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Chapter 38: The Bookstore Girl
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2025-07-07 15:00:00The bookstore was tucked into a sleepy corner of the city the kind of place where no one asked questions and everyone left you alone.
Ava stood outside for a moment, watching people move in and out with bags of secondhand paperbacks and chai lattes. Her fingers were tight around the strap of her purse, her mind still spinning from the photo, the note, and the warning: Don’t trust him.She pushed the door open. A bell chimed softly overhead.Inside, it smelled of old pages and cinnamon. Cozy. Safe. Dangerous in a way that wasn’t loud but quiet, careful, and packed with hidden truths.She walked slowly past fiction, biographies, self-help. Then stopped.In the poetry section, a woman stood with her back to her.Curly auburn hair, longer than in the photo. A trench coat. Fingers thumbing through a worn copy of Milk and Honey like it wasn’t just a book but a memory.“Elena?” Ava said.The woman turned slowly.
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Married to my Arrogant Sponsor Chapter 39: Between the Truth and the Lie
Ava sat in her car for nearly an hour, the flash drive still clutched in her hand like it might burn her. The city buzzed around her people walking dogs, honking cars, couples arguing on sidewalks but none of it reached her. It was like she’d driven into a soundproof bubble, and now the only thing louder than the silence was her heartbeat.She should’ve driven home.Instead, she opened her call log.She scrolled past Grayson. Past Renée. Past numbers she didn’t recognize anymore.Then she stopped.Joe.Her thumb hovered. Then she tapped it.The line rang twice. Then:“Hello?” His voice was the same. Maybe softer. Maybe it was just memory coating everything in nostalgia.She froze. Her throat tightened.“Ava,” he said again, slower this time. “I didn’t think you’d call.”“I… wasn’t sure I would either.”Silence.Then she breathed, “I need to ask you something.”
Married to my Arrogant Sponsor Chapter 38: The Bookstore Girl
The bookstore was tucked into a sleepy corner of the city the kind of place where no one asked questions and everyone left you alone.Ava stood outside for a moment, watching people move in and out with bags of secondhand paperbacks and chai lattes. Her fingers were tight around the strap of her purse, her mind still spinning from the photo, the note, and the warning: Don’t trust him.She pushed the door open. A bell chimed softly overhead.Inside, it smelled of old pages and cinnamon. Cozy. Safe. Dangerous in a way that wasn’t loud but quiet, careful, and packed with hidden truths.She walked slowly past fiction, biographies, self-help. Then stopped.In the poetry section, a woman stood with her back to her.Curly auburn hair, longer than in the photo. A trench coat. Fingers thumbing through a worn copy of Milk and Honey like it wasn’t just a book but a memory.“Elena?” Ava said.The woman turned slowly.
Married to my Arrogant Sponsor Chapter 37: Shadows Between Us
That night, Ava couldn’t sleep.She tried. She lay in bed with her eyes closed, heart thudding against her ribs like it wanted out. The sheets felt too hot, the air too still, and her mind too loud.The note. Elena. The bookstore.And those four words: Don’t trust him.She sat up slowly, brushing a strand of hair off her face. Her eyes adjusted to the dark. Across the room, Grayson’s side of the bed was empty. The covers still untouched.He hadn’t come to bed.The silence made her skin crawl. She slipped out from beneath the sheets, padded toward the hallway in bare feet. Her fingers trailed along the wall as she passed framed art and antique mirrors that had probably seen more secrets than anyone ever dared to speak.Downstairs, a soft light spilled from under the office door.She hesitated outside for a moment, then knocked lightly before stepping in.Grayson looked up from behind his desk, a pair of readi
Married to my Arrogant Sponsor Chapter 36: City Lights, Clear Eyes
The drive back to the city was quiet but not heavy.It wasn’t the silence of avoidance or discomfort. It was the kind that followed healing. The kind that settled between two people when the loudest parts of them had already been spoken.Ava sat in the passenger seat, hair pulled into a soft bun, one hand curled beneath her chin as she watched the skyline build itself back into view. One glass tower after another, climbing into the sky like it had something to prove. The city had always felt like a cage to her noisy, sharp, demanding. But now… it felt like a challenge she could finally face.“I almost forgot what traffic sounds like,” Grayson muttered as they slowed near the mansion gates.She smiled softly. “I didn’t miss it.”He looked at her, just briefly. “You seem… different.”“Do I?”“Yes. Not just calm. Clear.”Ava didn’t respond immediately. She didn’t know how to explain that the version of herself retu
Married to my Arrogant Sponsor Chapter 35: What Comes Next
The night before they returned to the city, Ava couldn’t sleep.The lake outside was calm, still like it was holding its breath for what came next. The stars hung low and thick above the water, reflected like secrets on the surface. She sat by the window in Grayson’s faded hoodie, legs pulled to her chest, mind restless.She didn’t want to leave.Not because the city scared her.But because this quietness, this in between space felt like safety. Felt like her.Grayson found her there, backlit by the soft moonlight. He didn’t speak at first. Just walked over, knelt beside her, and rested his head gently against her knee.“You okay?” he whispered.Ava looked down at him. “I don’t know.”“Talk to me.”She took a deep breath, then let the silence stretch for a moment longer before breaking.“I’m afraid,” she said finally. “Not of going back. Not of the press. Or the whispers. I’ve lived with t
Married to my Arrogant Sponsor Chapter 34: A Version of Peace
The lake was still that morning. No ripples. No breeze. Just a sheet of quiet glass reflecting the soft hues of dawn. The kind of silence that didn’t feel empty but full, like the world had paused just long enough for someone to breathe again. Ava woke before sunrise. She didn’t bother brushing her hair or changing out of the hoodie she’d slept in. She slipped outside barefoot, the wooden planks cool under her feet and damp with dew. She padded down the steps of the porch and stood at the edge of the dock. Arms crossed. Eyes wide. Letting the calm of the moment wrap around her like a second skin. She didn’t even hear him come out. “Can I join you?” Grayson’s voice was low, soft, like the morning itself. She turned slightly and nodded. He was holding two mugs of coffee black, just the way she liked it. She took one without speaking. No thank you. No need.
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