LOGINArvan and I turned at the same moment.Meanwhile Mrs. Whitmore continued speaking casually, unaware that the scheming woman she was referring to was me — the very same person she had just been praising."Get close to Reyna before someone else claims her," Mrs. Whitmore added. "I heard she's still single. Is that right?"Mrs. Whitmore glanced toward me."I heard it from Olivia," she said with a friendly smile. "She mentioned you're still single. Not yet married. Is that true?"I fell silent.Such a simple question, yet it made my chest tighten.Without thinking, I stole a brief glance at Arvan.His face remained expressionless. Not the slightest change. As though the question had nothing whatsoever to do with him.Yet I had known him too long.The sharpness in his eyes told a different story. There was something he was holding back.I drew a quiet breath.My marriage to Arvan had always been kept secret.Even after becoming his wife, almost no one knew me as Mrs. Hargrove.Not a single
Reyna's POVTwo days passed faster than I had imagined.Since the coordination meeting for the Mrs. Whitmore project with Hargrove Group, the busyness had left almost no room to think about anything else.Together with Sera, I refined several design details based on the technical team's feedback. A few times Ms. Brennan also called me in to make sure all the documents were ready before the renovation work truly began.I was grateful those two days passed without having to face Arvan again.At least I had time to settle my mind after our encounter that had felt so awkward.This morning was the next stage.The first site inspection at the home left behind by Mrs. Eleanor Whitmore's late mother.I tidied the folder containing the blueprints and final evaluation notes into my bag before leaving the villa. Today was not merely a field visit. Every technical decision we made here would form the foundation on which the renovation began.I drew a long breath.Whatever happened later, my focus
Arvan's POVI stood in front of my office window for a long time after Lara and Rio left.The door was closed.The room had gone quiet again.Yet somehow, my mind only grew louder."Maybe Reyna isn't as bad as I've believed all this time."I dragged a hand roughly across my face.Why had I said that?The words even sounded strange to my own ears.For four years I had always been certain that Reyna was the source of every problem in my life. The woman who had deliberately trapped me. The woman who was skilled at playing with tears. The woman who had used Kirana to keep me tethered to that marriage.But now... every time I met with her, that certainty seemed to lose its footing a little more.Especially after today's meeting.The image of Reyna filled my mind again.She was standing in front of the presentation screen in a simple cream blazer. Hair tied back neatly. Her voice calm as she walked through every detail of the Whitmore mansion renovation. Not a trace of uncertainty on her fa
Lara's POVThe elevator stopped at the executive floor of Hargrove Group with a soft chime.I held Rio's hand and stepped out. The corridor outside Arvan's office always felt composed — marble floors reflecting the light, glass walls partitioning the meeting rooms, employees moving quickly without much talk."Mama, where is Uncle Arvan?" Rio whispered, his head swiveling left and right."We'll see him shortly," I answered. "Remember what Mama said. Be on your best behavior."Rio nodded obediently.Before I could take another step, the door to the secretariat opened. A man came out carrying a stack of documents.Daniel.Arvan's personal assistant. The man who had always been trusting enough with me — and whose mouth was sometimes looser than he realized.He looked briefly startled, then smiled politely. "Mrs. Lara?""Daniel." I returned his smile warmly. "What good timing. I was hoping to see Arvan."Daniel glanced toward the door of the main office. "I'm sorry, Mr. Arvan is in an onli
Lara's POVI stared at my phone with a clenched jaw.My screen displayed a series of photos of Arvan and Reyna. All of them sent by the insider I had been paying to monitor Reyna's every move at Ashford Corporation.The first photo showed Reyna entering the conference room with a bag full of documents. The second showed Arvan seated at the far end of the table, his dark suit immaculate as always. The third made my fingers tighten around the phone.Arvan was watching Reyna.His gaze wasn't obvious. Anyone else might have taken it for ordinary professional attention. But I had known Arvan longer than anyone. I knew the way he looked at people. I knew how his eyes changed when someone caught his interest.And I did not like what I was seeing.The last photo made my blood boil.Reyna and Arvan both reaching for the blueprint on the table at the same time. Their fingertips nearly touching. Just a few centimeters apart."How dare she." I threw my phone onto the sofa. "That woman never gives
Aldric returned to the dining table with calmer steps.His expression had smoothed back out, controlled, as though the phone call moments ago had never happened. But I caught the lingering tension that hadn't quite left the corner of his jaw. The way he pulled out his chair just a fraction too carefully."Sorry," he said as he sat down. "Office matters that needed immediate attention."I wanted to ask. The question was already hanging at the tip of my tongue. Who needed to be moved, who was about to arrive. But I swallowed it back down.If Aldric didn't want to talk about it, pressing him would only make him feel cornered. I had learned to respect that boundary, just as he respected mine."It's all right," I answered, forcing a smile. "Work doesn't care what time it is."We continued eating. Aldric asked about my plans for the weekend, I answered with as much as felt natural. He told me something funny that had happened at the office, I laughed in the right places.Everything looked n
# CHAPTER 14Several days passed after Arvan came looking for me at the villa. He didn't come again after Mrs. Lin kicked him out. Either he was genuinely afraid of being reported to the police or he was busy with Lara and her son.I didn't think about that. Only focused on the design I was making
Arvan's POV All night I called and messaged Reyna. Dozens of calls. Hundreds of messages. Not a single one was answered. I sat in my office chair with a dark expression. My phone lay on the desk, its screen displaying rows of unanswered messages. "Reyna, answer my call." "Where did you go?" "W
Private Group Chat - "Ashford Brothers" Aldric uploaded a photo to the group chat. A photo of a breakfast plate with an omelet, toast, fresh salad, and orange juice neatly arranged on the table. Aldric (Oldest Brother): [photo] Breakfast made by Reyna this morning. Replies immediately came in.
Reyna POV The clock showed almost four in the morning, but I couldn't sleep. My eyes were still open staring at the ceiling of the dark room. Two days had passed since Kirana left. Two days that felt like two years. Every second was heavy and torturous. Today was Kirana's fifth birthday. A day th







