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Chapter 54: A Stranger’s Shelter
Tanggal publikasi:
2025-07-06 00:46:20
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Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 251: Painful and Torn
"All right, both of you. Stop arguing." Lisa Ruyan's voice cuts through the room. Not loudly. With the specific, controlled precision of a woman who has spent decades learning how to say devastating things quietly. She picks up the check from the table. She places it in front of me. "Allie," she says, her voice soft, "don't be upset. Vivian is young. She's not the sharpest. But she means well." A pause. "Since this money has caused you trouble, take it back. Even in the worst of times, we've never stooped so low as to argue over five million." The words are gentle. The meaning is not. Each sentence carries a barb. Blaming Vivian's behavior on youth and naivety lets her off the hook. Praising the family's dignity while implying that I'm the one who caused the scene. And the final line, delivered with the specific, practiced sweetness of a woman who has been passive-aggressive for so long it's become her native langu
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 250: Starlight Faces Bankruptcy
David Brooks looks up from his desk. The smile he gives me is the one I've known my entire life. Forced. Careful. The smile of a man who has been caught in something he doesn't want to explain and is trying to buy time with warmth. "Allie," he says. "Why did you come back?" I walk in without preamble. "I ran into Vivian at Liam's office. She borrowed five million from him. What's going on?" David's face changes. A flush moves up his neck. "That girl," he says. His voice is tight. "I told her not to bother Liam. This is our family's business." "Then tell me what the business is." He sighs. The specific, heavy sigh of a man who has been holding something alone and is too tired to keep holding it. "I invested in several projects over the past two years. All of them failed. Bad timing, bad markets, bad judgment. Take your pick." He pauses. "Starlight is short on funding. The contracts for our top-tier
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 249: I Borrowed This Money. It Has Nothing to Do with You.
The shame arrives before the anger. I'm sitting on my husband's lap in his office, and the shame arrives, specific and sharp, the feeling of being the kind of person who needs her husband to hand her sister a check because her father couldn't bring himself to ask for help directly. "I'll pay you back," I say. "If Dad's company really is in trouble, I'll treat the five million as a loan. I'll find a way to repay you." Liam looks at me like I've said something absurd. "Do you have to be this formal with me? It's five million." "There's a difference between formality and principle. You didn't give that money to Vivian because you believe in her. You gave it to her because she's my sister and you didn't want to say no in front of me. That's not the same thing." He's quiet for a moment. "Let's set this aside for now," I say. "Tonight, I'll go to Dad's house. I'll ask him directly. If the company really is struggling, we
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 248: Shamelessly Asking for Money
I can't take it anymore. "Vivian, what are you doing here?" The words come out harder than I intended. Not that I care. I step fully into the office and get my first clear look. Vivian is clutching something in her hand. A piece of paper. I can't make out the amount from here, but I know what it is. Liam wouldn't hand her anything else. "Give it to me," I say. Vivian shoves the check into her purse with the quick, defensive motion of someone protecting something they know they shouldn't have. Her face arranges itself into the expression her mother taught her. The wounded look. The misunderstood daughter. The woman who is only trying to help and is being punished for her kindness. "It's a gift from my brother-in-law," she says. Her voice is sweet. Too sweet. The specific, saccharine sweetness that means she's performing. "Allie, it's been so long since you visited home. Don't you know Dad's company is in trouble? Liam is fam
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 247: Vivian Comes to Find Liam
The hallway exhales. Someone behind me gasps. Not dramatically. Just a small, involuntary release of breath from a person who has just heard something they didn't expect. The crowd is doing the math. I can see it happening behind their eyes. Mia Stone: international film star, three consecutive Silver Hugo wins, two Film Queen titles, ten years at the top of the industry without a single misstep. Allie Brooks: debut actress, one television role, nominally famous for being married to Liam Hart and nominally infamous for everything that's happened since. The math doesn't work. Everyone in this hallway knows it. George knows it. Amy knows it. The photographers with their phones know it. Even Mia knows it, because the expression she's wearing right now is the expression of someone watching a insect walk onto a road and knowing what's about to happen. "Are you sure?" Mia asks. Her voice is almost gentle. The gentleness of certainty. The
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 246: Whoever Loses, Leaves the Industry
"All right," I say. "I'll do the endorsement." George raises an eyebrow. "That was fast. What changed your mind?" I lean back in the chair and give him the honest answer. "People can be foolish about a lot of things," I say. "But money isn't one of them." George laughs. The real kind, not the boardroom kind. "Liam has enough money to buy the whole city. Why do you care about this?" "His money is his. The money I earn is mine. Those are two different things." George studies me for a moment. Something moves behind his eyes, the specific expression of a man who is reassessing someone and finding the reassessment interesting. "If there's nothing else, I have a shoot," I say. I stand. From the moment I walked into his office to the moment I left, George didn't mention the conflict with Mia. Not the hospital. Not the media campaign. Not the fact that his sister and I have been at war for months.
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 89: Unyielding Longing
After leaving the hospital, Allie couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret for agreeing so quickly.There were so many factors she hadn’t considered—especially with Julian Ford being such a high-profile figure. The paparazzi were always lurking, waiting to snap something that would feed into the w
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-29Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 80: The Allergy Incident
“Allie, what’s going on with you?” Scarlett leaned in, gently patting Allie’s flushed face.Allie’s skin was burning, and Scarlett quickly realized something was seriously wrong.“Allie, you’ve got a fever—a bad one,” Scarlett murmured, her voice tinged with worry.Earlier that day, an offhand comm
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-28Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 76: A Love That Can’t Be Defined
Julian Ford shut the car door with a casual grin. "What’s wrong with me this time, Allie?"Allison "Allie" Brooks folded her arms, trying to steady herself. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone once and for all, but she knew Julian well enough to know that wouldn’t work. He wasn’t the type to
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-28Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 82: The Clash
Allie watched as Liam leaned in closer. His warm breath brushed against her ear, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.Her voice trembled as she closed her eyes tightly. “Stop it, Liam! Get away from me! Just leave me alone!”Liam smirked, his amusement barely concealed. He was deliberately
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-28
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