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Chapter 45

Penulis: TemsRay
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-02 04:12:14

The following morning felt unusually still.

Ruben had already left the house by the time I came downstairs, but I wasn’t surprised.

It wasn’t like we were strangers… but we weren’t exactly a normal couple either.

I moved through the house slowly, the silence swallowing me. The cleaning staff stayed out of my way probably sensing the weight of whatever hung in the air between us.

The visit from Ruben’s “business associates” yesterday wouldn’t leave my mind. Their eyes. Their calm. That briefcase. Something was off. Deeply off.

Before I could spiral further into my thoughts, my phone buzzed. It was Daph.

Daph: Come over. Emergency college planning. Don’t argue.

I smiled faintly. Of course. With school starting soon, Daph would be in full planner mode, and I was more than ready to shift my mind to something normal.

Later at Daph’s,

“So… you’re really not going to live on campus?” Daph asked, raising an eyebrow as she spread out glossy college brochures across her bed. Her room still l
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  • One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 85

    Hospitals were supposed to bring hope. To give life a second chance. To stitch wounds and hold onto breath, even if it was barely there.But not today.Not for Lia.The call came just after midnight.She had just dozed off in the chair beside Daph’s bed when the ring pierced the silence. Cold. Shrill. Dreadful.She answered on the first ring.“Miss Delwunco…” the nurse’s voice cracked. “You need to come to the ICU. Now.”Her world spun.No breath. No heartbeat. Just silence.Lia ran.She didn’t think, didn’t wait. The corridors blurred around her, the hum of the hospital buzzing like static in her ears. She crashed through the ICU doors, her hands shaking, heart pounding against the walls of her chest.The monitors were flatlined.The bed was too still.And her mother her beautiful, strong, stubborn mother lay with her eyes closed, her skin pale like porcelain, as if she had simply fallen asleep.“No…” Lia whispered, stumbling forward. “No, no, no no!”The nurse tried to steady her. A

  • One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 84

    The hospital room was dim, save for the monitors that blinked steadily, the only reminder that her mother was still alive… barely.Lia sat by the bed, her fingers trembling as she brushed a strand of her mother’s hair back. "I did this," Lia whispered, voice shaking. "I brought her into this world I was so desperate to escape."The door creaked open behind her. Daph limped in slowly, a white bandage wrapped around her forehead, trailing down to her eyebrow. Her eyes, tired but warm, scanned the room before settling on Lia.“You’re not sleeping,” Daph said softly.Lia didn't turn. “I don’t deserve to.”Daph sighed, lowering herself onto the couch against the wall. Her shoulder was stiff. Her head was still pounding from the crash. But none of that compared to the guilt she saw pouring out of Lia like a river that had snapped its dam.“She was so proud,” Lia murmured, eyes locked on her mother’s face. “She just got her license two months ago. Called me every day to tell me she practice

  • One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 83

    Lia’s POVShe didn’t sleep.She couldn't.The house was too quiet after the storm. Every creak of the old walls reminded her of Ruben’s fists meeting Ken’s. Of the blood. Of the anger. Of the truth she'd unleashed.But then there was the way Ruben looked at her when Ken left… like he’d already lost her.He didn’t chase her when she walked away to her room.He didn’t say a word.But hours later, as dawn tiptoed over the horizon, she heard the door creak open softly. A familiar scent. Warm, masculine. Him.Ruben.He didn’t speak when he entered her room. His footsteps were slow. Cautious.She turned to him from where she sat on the edge of the bed, eyes red and swollen. “Couldn’t sleep?”He knelt before her, like a man confessing sins to the only god he believed in. “I can’t lose you,” he whispered, his voice broken. “Not after everything.”Tears slipped down her cheeks.She hated how much she still loved him.How much of her heart still beat for him, even after everything.“I wish I di

  • One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 82

    Lia’s POVThe morning sun was soft mocking, even as it poured through the tall windows of the estate.But nothing about this morning felt soft. Nothing about it felt warm.It felt like fire on her skin.She stood by the massive window in Ruben’s private study, her arms folded tightly around herself, heart pounding in anticipation. The folder she had hidden under her blouse last night now lay open on the desk. Names. Ledgers. Photos. A bloody empire built on bodies and secrets.Her fingers trembled as she waited.The heavy door opened.And he walked in, tall and calm, as if he hadn’t nearly lost everything.As if the silence between them wasn’t ripping them apart.She turned around slowly. “Sit down.”His jaw clenched. “Lia”“I said, sit. Down.”He did.She pointed at the file. “Tell me what all of this is.”He didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.“That’s none of your concern,” he said coldly.Her hand slammed the desk. “Don’t you dare gaslight me, Ruben. I saw everything. I read everything!”

  • One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 81

    Ruben’s POVThe house was quiet. Too quiet.His phone had been ringing all night, his security team, his personal assistant, even Daph had called. But none of them mattered.Because she was gone.Lia.She didn’t take her phone. She didn’t leave a note.She just... vanished.And it was tearing something primal inside him apart.He stood at the edge of her dressing room, eyes locked on the soft silk scarf she always wore when she felt overwhelmed. It was folded neatly on the bed. She’d never leave without it unless… unless she didn’t want to come back.Ruben closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, willing himself to stay composed. But rage scratched at his insides like fire against skin.How much had she found?How much did she know?And the worst question:Who did she run to?He already knew the answer. Ken.The name was poison in his mouth, but he swallowed it down. This wasn’t about war, not yet. This was about her.His wife.His heartbeat.The one thing he had never planne

  • One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 80

    Lia’s POVThe world stopped feeling like home.Everything that made sense was now tangled in blood, deceit, and silence. The deeper I searched, the more terrifying it became.It started with a simple drawer in Ruben’s private study. Then it became encrypted files, strange codes, offshore accounts… and finally pictures. Dozens of them.Some of them were men I recognized from the news. Dead men.Others were images of Ruben. In meetings. Holding weapons. Giving orders. Watching executions.I dropped the folder and stumbled back like the room was on fire.This wasn’t just "mafia."This was an empire.He wasn't a man surviving in darkness. He owned the darkness.He lied to me. Every day. Every night. While kissing my forehead and rubbing my back, while promising protection and claiming love.My vision blurred.I couldn’t breathe in this house. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even feel.I left without thinking. Without packing. Without shoes.The air outside hit my face like a slap, but I didn

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