Chapter 48“Jason is using the same tactics he used during the divorce. You know that, right?” Jake said, his voice filled with anger and frustration.I let out a bitter scoff. “Yes, this has his handwriting all over it. Son of a bitch.”Jake paused before speaking again. “Andrea, I’m so sorry—”“I don’t need your sympathy right now, Jake!” I snapped, my voice rising. The last thing I wanted to hear was pity.Jake let out a slow breath, his eyes still on me. “I never said you did, but you need to calm down.”I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “Calm down? Seriously? How am I supposed to stay calm when my name and my family’s name are being dragged through the mud? It’s easy for you to say—you’re not the one going through this.” My fingers curled into fists, frustration boiling inside of me.Jake exhaled slowly. “You have—”“No,” I cut him off, my voice thick with pain. “I’m not interested in anything you have to say.” My chest tightened as I turned to him, “You think I don’t see i
Chapter 50“How did you get here?” I asked, staring at Claire, dumbfounded.“Oh, Andrea…” Claire’s voice trembled as she took a step closer. “Are you okay?” Tears gathered in her eyes.Finally, I thought, someone I could be vulnerable with.“Wait—Andrea, is that blood?” Claire gasped, dropping her bag. She rushed toward me, her eyes wide with worry. “Did you hurt yourself?” Her grip tightened around my hand as tears spilled down her cheeks.“Claire, please stop crying. I’m fine, honestly.”“No, you’re not fine, Andrea! You’re shaking. Don’t try to act strong in front of me—it doesn’t work on me. I know when you’re hurt. For God’s sake, you’re bleeding!” She held my hand firmly, guiding me to sit down. Then, she took out a handkerchief from her bag and tied it around my wound.“This will stop the bleeding for now,” she said, sniffing. “You know what? Let’s go to the hospital so it doesn’t get infected. Stand up, let’s go.”“No, Claire, It’s just a little bruise. I don’t need to go to t
Chapter 51Claire and I stepped out of the office building, the cool evening breeze brushing against our faces as we walked. The sun was already setting, casting long shadows over the parking lot. The day had been filled with a lot of tension, and my mind was still spinning from the whole scandal, my position in the company slipping from my grasp, and Claire's advice about Jake, I was still trying to process everything.“Today was one hell of a day,” Claire let out, exhaling sharply.“Yes… and thank you for being here with me today,” I said, my voice softer than I intended.“Don’t mention it, Andrea. If I’m not here for you, then who will?” she replied with a small smile.“Let’s go to my car. My driver will take you home,” I said, reaching for her hand.She shook her head, pulling out her car keys and shaking them slightly. “I drove here. I’ll call you later” “Alright, drive safe.” I watched as she walked to her car started the engine, then honked once before driving off. The red ta
Chapter 52“Jason is one disgusting, greedy snake!” I spat, shaking my head in disbelief. “How could he do that? Not just to anyone, but to his own brother? He stole your hard work, your sweat, your ideas—and made it look like his own! That is just… sickening.” My stomach twisted with rage. Every day, I realized more and more that I never truly knew the man I had once married.I turned to Jake, watching as his eyes still burned with fury. He was calming down, but I could tell the anger still steamed beneath the surface.“You know,” I continued, “I always asked Jason why he suddenly switched from engineering to wanting to own a tech company. But he never gave me a straight answer. He was always dodging the question, making up excuses.”Jake let out a humorless chuckle. “Did you expect him to tell you the truth?”I hesitated. “Well, no… but why didn’t you fight back? You shouldn’t have just let him get away with it. You should have exposed him to the public!”Jake suddenly burst into l
Chapter 53“You’re joking, right?”I looked at Jake, struggling to wrap my head around what he had just said.“Andrea, you know there’s no way I would joke about something as serious as this. I’m serious.” His tone left no room for doubt. “Are you sure you’re not on drugs? And why on earth should I marry you, Jake? It doesn’t even make sense—now that it’s coming from my mouth, it sounds even more ridiculous!”Jake leaned back slightly. “First, let me explain. This isn’t a real marriage, Andrea. It’s a contract marriage—strictly for revenge. Nothing else. We can agree on a time frame, and once that time is up, we both go our separate ways.”I stared at him, stunned. “Marrying you? That’s your big plan for revenge? Jake, that’s insane. You know what? I don’t even want to hear any more of this. Just start the car and take me home.”“Andrea, but I—”“Jake, please,” I interrupted, rubbing my temples. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. How can you even say that? I just divorced Jaso
