جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Chapter 31(The One Who Stayed)The classroom smelt like a fever dream of sugar-cloying frosting, burnt caramel, and artificial strawberry. It wasn’t the faint, polite aroma of a neighbourhood bakery; it was something much louder. The scent clung to the air, thick and syrupy, settling into every corner of the room until it felt heavy enough to taste.Tables had been shoved aside to make room for rows of mismatched folding chairs, and every available surface was crowded with an excess of sweets. Boxes of pastries, tiers of cupcakes, and snacks so meticulously arranged they looked more like plastic decorations than food. Laughter bounced off the walls as parents huddled in small groups, their children weaving through the gaps with the easy, frantic energy of people who truly belonged there.Mia stood near the doorway, a silent anchor in the middle of the chaos. Her fingers curled tightly around the strap of her bag, and her eyes flicked—again and again—to the empty hallway beyond the th

Chapter 33(The After Storm)The departure from the prestigious grounds of the academy felt less like an exit and more like a carefully executed retreat.The flashing bulbs from the school’s hired photographers remained behind the gates. So did the polite applause, the strained smiles of the city’s elite, and the sharp, measuring glances of parents who were already recalculating the Warren family’s place in their private social hierarchies. But the tension itself followed them into the cool evening air as faithfully as the security detail that surrounded them.Ace’s lead guard stepped forward and opened the rear door of the primary black SUV.Usually, the convoy operated with surgical precision. Ace occupied the rear seat of the lead vehicle alongside Mia. At the same time, Pearl travelled in the second car with security guards and the driver. The reason the arrangement was efficient. Predictable. Safe.It was how the Warrens moved through the world.“Pearl comes with us,” Mia announc

Chapter 35(The Puddle)The mansion was unnervingly still, deathly quiet.The grand clock in the hallway ticked with a heavy, rhythmic thud that seemed to echo Pearl’s heartbeat. She stood in the centre of the kitchen, staring at the darkening puddle slowly spreading across the designer tiles beneath her shoes. She had managed to peel off the soaked hoodie, but her jeans were a lost cause—heavy, cold, and clinging to her legs like a second, very uncomfortable skin.She heard the soft thud-thud of bare feet on the stairs. Ace walked into the kitchen a moment later. He had ditched the blazer and tie, and his white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked less like the untouchable CEO of AW Groups and more like a man who’d just spent twenty minutes wrestling a sticky seven-year-old into pyjamas.He stopped near the island, leaning his weight against the marble counter as he watched her. For a long moment, he didn’t speak. His gaze followed

Chapter 37(The Weight of an Invitation)The drive back to the Warren Estate always felt like a slow descent into a different atmosphere. By the time the wrought-iron gates swung open to admit the car, the noise of the city—the shouting vendors, the hum of overcrowded buses, and the heat of Ella’s small apartment—felt like a dream Pearl had woken from too quickly.She checked her watch. 5:45 PM. She was back before dinner, just as promised.The lobby was cool, the air-conditioning filtering out the humidity of the afternoon. As Pearl stepped inside, she caught her reflection in the gilded mirror near the entrance. She looked the same, but she felt the invisible layer of dust from the stairwell still clinging to her skin.“Pearl!”Mia’s voice preceded her as she hurried down the hallway, her footsteps muffled by the thick rugs. She wasn’t running—Ace didn’t encourage running in the house—but she was moving with purposeful speed that signalled relief.“You’re back,” Mia said, stopping a

Chapter 39(Lessons in Dignity)The Tuesday morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Warren mansion, casting long, sharp shadows across the polished marble floors. It was a cold, clinical light that did little to warm the quiet tension that often hung in the air of such a grand house. For Pearl, Tuesday was usually a day of routine—overseeing Mia’s breakfast and ensuring the day’s schedule was set. But as she approached the east wing, the usual morning calm was shattered by the sharp, high-pitched tone of a voice that shouldn’t have sounded so entitled.“I said move it! You’re getting dust on my favourite doll, and if you break it, my dad will sack you before you can even walk out the door!”Pearl stopped in her tracks, her brow furrowing. She recognised that voice, but the venom in it was new. She stepped toward Mia’s bedroom door, which stood slightly ajar.Inside, a middle-aged woman in a grey cleaning uniform was trembling, her hands clutching a microfiber