공유

Chapter 249

작가: Crystal hart
last update 게시일: 2025-10-12 21:44:11

Back to where it all began

The ride back to the hospital was quiet — too quiet. No one said a word. Nathan’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. Kemi kept glancing at the mirror, her face full of questions she couldn’t ask. Zara sat in the back seat, holding her belly and trying to calm the storm in her chest. And Zainab, the sister she had searched for all her life, stared out of the window with an unreadable expression.

When they arrived, the hospital looked just as it had earlier, but
이 작품을 무료로 읽으실 수 있습니다
QR 코드를 스캔하여 앱을 다운로드하세요
잠긴 챕터

최신 챕터

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 281

    The first few nights at her parents’ house were the hardest. The mansion’s silence had been replaced by the faint creak of familiar walls, but the ache in Zara’s chest stayed the same. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Regan’s face — confused, hurt, angry. His voice still echoed in her head, the last word he’d said before she left: “Zara, please.”But she couldn’t go back. Not yet. Maybe not ever.Each night followed the same rhythm — she’d put the twins to bed, scroll through her phone until her thumb hurt, stare at Regan’s contact, and then lock the screen before temptation won. Sometimes she’d draft a message — “Are you okay?” or “Have you eaten?” — but she never pressed send. Instead, she’d bury her face in her pillow and cry quietly, trying not to wake her babies.Her mother noticed, of course. Mothers always do. So did Kemi, who slept over most nights to keep her company. They didn’t talk much about Regan; they didn’t have to. His absence filled the space around them.“Zar

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 280

    The Kareem mansion felt unusually hollow without Zara’s laughter echoing through the halls. The once lively corridors—where the twins’ giggles filled the mornings and the scent of Zara’s favorite lavender candle lingered in the evenings—now felt like a grand, empty shell. Every sound, every creak in the marble floor, reminded Regan that she was gone.That night, he didn’t sleep. He lay awake on the edge of the bed they once shared, staring at the ceiling. The sheets still smelled faintly of her perfume, and her hairbrush lay untouched on the dresser. His chest tightened as he remembered the look on her face before she left—pain mixed with resolve. She hadn’t just walked away from him; she had walked away from everything.Morning came slowly, the pale light seeping through the curtains. Regan dragged himself up and changed into a crisp shirt, though his reflection in the mirror told the truth—he looked exhausted, his eyes sunken, his jaw tense.Downstairs, the clinking of fine china an

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 279

    The drive to the Tunde residence was quiet, almost painfully so. The hum of the car engine was the only sound breaking through the heavy silence that hung between the three women. Zara sat in the backseat, cradling one of the twins against her chest, while Kemi gently rocked the other. Her eyes were red and swollen, her breath shaky. Each passing streetlight illuminated her face—tired, bruised by emotion, but determined.When the car finally turned into the familiar driveway of her parents’ home, Zara exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. The sprawling compound that once felt too quiet now felt like sanctuary. Home.Mrs. Tunde hurried out of the car first, her wrapper slightly loose, her face lined with worry. “Come down, my daughter,” she said softly, helping Zara step out. “You’re safe now.”Zara nodded faintly, clutching her sleeping child tighter. The front door creaked open as they entered, and the faint scent of lemon polish and her father’s favorite cologne wr

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 278

    Zara burst out of the bedroom like a storm, her heart pounding so hard she could barely breathe. Her cheeks were wet, and her hands trembled as she held the railing, half-running, half-stumbling down the stairs.Kemi and Mrs. Tunde, who were still in the living room, shot up immediately.“Zara!” her mother cried, rushing to her. “What happened?”Zara could barely speak at first. She gasped for air, clutching her chest. “He—he didn’t agree with me,” she finally managed, her voice breaking. “He said if I expose his father, I’ll destroy everything they’ve built. Mummy, he’s going to tell Chief Kareem!”Kemi’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? Are you sure?”Zara nodded frantically. “I saw it in his face, Kemi. He’s torn, but his loyalty to his father… it’s stronger than anything. I can’t stay here. I can’t let him warn Chief before we leave. Not with the babies.”Mrs. Tunde didn’t even hesitate. Her years of being a mother kicked in immediately. “Then we leave now,” she said, her tone firm and

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 277

    The moment Zara stepped into their room, she could already feel it — the storm brewing inside Regan.He stood near the edge of the bed, his hands clenched tightly, chest rising and falling with sharp breaths. The veins in his neck pulsed beneath his skin, and his eyes—dark, fiery, unreadable—locked on her the second she closed the door.Zara hesitated near the door, her fingers gripping the doorknob as if it were the only thing keeping her upright.“Regan…” she started softly, her voice breaking slightly.He turned sharply, his eyes burning with disbelief. “Who was that?” he demanded, his voice low but shaking. “Tell me I didn’t just see who I think I saw.”His tone wasn’t loud—but it carried more weight than any shout could. The fury behind it was contained, controlled, dangerous.Zara’s lips trembled. She swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling with each uneven breath. “You saw right,” she whispered finally. “That was Zainab.”“Since when, Zara?” His voice was cold, shaking wit

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 276

    The silence that followed Regan’s shout was sharp enough to cut through the night air.Zainab had already disappeared beyond the gate, swallowed by the shadows, but the echo of her name — “Zay!” — still hung thickly in the corridor like a ghost refusing to fade.For a few seconds, no one moved. Mrs. Tunde’s hands flew to her chest. Kemi’s eyes darted from Zara to the door, her pulse racing. And Zara— she just stood there, frozen in place, her heart pounding so fast she could barely breathe.Then Regan turned. His eyes, wide with disbelief and confusion, locked on Zara. The soft, loving man she knew was gone — replaced by someone she hadn’t seen in months. Someone whose anger was quiet but dangerous.“Zara,” he said slowly, his voice low but vibrating with tension. “Upstairs. Now.”The authority in his tone made even Kemi step back.“Regan, please,” Mrs. Tunde said quickly, stepping forward, trying to calm him. Her voice trembled slightly — she knew the kind of storm that could follow

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 57

    Regan arrived at the Tunde residence with his usual cool confidence. Dressed in a well-fitted ash shirt and dark jeans, he exuded calm assurance as he sat across from Mr. and Mrs. Tunde in the sitting room. The mood was quiet, formal, the air thick with unspoken tension.Zara joined moments later,

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 56

    Zara sat on the edge of her bed, legs crossed, phone pressed to her ear. Her chest was tight with tension, her nerves stretched thin. She had rehearsed the call a dozen times in her head, but now that it was actually happening, everything she wanted to say tangled on her tongue.The call connected.

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 55

    The air at the dinner table was thick with the scent of fried plantains and grilled chicken, but for Zara, everything felt like smoke and mirrors. She poked at her food in silence, her mind spinning with the script she and Kemi had rehearsed over the phone for hours. The modeling agency in Abuja ha

  • The reluctant vow   Chapter 54

    The soft chime of a new email echoed from Zara’s phone as she sat curled on her bed, her sketchpad resting on her lap. She reached for the device absentmindedly, expecting another forwarded message from Kemi filled with memes or a brand update from one of the beauty pages she followed.But as her e

더보기
좋은 소설을 무료로 찾아 읽어보세요
GoodNovel 앱에서 수많은 인기 소설을 무료로 즐기세요! 마음에 드는 작품을 다운로드하고, 언제 어디서나 편하게 읽을 수 있습니다
앱에서 작품을 무료로 읽어보세요
앱에서 읽으려면 QR 코드를 스캔하세요.
DMCA.com Protection Status