Chapter 54Jake’s POVI lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It was late, but sleep refused to come. My mind kept replaying my conversation with Andrea, over and over again.It sure didn’t end the way I wanted.I had my hopes high for nothing.I thought she was tired of Jason’s actions. When her father told me to take her home, I saw it as the perfect chance to strike. And for a moment, I thought it worked.When I told her everything Jason and his family did to me, I saw it in her eyes—that spark of understanding, the realization that she wasn’t the only one that the family had tried to destroy. She had a fire in her. She looked like she was finally ready for revenge.I was relieved. Excited, even though I didn’t show it.But my happiness was short-lived. She declined my proposal.I didn’t expect her to agree immediately, but at the very least, I thought she would ask for time to think about it. Instead, she shut the idea out completely.Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she didn’t want reve
Chapter 102Poom…Poom…Poom…That was the first thing I heard.Soft. Steady. Like a heartbeat, but outside my body.I didn’t know where I was. My eyes were still closed. Everything felt heavy. My arms, my chest, even my thoughts.But that sound kept going.Poom… poom… poom…Like it was reminding me I was still here.My fingers twitched. The air around me was cold, sterile, but safe. Different.I blinked slowly, once, then again. Light rushed in, too bright at first. My lids fluttered open, and everything looked blurry, like I was underwater.It took a few seconds, maybe more, for things to settle.White ceiling. Pale blue curtains. Machines.The beeping beside me made sense now.A soft weight tugged at my hand. I turned slowly, my head barely shifting. A clear drip was taped into the back of my hand, the IV line running up to a bag hanging beside the bed. My wrist and foot were wrapped. Cleaned. Bandaged.I was in the hospital.I was alive.My chest rose shakily. Tears pricked my eye
Chapter 101Andrea’s POVI knew something was off the moment I woke up.The mood was different tonight.No footsteps echoed in the hallway, no keys jangled, no harsh voices barked orders. The house was filled with the normal coldness, but it was lively.Beyond the metal door, I heard it. Music. Laughter. The clinking of glasses. Voices muffled but happy.They were celebrating.My stomach turned, not from hunger this time, but anticipation.I stayed still for a moment, my back against the cold wall, heart pounding so loud I was afraid someone might hear it. My wrists were sore and scabbed from the ropes, but my mind was clear and sharper than it had been in days.Something’s different.They hadn’t done their usual check. No footsteps outside my door. No voices. No shadows under the crack.Maybe… maybe this was it.The metal shard I had hidden days ago pressed against my thigh beneath the blanket. My one sliver of hope. I’d been waiting for the right moment. Waiting for the smallest cra
Chapter 100Jake’s POVThat’s exactly how I felt. Two days—forty-eight damn hours and still no trace of Andrea. Never in my life had I ever felt this restless. I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she disappeared. And whenever I did doze off, nightmares followed. The same one every time, Andrea, crying out for help, begging, afraid. I’d jolt awake, drenched in sweat, unsure if the dream was real or not.I poured myself another glass—the third one tonight. The first had done nothing. The second only made my head spin worse. My hands trembled slightly as I lifted the glass.These past few days had forced me to face something I’d been avoiding for a long time—how much I truly cared about Andrea. How much I loved her.Yeah. Love. I hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but this fear, this desperation was the kind of pain that only love brings.I dropped onto the couch and ran a hand down my face. I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. But what else could I do? We’d already gone to the po
Chapter 99Andrea's pov There was no clock in the room. No window, no sun, no ticking hand to mark the passing of time. But somehow, I knew it had been close to two days. My body told me. The aching bones. The heaviness behind my eyes. The way my stomach twisted and turned—not just from hunger, but from fear.Two nights. Two damn nights.I had slept. I wasn’t sure when or how, but the dreams had been hollow and sharp-edged, like broken glass on repeat. Every time I woke up, I hoped it was all over. That the door would burst open and I’d be rescued from this pain and torture. But no. Same walls. Same cold floor. Same silence.Except when they came.They didn’t speak. They just came in—faces masked, eyes dull—and dropped food like I was some stray they had to keep alive. After the last time I’d tried to run, they no longer untied my hands. One would hold me still while the other brought the spoon to my lips. No words. No looks. Like I wasn’t human. Like I wasn’t even there.My throat b
