Se connecterADRIAN’s POV
She storms off and leave the meeting. I expected that of her because I will do same too because even Sitting here I am still In shock I almost get up to go after her but then I remember why I am here and also remember our standing beef and I will definitely be the last person she will want to see or even talk to.
I believe she storming off that means the end of the meeting and although quite a number of them especially these old men do not seem surprised about this clause at all meaning they were the instigators but I wonder why Mr Paige will accept that because I know from my dealings with him that he really loves his daughter and also that he does not want to hurt her so I wonder where this came from. He proceeds to leave the conference room but on his way out he calls onto me to follow and I feel relieved and somehow worried that he has not forgotten about me after all.
We walk together in his elevator and we go to his office but he is quiet all through. When we get to the elevator he asks for me to sit down and he is quiet for a while and I can see the age telling on him already and maybe a hint of sadness too there I know he did not want tointentionally hurt his daughter but he had no choice. I am a very patient man even if they call me ruthless outside but I know what I came here for so I wait for him to be ready.
He then opens his mouth and calls to me. “Adrian I am quite sorry for the little drama that happened there” and frankly you were not supposed to witness that but things happen but luckily they did not get out of hand. I just reply and tell him that it is fine and we can move past It. But then he goes ahead to say that he does not want to really hurt his daughter that he hopes she will forgive him and see reasons with him that the clause has been there since but he did not tell her because he thought she was going to get married to Brian and I almost throw up in my mouth at the mention of that scumbags name it takes me so much will not to respond and call out what an asshole Brian is. He also goes ahead to say he wishes they can come back so they can get married and then the clause thing will be of the past. come back so they can get married and then the clause thing will be of the past.
He then faces me and goes on to ask what about our collaboration that Let us Talk about it now but when I open my mouth I can not believe the words that came out myself because instead of me speaking of the partnership I go ahead and say “What if I marry Christine?” The man in front me just takes off his glasses and looks at me like he has never seen me before or that I have grown two heads. But instead I still go ahead to say that it will not be so much of a bad idea that we can leave it as a contract marriage till the inheritance and I know for a fact that he wants his daughter to get it and not to some outsider. I propose how it is not so bad as my mom has been pestering me to get married too and in particular she has been hinting on Christine too as it will help fufil both our wishes and I know that asides Brian there is no other person there that she can suddenly bring out of the blue to get married to.He takes a deep breath and says to me “You know she hates you right? And will never agree to this ” And I actually flinch at that but not visibly but I regain my composure and tell him I know of that. He then proceeds to say that his daughter is one who wants to marry someone who loves her and will Love for the rest of their lives and i respond to say I know of this already. And then I proceed to say to him which is not more than the truth that I have always admired his daughter and sometimes even underneath all the beef I have always found her beautiful and he just looks at me real hard. As he is about to respond his door opens and she walks in and this cut our conversation and I know she must be wondering what it is. But I decide to walk out and leave the balance of the conversation and while I pass by her I notice once more of her beautiful she is but she just stares at me blankly and I know she is expecting to say something but she is surprised for the second time today when I say nothing to her and just walk.
I head into the elevator and i pause for a while to think what actually came over me to propose that. Except that fact she hates me If she knows the secret I hold to my heart it will be a recipe for disaster. I just brush it off and walk away but on my way out of the company. I hear a very loud voice screaming WHAT!!.
