Semua Bab Bared To You : Bab 41 - Bab 50

For as long as Cyril Jonas could remember, he and Matthias had been friends. Their fathers were friends, and their great-grandfathers before them. It felt like something passed down through bloodlines—the kind of loyalty that didn’t need to be spoken to be understood. So it only seemed natural that the third generation would continue that legacy of friendship.Even though Matthias’s family was wealthy and Cyril’s was not, it had never affected how they saw each other. Status never factored into their bond. It was that very sense of equality that led Matthias to believe it made perfect sense for his third eldest child and second son, Steven, to be betrothed to Cyril’s youngest daughter, Edwina. It wasn’t just about preserving tradition; it was about deepening the bond between their families—making it permanent.For the sake of peace, and perhaps out of fear, Cyril chose to withhold the truth from Edwina until the time was right. But the more he watched her around Steven, the clearer i

EdwinaAs soon as Matthias drove off, I turned and hurried back toward the hospital. My feet were moving faster than my thoughts, heart fluttering—not from nerves, but from something else. Something warmer. Hope.It was strange how light I felt. Like something had finally cracked open in the darkness. A job. A real one. Not scraps. Not handouts. Not some false promise dangled and then ripped away.I could already see the look on Dad’s face when I’d tell him. Not that it would fix everything, but it would mean one less unpaid bill. One less worry to stack on top of the others.Maybe... just maybe, tomorrow won’t feel like surviving. Maybe it’ll feel like moving forward.I spotted Justice sitting on a bench near the emergency exit. He looked like hell—clothes wrinkled, face drawn, like he hadn’t slept in a week. But there was something about the way his eyes lifted when he saw me. Alert. Like part of him still refused to quit, even if the rest of him was breaking.I told him. About the

EdwinaThe morning sun hadn’t fully crested the horizon when I stepped out of the house, wiping my damp hands on my worn jeans. The sky was still blushing pale orange, the air crisp and cool with dew. I’d barely slept—my mind had been too alive with thoughts of everything that could go wrong… and everything that might go right. I kept playing out different scenarios in my head, imagining the worst outcomes and then daring to hope for better ones. It was exhausting.Beside me, Justice stood silently, adjusting the collar of the shirt I’d loaned him—one of my father's old work shirts. It was a little snug across his shoulders, but he didn’t complain. He never did. And somehow, he looked more put together than usual, though the shadows beneath his eyes still clung stubbornly. I noticed them and wondered if he, too, had spent the night wrestling with his thoughts.We walked side by side, barely speaking. The silence between us wasn’t awkward—it was the kind that wrapped around you like

Maximillian It was clear as day—black and white, no room for misinterpretation. Steven-whatever-his-surname-was—hated me. The kind of hate that simmers under polite smiles and stiff nods. He didn’t need to say it out loud; I could feel it in the way his eyes lingered just a second too long on me, or how his jaw tensed whenever Edwina laughed at something I said.The air around him practically sizzled with the heat of his disdain. And I knew exactly why. All because of Edwina.The one girl we both liked—unfortunately.I’d told myself I was here to lay low, keep my head down, do the work, don’t get involved, and build a quiet life under the radar. But the truth was, my mission blurred every time she looked at me with those thoughtful brown eyes—calm, but always searching. She had this gentle resilience about her that tugged at places in me I thought I’d sealed off for good.And of course, Steven noticed.He wasn’t subtle about it. Suddenly, Edwina was sent on errands the moment I wal

Maximillian We reached the palace gates just before noon. The heat clung to my skin, and the sun had begun its ruthless climb overhead. The guards barely looked up as they checked our manifest, waving us through with a bored flick of the hand. Either they trusted Matthias’s name, or they didn’t see two farm hands as much of a threat.I sat stiffly in the truck as we rolled past the towering walls and manicured hedges, the grandeur of the palace pressing in from all sides. My stomach was a tight coil of nerves—not because I feared being found out, but because I hated being watched. Places like this always had eyes. Too many.A palace staff boy—no older than thirteen—darted over and pointed us toward the back service entrance near the kitchens. The scent of roasting meat, baked bread, and hot oil hit me before I even stepped out. A flurry of maids, chefs, and kitchen hands bustled about like bees around a hive. Judging by the pace and the shouting, some kind of banquet was brewing.S