로그인Liora was still clinging tightly to Tara, as though she was afraid the woman might suddenly disappear. Her tiny hands gripped Tara's clothes, while her little face remained buried against the shoulder of the woman, she had always called her mother.Kara stopped several meters away from them. Her gaze shifted between Tara and Liora. For a brief moment, her expression tightened when she saw that her daughter showed no sign of wanting to go to her."Liora," she called, forcing a smile. "I'm here to pick you up. Don't you miss me? I've missed you so much, Liora."The little girl lifted her head for a moment. Her eyes met Kara's only briefly before she hugged Tara even more tightly."I don't want to."That short answer made Kara's smile freeze."Come on, sweetheart." She forced her voice to remain gentle as she began walking toward Tara and Liora. "From now on, I'll be the one taking care of you."Liora shook her head more firmly. "I only want to be with Mommy Tara."The innocent words ran
The question left Tara silent once again.Her gaze fell back to the brown folder still resting on her lap. The documents inside felt far heavier than ordinary sheets of paper. As though the entire weight of the last five years of her life now rested there.She let out a long breath."Before this," her voice was still hoarse, "I only wanted Adrian to pay for lying to me."A faint smile touched her lips, but there wasn't the slightest warmth in it."I took back what should have been mine. His position. His authority. The trust of the people he had spent all these years building." Tara lowered her head for a moment. "At the time, I thought that was enough."Vivian continued listening without interrupting."But now," Tara slowly shook her head, "I've realized those lies were far greater than I ever imagined."Her eyes burned again. "I wasn't just deceived." Her voice grew even softer. "I was chosen and placed there to live a life according to the plan they had already laid out. And once t
The car moved slowly away from the Ashbourne Group complex. Inside the cabin, the silence was so profound that the sound of the engine seemed louder than usual.Tara sat in the passenger seat without saying a single word. Both hands gripped the brown folder Vivian had given her. Her fingers clenched it so tightly that the corners had begun to crease.Inside were copies of the documents that, just minutes earlier, had changed her entire world and everything she believed about the marriage she had lived in all this time.The marriage certificate, hospital records, administrative documents that were finally beginning to make sense, along with the investigation report prepared by Vivian's trusted associate. Together, they completed one another, forming a reality she had never imagined over the past five years.Until now, she had only believed that Adrian had deceived her with a fake marriage certificate. To her, that betrayal alone had been devastating enough. And because of that, she had
That night, Vivian did not stay at the villa. Even though Victor asked her several times to spend the night, she still chose to return to the hotel where she was staying during her time in the city."I still have a few things to take care of," she said briefly before leaving the house.Victor did not insist. He knew his sister's personality well. Once Vivian made up her mind, almost no one could change it.The car carrying her sped through the increasingly deserted streets that night. The city lights shimmered beyond the window, but Vivian paid them no attention. Ever since she had left the villa, her thoughts had kept returning to one name.Kara.The woman's confession had been far too detailed to dismiss as a lie. More importantly, Victor had not shown the slightest hint of surprise when Vivian mentioned Kara's name. Her brother clearly knew something. Even so, Vivian did not try to find out how much Victor understood about what had really happened behind Adrian's marriage.And she w
"Of course not." Tara smiled warmly, though her curiosity was beginning to grow. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about, Aunt?""Not now."That brief reply only made Tara even more puzzled.Instead, Vivian walked farther into the room. Her gaze swept across the desk, still covered with stacks of documents, before coming to rest on the two lunch boxes that had yet to be put away. The faint aroma of rosemary and butter still lingered in the air.The corner of her lips curved into a slight smile. "I didn't realize the two of you had become so close."The remark made Tara instinctively glance at Victor before looking back at Vivian. For some reason, hearing such a simple comment from her aunt felt a little awkward. Vivian wasn't the type of person who liked commenting on other people's relationships.Victor slid his coffee cup aside. "We were just having lunch."Vivian slowly shook her head. "That's not what I meant."Her gaze settled on Tara again. "I mean... your relationshi
Victor glanced at the wall clock, which showed that it was lunchtime. He then closed the last folder in front of him and leaned back in his chair for a moment."It's lunchtime."Tara glanced at her wristwatch as well, then let out a quiet sigh. "There are still two more files.""They can wait."His tone remained as even as ever, but there was a firmness to it that left Tara no room to argue. Victor pointed toward a black lunch box that had been sitting in the corner of the desk the entire time."At least eat first."Tara let out a soft chuckle. In the end, she walked over to where she had placed her lunch box. She picked up the two lunch boxes she had brought from home that morning, then opened the lid of one of them.The warm aroma of rosemary and butter quickly filled the room, blending with the scent of freshly reheated grilled chicken—she had just warmed it in the electric food warmer available in the corner of her office. Beside it were creamy mashed potatoes, sautéed asparagus a
Dinner that evening unfolded exactly as Tara had expected Kara was there too.Normally, Tara would have welcomed her sister’s presence with genuine warmth. Whenever their parents joined them, the house would feel livelier filled with conversation and laughter. Though often, those conversations revo
Victor sat calmly in the back seat, as though the conversation that had just taken place between him and Tara had been nothing significant. But for Tara, it had taken immense courage, along with the sacrifice of her pride, to say those words aloud.For a long moment, she watched him through the rea
The road stretched ahead, quiet and almost eerily calm. Tara drove at a steady pace, the traffic lights shifting from red to green as cars moved along in an orderly rhythm. The afternoon sky was clear—bright, almost indifferent.Nothing likes her.Inside the car, it felt as though a storm had settl
“Mm… slow down, Adrian.”The voice stopped Tara in her tracks just as she reached the door to her husband’s study. It was familiar—far too familiar. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard.“…There’s no way I can go slow when it’s you.”Tara’s heart seemed to stop. That voice… Adrian?She di







