LOGINShare
CHAPTER 26 – A Moment Alone
Last Updated:
2025-12-07 10:47:19CHAPTER 26 – A Moment Alone
(Althea’s POV)I don’t remember leaving the dining room.One moment, I was sitting at that long mahogany table with crystal glasses and polished silver, Damian’s father’s toast echoing in my ears like a threat sewn into formal language, and the next I was walking through the halls of the Navarro mansion like a ghost.I couldn’t breathe.There was too much noise in my head — clinking cutlery, small laughter, polite conversation — all of it layered over the silence of everything I didn’t say. All the secrets I was holding under my ribs like knives. I don’t know how I made it up the sweeping staircase or through the west hallway, only that my heels clicked faster and faster until I reached the first closed door that wasn’t locked.Inside, it was dark, except for thin strips of light coming through heavy curtains. I didn’t turn the light on. I just leaned against the door
Latest chapter
Shattered Vows CHAPTER 46 – FIRE AND ICE
CHAPTER 46 – FIRE AND ICEAlthea’s POVThe moment I stepped into the gala hall, I felt the air shift.Not because of the chandeliers or the polished marble floors or the strategically placed staff hovering like statues.No. The shift came from her.Celine.I could feel her eyes on me before I even saw her. Sharp, calculating, gleaming with that familiar venom that only she could carry so effortlessly.She had been waiting for this night, waiting for me. I could sense it.I walked slowly, heels clicking against the polished floor, deliberately making my presence known without acknowledging her gaze.She didn’t flinch. Instead, she smirked, a predator who knew she had me cornered.“Althea,” she called out, voice silky, loud enough to carry over the soft hum of the gala.I paused. Heart steady. Eyes forward.“You look… different,” she added. Too casual. Too pointed.I tilted my he
Shattered Vows CHAPTER 45 – THE PROPOSAL
CHAPTER 45 – THE PROPOSALAlthea’s POVI knew something was wrong the moment Damian asked me to attend the gala.Not invited.Not requested.Asked.Damian Navarro didn’t ask unless he needed something.---The Invitation That Wasn’t One“Just attend,” he said over the phone, his voice even, controlled. Too controlled.“No speeches. No interviews. Just presence.”I leaned against the counter of my apartment, watching the city blur beneath the rain-streaked windows.“Why?” I asked.A pause.Then, “Because it would stabilize things.”There it was.Not because I want you there.Not because it matters to me.Because it would stabilize things.“I’m not part of Navarro Enterprises,” I reminded him calmly.“No,” he said. “But you’re still part of the narrative.”That sentence settled i
Shattered Vows CHAPTER 44 – THE RETURN OF DARIUS
CHAPTER 44 – THE RETURN OF DARIUSAlthea’s POVI didn’t know Darius was back.That was the first thing that told me everything had changed.A year ago, his return would’ve arrived like a tremor—rumors first, whispers next, his name carried through hallways before his body ever appeared. The Navarro empire had always reacted to Darius like that. Like he was a fault line nobody wanted to admit existed.Now?Nothing.No warning. No anticipation.Just silence.Which meant he’d learned how to disappear.And that terrified me more than his presence ever had.---The Unspoken ShiftI was reviewing Damian’s contract again—because that was the kind of masochist I’d apparently become—when my assistant knocked.“There’s someone here to see you,” she said carefully.“Do they have an appointment?” I asked without looking up.“No,
Shattered Vows CHAPTER 43 – THE COLD INVITATION
CHAPTER 43 – THE COLD INVITATIONAlthea’s POVI thought that seeing Damian again would be the hardest part.I was wrong.The hardest part was realizing he hadn’t come back into my life by accident.---The CallThe call came two days after the summit.I was in my office, shoes kicked off beneath my desk, reviewing a campaign pitch while sipping coffee that had gone cold twenty minutes ago. My phone buzzed once.Unknown number.I almost ignored it.Something told me not to.“Althea Reyes,” I answered.There was a pause.Then—“It’s Damian.”Of course it was.My jaw tightened, but my voice stayed calm. “You could’ve texted.”“I wasn’t sure you’d reply.”“That was wise of you.”Another pause.“I won’t take much of your time,” he said. “May I come by your office?”“No.”He
Shattered Vows CHAPTER 42 – THE REUNION
CHAPTER 42 – THE REUNIONAlthea’s POVI felt him before I saw him.That was the thing I hated most—that after a year of distance, silence, and deliberate forgetting, my body still recognized Damian Navarro before my mind allowed it.The air shifted.Not dramatically. Not like the movies.Just… subtly. Like the room had inhaled and was waiting.I steadied my breathing, eyes still on the tablet in my hands, scanning notes I already knew by heart.Don’t turn yet.You’re not that woman anymore.The hum of conversation around me softened into background noise. Glasses clinked. Laughter rippled across the ballroom. The summit was already in full swing—power suits, practiced smiles, ambition wearing expensive perfume.I told myself he was just another executive in another room.A lie.“I didn’t expect to see you here.”There it was.His
Shattered Vows CHAPTER 41 – ONE YEAR LATER
CHAPTER 41 – ONE YEAR LATERAlthea’s POVTime doesn’t heal everything.That’s the lie people tell when they don’t know what else to say.Time doesn’t heal. It separates. It puts distance between you and the moment that broke you, enough space that the pain no longer screams—but it still breathes. Quietly. Patiently. Waiting.One year later, I learned how to live with that kind of pain.One Year LaterMy office sat on the twenty-third floor of a glass building overlooking the harbor. It wasn’t large, but it was mine—clean lines, warm wood, sunlight that poured in every morning like a promise.Althea Reyes Consulting.The name still felt surreal.A year ago, I had walked out of Navarro Enterprises with nothing but a box of personal items and a hollow ache in my chest. I had been someone’s wife. Someone’s asset. Someone’s problem.Now, I was my own name on th
You may also like
Forced marriage: Dear wife, you can't escape me
Natie 577.8K viewsRude Awakenings
Turquoise Grace1.1M viewsThe Heartbreak Prescription
Glazed Snow786.0K viewsBillionaire's Ex-wife is Mommy of Twins
Lami274662.6K viewsDumped by My Ex, Taken in by Three Billionaires
Aksara Renjana90 viewsThe Billionaire’s Blind Lust
Clara Vale151 viewsTHE BILLIONAIRE'S SECRET BRIDE
Bon Sash161 viewsHealing The Devil I Once Loved
Subae56 views
