All Chapters of Pen & Passion: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

It had been a week since the invitation arrived, and still, every time I thought about it, my stomach fluttered like it didn’t know whether to be thrilled or terrified.After much convincing from Jessy and Ethan, I finally decided to see Joaquin in person to talk about it properly. It felt strange to be heading back to the mansion again—not as his pretend fiancée, not as the woman trying to hold her ground against his control, but as someone who had finally learned to stand beside him without losing herself.The guards at the gate greeted me with polite nods, and for once, I didn’t feel the familiar weight of nerves pressing on my chest. The afternoon light made everything seem softer—the tall columns, the marble floors, even the air inside the place that once suffocated me.When I reached his office, I found him by the window, sleeves rolled up, phone set aside, his attention immediately snapping to me the moment I entered. The corners of his lips lifted slightly.“You’re early,” he s

The hum of the plane was soft, steady—almost like a heartbeat.Through the window, the clouds stretched endlessly, the sunrise painting streaks of pink and gold across them. It was beautiful, in that fragile, distant way you can’t touch.It had been years since I’d traveled alone. Before, I was always running from something—from heartbreak, from failure, from the noise of everything I couldn’t control. But this time, I wasn’t running. I was going toward something.When the captain announced our descent, my hands trembled slightly against the armrest. The city appeared below—orderly, quiet, breathtaking. Kyoto glimmered like a watercolor, rooftops framed by mountains and trees just beginning to blush with spring.As soon as I stepped out of the terminal, I felt the difference. The air was cool and crisp, scented faintly with green tea and rain. Announcements echoed softly in Japanese and English. A few travelers passed, their movements graceful and unhurried.I stood there for a moment,

By the time the plane landed at JFK, it was almost midnight.New York was wrapped in a thin fog, the kind that blurred the skyline into silver outlines against the dark. Through the oval window, I could see the wet shimmer of the tarmac reflecting the city lights—familiar and distant all at once.The moment I stepped out of the terminal, the chill hit me. Crisp, sharp, and clean. I’d forgotten how cold spring nights in New York could be.I pulled my coat tighter and wheeled my suitcase toward the exit, intending to grab a cab and get home before two. Jessy had texted earlier: Call me when you land. Don’t make me track your flight again.I smiled faintly. That sounded exactly like her.Just as I was reaching for my phone, it buzzed in my hand.From: Joaquin“I’m outside.”I blinked, staring at the screen. He wasn’t supposed to be here.Looking up, I scanned the glass doors leading to the pickup area and there he was, standing just beyond the automatic doors, dressed in black, hands in h

The morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, painting thin stripes of gold across my desk.Jessy was already gone, her absence marked only by a sticky note stuck to the coffee machine.You survived the dinner. Now tell me everything later.A doodled winky face followed, of course.I smiled to myself, peeling it off. Typical Jessy. Even her notes had personality.I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat by my desk, laptop open but untouched. My cursor blinked on the blank document like it was waiting for me to fill it with something profound.But my mind wasn’t on work.It kept circling back to last night. The restaurant’s dim glow, the sound of rain outside, the way Joaquin looked at me when he said, “It feels like a beginning.”No promises, no dramatics. Just that quiet honesty that lingered long after he drove away.I’d told myself for months that I didn’t want to choose, that I wasn’t ready. But maybe what I really meant was that I didn’t trust myself enough to believe I could c

Three weeks slipped by like a quiet dream.The world had calmed around me. I’d returned to my deadlines, my morning coffees, my nightly walks with Joaquin. There was no rush between us—no fear of losing or proving anything. We were simply living.And yet, every so often, I’d catch him watching me the way someone watches a sunrise they never thought they’d see again—quietly, reverently.He kept his promise. No grand gestures. No overstepping. Just presence.Until tonight.The launch of my second novel was the biggest event I’d ever been part of.The venue—one of those glass-walled hotels overlooking the Hudson—gleamed with light and soft music. The entire place shimmered like something out of one of my own stories.And it was Joaquin’s company that had made it happen.When I arrived, Jessy clutched my arm and whispered, “Try not to faint. You’re the main event.”Ethan laughed. “And Joaquin’s pacing like a proud stage dad in the back.”I rolled my eyes. “Please don’t exaggerate.”But whe