Chapter 110Adrian’s pov Life did not become fairy tale perfect after the wedding.It became honest.That was the difference.The world finally felt calm and it seemed like all the things we went through has been a long time ago.Christine stood by the tall window of their bedroom, the soft fabric of her dress brushing against her legs as she adjusted the cuff absentmindedly. Below them, the city glowed in its usual busy, alive, uncaring settings. It was the same city that had once felt like a battlefield and now simply felt like home.The room around her carried the quiet marks of shared living. A book Adrian had left open on the bedside table. Her laptop bag resting against the chair. A framed photo from their second wedding, not posed or polished it was just them laughing, mid moment.She caught her reflection in the glass.She looked calm.Not guarded. Not braced.Just settled.“Are you ready?” Adrian asked softly.She turned.He stood near the door, straightening his cufflinks,
Chapter 109Christine’s povI thought I would feel calm.After everything we had survived, after all the hard conversations and quiet rebuilding, I truly believed this day would come with peace instead of nerves.I was wrong.My hands shook as Angela helped me button the simple dress I had chosen. No heavy lace. No dramatic train. Just soft fabric that felt like me. Like the woman I had become, not the girl I once was.“You’re pacing again,” Angela said gently, smiling at me through the mirror.“I can’t help it,” I replied, laughing under my breath. “I feel like my heart is trying to leave my body.”She stepped closer and rested her hands on my shoulders. “That’s not fear,” she said. “That’s honesty.”“And that’s being in love !” Katy shouted from the other end.Before I could respond, the door creaked open softly.My mother stepped inside.She paused when she saw me, one hand lifting to her chest as her eyes filled instantly. For a moment, she didn’t say anything. She just looked at
Chapter 108Adrian’s povThe idea of a second wedding still felt unreal to me.Not in a bad way. Just quiet. Like something precious I didn’t want to touch too roughly in case it disappeared.Christine was in the bedroom, folding clothes with care, like every movement mattered. We had not officially moved everything back yet, but she had been staying longer and longer. Sleeping beside me again. Waking up without walls between us. It felt harmonious, like a melody we had once known and were slowly relearning.I watched her from the doorway for a moment and felt something loosen in my chest.“Let’s go away for the weekend,” I said suddenly.She looked up. “Where?”“The lake house.”She paused. Not tense. Just thoughtful.“That place holds a lot,” she said.“I know,” I replied. “That’s why.”She nodded slowly. “Okay.”The drive there was calm. No heavy music. No forced conversation. Just us, sharing the space, the road stretching ahead like it wasn’t in a hurry either.When we arrived, t
Chapter 107Christine’s povThe morning sun spilled gently through the curtains as Christine and Adrian stepped out of the car in front of her parents’ house. The place looked exactly the same as it always had been with neat hedges, pale walls, the familiar wind chime hanging by the door and yet Christine felt like she was walking into it as a different person.She paused for a second, her hand still on the car door.Adrian noticed immediately.“Hey,” he said softly, moving closer. “We don’t have to rush.”She looked at him and smiled, though her eyes gave her away. “I know. I just feel this feels big.”“It is,” he agreed. “But it’s also good.”His hand brushed hers, not claiming, not pulling, just offering. Christine took it willingly, squeezing his fingers as if grounding herself in the present.“I’m ready,” she said, even if part of her still trembled.They walked up the familiar path together, their steps in quiet sync. Before Christine could knock, the door opened.Her mother sto
Chapter 106Christine’s povChristine stared out the car window as the city passed by. Her fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel, though it wasn’t nerves exactly that troubled her but it was the weight of choices. The weight of admitting, finally, that she wanted to try again.The coffee date had left her mind buzzing. Seeing Adrian smile quietly, watching him respect her space, feeling the patience in his presence, it had all reminded her of something she’d almost forgotten: that love could be gentle.Could be steady. Could be trusting.She parked outside their house. Her house. Their home. The words felt strange in her head. After months of distance, months of careful observation, months of deciding whether she could risk letting him back in, she was here.She took a deep breath and opened the car door. The crisp air hit her, and her chest tightened with anticipation. Adrian had been waiting inside, his expression calm but expectant.“Hi,” she said softly, stepping toward th
Chapter 105Christine’s povChristine sat on the edge of her bed, phone in hand, heart hammering. She stared at the blank screen, unsure if she had the courage to type.Coffee. Just to talk. Public place.Her thumb hovered over the keyboard. She swallowed hard. “You can do this,” she whispered to herself. “It’s just coffee. No expectations. Just to talk.”She typed the message, erased it, typed it again. Each time she tried to press send, her nerves flared. The thought of seeing Adrian again while they are alone, quiet, really made her chest tighten.Finally, she hit send. Her phone buzzed almost immediately with a response from him.“Where and when”She responded quickly. Ten minutes Corner cafe on Linden.Her stomach lurched. She had sent ten minutes but it was not enough to fully prepare herself, but enough to remind her that she couldn’t back down now. She grabbed her coat, tried to steady her breathing, and left.At the cafe, Adrian was already there. He sat with his hands folded
CHAPTER SIXTY ONE CHRISTINES POVThe morning after the kiss felt different in Christine’s world, though the walls of the mansion looked the same, the air smelled the same, and the silence was as heavy as always. Yet inside her, something had shifted. She woke with her chest tight, her lips remembe
Chapter sixty fourChristine’s POVChristine woke to quiet.Not the ordinary kind of quiet, but the heavy, loaded silence of a room that remembered too much.Her eyes blinked open slowly, adjusting to the dim light filtering through the curtains. For a moment, she thought she was still dreaming unt
CHAPTER SIXTYCHRISTINES POVThe storm had passed by morning, but the quiet it left behind seemed heavier than the thunder had been. Christine moved through the day on autopilot, answering calls, sitting in meetings, smiling where she needed to smile. But her mind wasn’t on the numbers in front of
CHAPTER FITTY SIXCHRISTINES POVThe house felt too quiet without him. At first, Christine told herself it was a blessing. Adrian had left two weeks ago on a business trip, flying out with Mark to Asia for some deal with investors. She thought she would finally have room to breathe without his teas







