تسجيل الدخولEmily
I didn’t sleep that night. After Adrian left, the apartment became too quiet again, but this time the silence wasn’t peaceful. It was heavy. Oppressive. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind replayed the same things. My mother sitting in a clinic, asking if stress could cause a miscarriage. A train ticket. A pregnancy no one told me about. And the possibility that my father might have had somethingEmily The word wife lingered in my mind long after Adrian said it. My wife. It felt strange. Stranger than the marriage certificate I was still holding in my hands. Stranger than the fact that just a few hours ago I had been sitting at a dinner table breaking off an engagement. And now… Now I was standing outside a courthouse as Adrian Carter’s wife. The night air was cool against my skin, but Adrian’s hand resting at my waist was warm and steady, grounding me in a reality that still felt slightly surreal. He kissed me again before I could think too much about it. His lips were firm and certain, like the rest of him had been all night. When he finally pulled away, his gaze searched my face. “You’re thinking too much.” I raised an eyebrow. “I just got married three hours after agreeing to it. I think thinking about it is reasonable.” Adrian’s lips curved faintly. “You agreed.” “Yes.” “And you didn’t try to escape.” “Adrian, we were inside a courthouse.” “That doesn’
Chapter 84 Emily For a few seconds after Adrian spoke, the car felt too small. Too quiet. The words let’s get married still echoed in my head, refusing to settle into something normal. I stared at him. “Adrian… you can’t be serious.” “I am.” There was no hesitation in his voice. None. The dim lights from the passing streetlamps slid across his face, illuminating the determination in his eyes. Adrian Carter had always been intense, but tonight there was something different about the way he looked at me. Something almost… urgent. I shifted slightly in his lap, trying to create some distance so I could think properly. “Adrian,” I said slowly, “we just got back together.” “Yes.” “And you’re proposing marriage five minutes later.” “Yes.” I stared at him. “You don’t think that’s a little fast?” His hand tightened slightly around mine. “No.” The confidence in that single word made me exhale softly. Of course Adrian didn’t think it was fast. This was the same man who ha
Emily The kiss left me breathless. It wasn’t gentle or hesitant the way I had expected it might be after everything that had happened between us. It was desperate. Hungry. As if Adrian had been starving. I barely had time to catch my breath before his hand tightened around my waist again, pulling me closer. I tried to shift away slightly, my mind still spinning from everything that had just happened at the dinner table. But Adrian didn’t let me go. Instead, he lifted me easily and drew me fully onto his lap. “Adrian—” My protest faded when he buried his face in the curve of my neck. His arms tightened around me, holding me against him like he was afraid I might disappear if he loosened his grip. “I missed this,” he murmured against my skin. His voice was low. Rough. For a moment, I didn’t reply. The car moved smoothly through the quiet night streets, the dim lights from outside flickering across the dark interior. Daniel was driving in front, wisely pretending he coul
Adrian The silence in the dining room was absolute. Every single pair of eyes was on me. Shock. Disbelief. Confusion. I could see all of it clearly on their faces, but… I didn’t care. Because the long game was finally over. I had spent years watching Emily from the shadows. Months hiding in secret like a dirty affair. The last few months helping her dig through secrets that had kept her trapped in a cage she didn’t even realize existed. And tonight, it had paid off. She had chosen me. Not out of love. Not because she suddenly couldn’t bear to stay away from me. But because she was finally done being used by the people who claimed to care about her. The Brown family. The Carter family. Both of them had treated her like a pawn. A tool. A bargaining chip. And now she had flipped the board over completely. I had known something was coming tonight. The moment she walked into the dining room earlier, I saw it in her eyes. Emily had a particular expression whenever she
Chapter 81 Emily The Carter residence had always looked intimidating to me. Tonight it looked like a battlefield. Crystal chandeliers hung above the long dining table, casting warm golden light across polished wood and delicate porcelain. The room smelled faintly of roasted meat and expensive wine, but beneath that there was another scent—something sharp and uncomfortable. Tension. I sat quietly in my chair, my fingers lightly resting against the stem of my wine glass. Across the table sat Nathan. Beside him… Lily. My stepsister wore a soft pink dress that made her look fragile and innocent. She lowered her gaze shyly whenever someone looked her way, playing the role perfectly. If I hadn’t known her for years, I might have believed it. Nathan leaned toward her slightly. “Are you sure you don’t want more?” he asked, gesturing toward her plate. “I’m fine,” Lily replied softly. Nathan frowned. “You barely ate.” “I’m really okay.” He pushed the dish closer to her anyway.
Emily I thought I had misheard Adrian. “The Carter family?” I repeated. My voice sounded thin, almost unfamiliar to my own ears. Of all the possibilities I had imagined over the years, that was never one of them. “That… can’t be right.” For a moment Adrian didn’t respond. The silence on the other end of the phone stretched long enough to make my chest tighten. “Emily,” he finally said quietly, “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t have a reason.” I sank down onto the couch. The apartment suddenly felt smaller. Hotter. “What exactly did you find?” I asked. “Financial records.” That answer alone made my stomach twist. “What kind of records?” “Old company transfers. Shell accounts. Investment movements that don’t make sense.” I frowned, pressing the phone tighter to my ear. “I thought you said my father was the one siphoning money from the company.” “He was,” Adrian replied calmly. “But the money didn’t just disappear.” “Then where did it go?” “Several shell companies.” My
AdrianShe wasn’t ready.I’d known that the moment the silence stretched on the line, heavy and uncomfortable, the moment she failed to give the answer I hadn’t explicitly asked for but had been waiting to hear anyway.She was engaged. I had known that from the start.Still, I’d taken her. Made her
Emily I hadn’t thought about it. Not really. Amidst the panic, the fear, the humiliation of walking into that pharmacy and whispering my situation to a stranger… amidst Adrian’s calm voice and steady reassurance… I had not truly contemplated what I would do if there
Emily The ride back was quiet. Not the comfortable kind of silence, not the easy one that came from familiarity. It was the kind that pressed against my ears, heavy and awkward, filled with thoughts neither of us wanted to voice. Nathan drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other restin
Emily I picked up the call with my heart already racing. For a split second, I just listened to his breathing on the other end, steady and calm in a way that immediately put me on edge. My mind scrambled, questions colliding with one another, each demanding to be asked first. Don’t sound despera