Chapter 98 Jake's pov It had been 24 hours since we had heard nothing from Andrea. No calls, no texts, nothing—no sign. The silence was deafening. Everyone in the house was in a panic. Andrea’s mother had been restless. She sat scrunched on the edge of the couch, her eyes swollen from crying, hands wringing a tissue that had long since given up holding anything back. Her father paced by the window, arms folded tightly, a muscle ticking in his jaw every time his phone lit up with nothing. “Where could she be?” her mother whispered, barely audible over the ticking clock. “What if… something had happened to—” She burst out crying, unable to finish the sentence. Andrea’s father walked to her, holding her hands, trying to console her. “She’s fine, darling. Andrea is a strong girl. Nothing has happened to her. Maybe she needed space. Maybe she’s trying to clear her head.” But even he didn’t believe it. None of us did. I sat there, my leg bouncing uncontrollably, trying to calm the
Chapter 97Andrea's pov I jolted awake, my neck aching from the awkward position I’d dozed off in. I must have slept off out of tiredness, or maybe I just wanted to escape this terror so badly. For a fleeting moment, I hoped it was all a nightmare—that if I just closed my eyes and slept, I’d wake up in the comfort of my bed, thinking about the bad dream I had.But reality slapped me faster than any pinch could.I was still here. Still tied. Still trapped.The same damp air filled my lungs. The faint buzz of that godforsaken light above hummed in my ears. I blinked, trying to clear the haze.I shifted slightly. The ropes binding my hands and feet hurt my skin. My mouth was dry, and my stomach growled in protest.“Can I have some water?” I called out weakly.But there was no response.“Is anyone there?” I screamed.Still no response.“Ughhh…” I breathed out in frustration.Time seemed to blur. I had no idea how long I’d been here. Minutes? Hours? A whole day?Panic trickled in slowly—n
Chapter 95Jake's pov I checked my watch for the third time in ten minutes.Four hours.Four whole hours.I’d been sitting here, surrounded by wedding gowns and impatient whispers from the boutique staff, waiting for Andrea to walk through that door. But nothing.No call. No text. Nothing.My phone sat heavy in my palm, screen dim. I tapped it, then called again. Her number went straight to voicemail like it had the last four times. I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm.Maybe she got stuck in traffic. Or maybe her mum dragged her into something.But something about this—this stillness—wasn’t sitting right.The boutique door finally opened with a jingle. I looked up, half-expecting to see Andrea, annoyed or flustered, maybe rolling her eyes at how late she was. But it was her mum.“Sorry I’m late,” she said, smoothing her purse strap as she walked in. “I had a few things to sort out. So, how many gowns has she tried on?” she asked with a smile as she go
Chapter 95When I opened my eyes, everything felt wrong.The first thing I noticed was the ache in my neck, a pulsing stiffness that crawled down my spine like ice. The second was the bitter sting of rope cutting into my wrists, binding me to the arms of a wooden chair. My legs were tied, too—--- -tight, I couldn’t move. My heart launched itself against my chest.Panic bloomed before I could stop it.Where the hell was I?The room was dim, too quiet. Cold air brushed against my skin—cement floor, no windows. There was a faint hum from somewhere above, like the buzz of a fluorescent light, but nothing else. No footsteps. No distant voices. Just… me.And fear.I tried to remember. The last clear moment was getting into that taxi—yes, I’d told the driver where to go, buckled my seatbelt. Then… the car slowing, a strange silence, and his hand—gloved—pressing something over my nose.A handkerchief.My blood ran cold.“Oh my God,” I whispered, the words scraping out of my dry throat. “No, n
Chapter 94I was already dressed for work when my Mum knocked on my door.“Andrea,” she’d said in that sugary tone she always used when she wanted something. “Darling, you’re not going to the office today.”I’d stared at her, halfway through buttoning my blouse. “Why not?”She smiled like it was obvious. “Because you have a wedding dress appointment. You’re getting married, remember?”Right. The wedding. The thing that now dictated my entire schedule.And just like that, I was “canceled” for the day.I didn’t argue. There was no point in doing that. So I changed into a more casual dress, trying not to roll my eyes every time I caught my reflection. I just wanted this wedding circus to be over. Honestly, at this point, I didn’t care what gown I wore. I’d walk down the aisle in a paper bag if it meant we could skip the drama and move on.As I adjusted the strap of my sandal, I heard soft footsteps behind me. I turned and froze.“Annabel?”She smiled gently from the doorway, her apron fr