Share

Chapter 36

Penulis: Ruby
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-01-19 22:03:54

Sophia POV

The office welcomed me back like it always had, chaotic with lots of pending work aside.

My desk was exactly where I’d left it. Same screen. Same files. The same half-finished to-do list that now felt twice as long.

A few days away didn’t sound like much on paper, but in practice it meant a backlog that demanded attention without sympathy.

I slipped back into routine easily.

Emails first. Then reports. Follow-ups I should’ve delegated but hadn’t. Notes from meetings I’d missed, cross
Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi
Bab Terkunci

Bab terbaru

  • Gilded Hearts   Chapter 46

    Sophia POVBy the time the dishes were washed and the kitchen was finally quiet again-, the apartment had settled into a heavy silence,.The city lights outside the glass walls flickered against the dark marble floors-, stretching long reflections across the living room,.I dried my hands slowly-, hanging the towel back in its place,.My body felt exhausted-, but my mind refused to quiet down,.Dinner.The table.His words.You’re staff in this house now.The sentence replayed in my head like something stuck on repeat.I inhaled slowly.Fine.If that was the role he had decided to force on me, then I would survive it. Just long enough to find something else,. Just long enough to walk away from this place without needing anything from him,.I turned off the kitchen lights and walked toward the hallway,.The bedroom door stood slightly open,.For two months, that room had been ours.Not perfect. Not easy.But… real.Apparently I had imagined most of it.I pushed the door open,.The room

  • Gilded Hearts   Chapter 45

    Sophia POVBy the time dinner was ready-, the kitchen smelled faintly of roasted garlic and warm spices,.I had spent longer than necessary preparing it,.The dishes sat arranged on the counter-, steam rising softly from them,.Rice,. Stir-fried vegetables,. Grilled chicken,.Simple, clean food,.Not extravagant.But done properly.I wiped my hands on a towel and carried the plates to the dining table,.The apartment was quiet except for the distant hum of the city outside the glass walls,. Footsteps echoed from the hallway,. Damien entered the dining area just as I finished setting the table,.His presence filled the space immediately,.He was wearing a T-shirt and joggers as his gaze moved from the table to me,.“So,” he said calmly, “the staff has begun working.”I ignored the comment.“Dinner is ready,.”He pulled out a chair and sat down slowly-, studying the plates in front of him like they were objects under inspection,.For a moment he didn’t speak,.He simply picked up his f

  • Gilded Hearts   Chapter 44

    Sophia POVThe drive back from Hayes Global felt heavier than ever.This morning, I had walked in with quiet defiance.Now, I walked into the penthouse with clarity.He had done this deliberately.I could have argued there. I could have demanded answers in the lobby-, insisted on being escorted upstairs-, forced someone to call him out of that board meeting,.But I didn’t,.I didn’t want whispers trailing behind me in marble corridors. I didn’t want my humiliation turning into office gossip by lunchtime. Hayes Global was still a place I had respected—still a place I had worked hard in. I wouldn’t turn it into a spectacle.So I left.As I returned to the apartmentEvery step echoed in the silence of the apartment as I set my bag down on the console table. The space felt too large. Too empty. Like it was waiting.Before doing anything else, I pulled out my phone.Edward Hayes.For a moment, my thumb hovered over his name.I wasn’t calling to complain. I wasn’t calling to accuse his gran

  • Gilded Hearts   Chapter 43

    Sophia POVDarkness came back in fragments.Not gently.First, the cold.It crept across my skin before my mind fully woke-, cool air brushing over my bare shoulders, my legs, and my stomach,. The sheets beneath me were smooth and expensive-, but they felt like ice,.Then the silence.Too quiet.My eyes fluttered open,.The room was dim-, the city lights bleeding faint gold through the curtains. For a second-, I didn’t move. My body felt heavy, disconnected-, like I had borrowed it from someone else,.Then memory rushed back.My breath caught sharply,.I pushed myself upright too fast-, dizziness spinning the room,. The blanket slid from my lap, and the realization hit with humiliating clarity,.I was still half naked,.Only my underwear clung to me,. My T-shirt lay discarded near the foot of the bed,. My pajama bottoms were somewhere on the floor,.Damian was gone,.The side of the bed where he had stood loomed empty,. The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar,. No sound from the hal

  • Gilded Hearts   Chapter 42

    Damien POVThe heavy doors of the penthouse felt like a prison I had finally unlocked.I checked my watch. Past midnight.Three months.For three months, I had played a part. I had been the good grandson. The kind husband. I had sat through dull dinners-, nodded at meaningless conversations, and pretended I cared about Sophia’s small, insignificant life,.Today, the lawyers confirmed it,.The inheritance was mine.I didn’t have to pretend anymore,.I pushed the door open, a dark sense of freedom curling through me,.She was there, waiting—like she always did. Her eyes held that soft, irritating concern that had once made my skin crawl,.“You’re so late-,” she said quietly,.“I know.”I dropped my jacket and loosened my tie,. The mask slid off with the fabric. I didn’t need to smile at her again. I didn’t need to soften my voice.She stood, reflexively helpful. “Do you want dinner? I can warm it up.”I didn’t answer,.I walked straight toward her-, closing the space between us until sh

  • Gilded Hearts   Chapter 41

    Sophia POVIt was past midnight when the door finally opened,.I looked up from the couch, the book in my lap untouched for hours,. “You’re so late,.” I spoke,.“I know.”He set his jacket down and loosened his tie., his movement were sharp, almost looked like he was irritated. Also there was something off in his voice when he spoke earlier,—too controlled-, stretched thin., like tension pulled taut beneath every word,.I stood without thinking, smoothing the front of my sweater-, the old reflex kicking in before I could stop it,.“Do you want dinner?” I asked. “ I can warm it up-, or—”He stopped directly in front of me,.Too close,.The distance between us vanished in a single step, so sudden it stole the rest of my sentence,. My breath hitched before I even realised why,.“Damian?” My voice dropped instinctively, softer, cautious,.His hand came up to my face, firm against my jaw,. His fingers tilted my chin upward, forcing my eyes to meet his before I could retreat. The touch c

Bab Lainnya
Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status