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The countdown has begun

Penulis: Beth
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-05-08 20:49:50

ZOE’S POV

I hadn’t expected him to run to me like that.

"Mummy!" Jamie shouted with so much joy like a child who had found his world again. His little arms wrapped around my waist so tight, so trusting like he had been waiting for this moment too.

Everything froze. The room blurred. All I saw—all I felt—was my son. My baby. Right there in front of me. Calling me the one word I ached to hear from him again.

I wasn’t aware of the glass breaking until Austin’s voice cut through the moment.

“Zoe!” he shouted and ran to her.

I glanced up.

Chloe stood frozen in the archway, wine glasses shattered around her feet. But just as quickly, she masked it, pasting on that polished, perfect smile she always wore when she was lying.

“Oh! Sorry. I… Jamie startled me. I thought he was calling out to me.” she said, laughing a little too loudly.

I could see the panic still flickering in her eyes. She was unraveling, bit by bit.

One of the staff hurried to sweep the glass, and Chloe stepped back, smoothin
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  • RIGHTFULLY MINE    Questioning everything

    ZOE'S POVMinutes after Owen had walked out of my office, his words still stuck with me— Because you used to say my name like it meant everything. I sat still in my chair looking at the door like I was waiting for him to walk back through it and explain.But he did not.He didn’t wait for me to respond. He just… left.I could not continue working after he left.I should’ve chased after him. I wanted to. But I could not move, not when my mind was racing with questions I couldn’t express and feelings I didn’t understand.What did he mean? Who was he to me?I never got to ask him what he meant by that. I was not even sure what I would have said if I had asked him. But the way he looked at me like he knew me so well, it left me with questions I couldn’t answer. I gripped the wheel firmly as I was driving. Emotions raging within me. The name Owen stayed on my mind since Chloe mentioned it to me. But now it felt heavier.The questions still stayed with me when I got home. I went over them

  • RIGHTFULLY MINE    What Remains Unspoken?

    OWEN'S POV “But the bigger question is... what are you doing here Owen?” His words hung heavy in the air.I turned slowly at the sound of his voice, every muscle tightening as I faced the man I least wanted to see — Austin Perkins. He stood behind me with that familiar smug calm, his hands in the pockets of a perfectly tailored suit.I studied him briefly, the calm steeliness in his expression. But his eyes… they flicked to the member of staff I’d been speaking to and then back to me, alert and calculating.“Nice to see you too, Austin,” I said, keeping my voice even. “I could ask you the same thing but I think I already know the answer to that.”His smirk barely moved. “It's good you know. So now, tell me… why are you back here now? After all this time.”I crossed my arms, not blinking. “I came back for work. But seeing this office again… there had been some changes. And I just needed to know if she was okay.”“Zoe.”The name was a loaded topic.He nodded his face unreadable. “I don

  • RIGHTFULLY MINE    The bigger question

    AUSTIN’S POV“Sir… someone just came to the office to see Mrs. Perkins.”Something in his voice made me listen. I stopped signing my pen still in hand. “Who came?”“Mr. Owen Pratt.”My hand froze. I was silent for a moment. I just looked at the paper as if I could change the words. “Are you sure?”“One hundred percent. One of the old staff—Ashley—recognized him right away. She said he used to be the co-owner of the company with Mrs Perkins. And he asked for Mrs. Perkins by name.”My pulse began to throb. I leaned forward, speaking low. “Is he still in the building?”“Yes, but… he might leave soon. He just stepped out of her office and headed toward the exit.”“Then stall him” I snapped. “Keep him there until I get there—any excuse. Elevator delay, a security issue, whatever you can come up with. Just don't let him leave.”“Yes sir.”I ended the call without another word.Owen. Back in Sydney.I leaned back in my chair slowly, pressing my fingertips together.What the hell was he doing

  • RIGHTFULLY MINE    His Name. My Question.

    ZOE'S POV It had been more than a year. A year of waking up to a life I didn’t remember choosing. A year of trying to stitch myself into the pieces that remained—my son, Jamie… and Austin, the man who said he was my husband. A year of smiling through the fog, pretending the fragments were enough to call a whole life mine. After Chloe was arrested, I stopped asking questions. I stopped searching. It was too draining to keep trying to figure it out. Whatever truth she was going to tell me, went with her. Locked away with her silence. Austin never mentioned her again. And I never pushed. Because by then, I had learned how to survive without knowing everything. I tried to build something normal again. For Jamie’s sake. For mine. We went on family outings. I took pictures without knowing. I prepared his favourite food and packed his lunch. I dropped him off at school in the mornings. I knew the names of his teachers and the bedtime songs he liked. So I slowly moved on from the past

  • RIGHTFULLY MINE    Strangers in Familiar Places

    OWEN'S POV I wasn’t planning on coming back when I left Sydney over a year ago. It held painful memories. Memories of what I could've had but ended up losing it.The city used to mean a lot to me. It made me feel alive more than any other place. But that was before Zoe gave up on what we had. Before the day at the airport when I waited for hours, hoping—believing—she’d come. Before everything shattered.And when she didn’t come, I told myself it was no big deal and let it go. That maybe what we had was just temporary, a fantasy I held onto tighter than she ever did. I convinced myself she chose Austin, and I wasn’t the one she wanted. The pain gnawed at me for months, then settled into something colder, something I tried not to name.But now I had no choice but to come back.A massive contract had brought me here and as much as I hated going back to the place that once stirred up too many feelings, I had business to take care of. Not with Zoe—not anymore—but with the company I had bu

  • RIGHTFULLY MINE    Silencing the Last Threat

    AUSTIN’S POV “This isn’t over Austin!” Chloe yelled at the top of her lungs as the officers pulled her to the car.I didn’t blink.I stood smiling, hands in pockets. Let her yell. Let her curse. This scene was exactly what I had hoped for. And hearing those last desperate words only made her fall from grace all the more delicious.She had no idea how easily she would walk into the trap.The burner phone was my trump card. I never planned to use it for anything other than keeping it out of Zoe’s reach, just to control the narrative and to keep her from hearing more of Chloe’s poisonous lies. But as I watched Zoe distanced herself from me, I knew hiding the phone wasn't enough. I needed to be sure.So when the idea struck to use the phone to lure Chloe into a trap—I didn’t hesitate. I sent a short message asking to meet. Chloe, hungry for control, took the bait. The rest unfolded beautifully. Police were already tracking her movements thanks to the pending charges. She showed up expe

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