All Chapters of Shattered Silence: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Ashley's POV:Being a lawyer is already a full-time headache, but being the CEO of a law firm? That’s next-level suffering. Paperwork after paperwork, case files stacking higher than my coffee budget, enough to make anyone question their life choices. Sometimes I really wonder why I gave up that pilot course last minute. But hey, the pay is great, and I’ve got a killer view from my office. So, no more whining… for now.Just as I was about to dive into yet another pile of contracts, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and couldn’t help the twitch at the corner of my mouth.“You called?” I said, answering.“Were you expecting me?” came the voice on the other end.“Well, what can I say? My friend needs help.”“What do you know?”I leaned back in my chair, staring out the window. “Alright, I’ll start from the beginning.”“That day after their argument in the library, she was down. Really down. But when she saw him outside school a week later - right before Easter break - she lit up, lik

7th January 2000Aanya’s POV:I woke up. Groggy and disoriented, the kind of wake-up where your brain hasn’t quite caught up with your body yet. It felt like I’d been asleep for hours… but weirdly, I could still sleep more. It also felt like my body felt like it was burning from the inside out—heavy, hot, weak. I glanced down and saw a blanket covering me.And then - my eyes froze.A needle. In my hand. Attached to an IV drip.I followed the thin tube up to the hanging bag above and stared at it like it was personally betraying me.No. Nope. No way. I would’ve remembered this. I always remember needles. I hate them.“Go back to sleep,” a voice said calmly beside me. “You need proper rest.”I slowly turned my head. Evan was sitting on the bed next to me, legs crossed at the ankle, a book in his hands. Of course. He looked maddeningly composed. Annoyingly calm. Not that there is any ongoing situation that warranted any range of anger.“What are you doing?” I croaked, my voice hoarse and

9th January 2000Aanya’s POV:I tossed and turned in bed, restless, my mind loud and unwilling to sleep. Thoughts swirled endlessly - what would happen if I truly fell for him? Would he hold on to me? Or would it be another one-sided story in a life already full of them? Would we be able to rewrite the terms of our marriage, start over as something real? Or would he simply disappear, leaving me stranded, just like the others - present one moment, gone the next, without a trace?So many people had walked into my life with little effort… and left just as effortlessly.The déjà vu hit me hard. The last time I stayed awake like this was during my GCSEs. I remembered Easter holidays spent flipping through textbooks late into the night, sleeping in the afternoons just to study in peace after sunset. But even then, when I woke, I felt more tired than before - like the exhaustion came from someplace deeper. I didn’t understand it then. I’m not sure I do even now.Eventually, sunlight began to

15th January 2000Aanya’s POV: It was a sight to behold - once.The Lamborghini was a sharp-edged beast - low to the ground with scissor doors and a wedge-shaped body that looked like it belonged in a video game. Its once smooth, angular lines now looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to a work of art. The sight-beholding the Lamborghini was not screaming luxury or power anymore... rather, it was screaming trash. Next to it the Aston Martin, with its long hood and curving, elegant body, used to look like it was made for red carpets and secret agent escapes. Its glossy finish and graceful silhouette had once turned heads for the right reasons. While the Lamborghini symbolised luxury and power, this boy exuded class and sophistication, forcing people to turn their heads wherever it went - and now people will turn their heads to laugh and snicker at it rather than to admire it. The windows were smashed in.The doors had 'Surprise' carved into the sides with a knife.The red lip

Evan’s POV: “What exactly did you enjoy?” I asked, my voice low and sharp as the door clicked shut behind us. “Was it trashing my car? Was it defying me? Or was it just the thrill of disappearing into Bluhagen like none of it mattered?”She stood there, barely a few feet away, looking smaller than I remembered. Vulnerable. There was a flicker of something behind her eyes - not just fear, but hesitation. Uncertainty. The kind of uncertainty that could swallow you whole.Black. Her eyes were black, but not the kind I usually associate with emptiness. Not like mine. Hers were layered, like a storm just barely held back. She’s chaos and calm, and it terrifies me more than anything else - because she makes me feel. And God, feeling has never been safe for me.I stepped toward her and she moved back, inching away until her back hit the cold glass of the window overlooking the city. She was cornered—and I knew it. I placed both hands on the glass beside her head, caging her in. Not out of co