Lahat ng Kabanata ng My stunning bride: Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

Arianna The silence after Liam left wasn’t empty. It was filled with beeping sounds from the machines I was hooked on. Like something had been placed into the room and sealed in without anyone telling us how to breathe around it. Aiden hadn’t moved. Neither had I. But something between us had. I couldn’t name it at first. It wasn’t trust. It wasn’t comfort. It was awareness. The kind that came after realizing you could no longer pretend you didn’t see what was in front of you. Aiden stood near the bed, one hand in his pocket, the other relaxed at his side—but nothing about him was truly relaxed. He looked like someone whose mind was already three steps ahead of the room he was standing in. Liam had left again shortly after Elena was taken out, muttering something about “confirming external movement.” That phrase had stayed in my head longer than I wanted it to. External movement. It sounded distant. But I was starting to understand that nothing about

AriannaSleep didn’t come easily anymore. My eyes remained wide open.Not because of the pain.That part had settled into something manageable—dull, constant, ignorable if I focused hard enough on something else.But my mind…That was the problem.It refused to stay quiet.The house didn’t help either.It was too still.Too quiet. Everyone had left.Even at night, it felt like something was always watching—not in a threatening way, but in a way that reminded me I wasn’t alone even when I couldn’t see anyone.I woke before the sun fully rose.The room was dim, lit only by soft ambient lighting along the walls.For a moment, I didn’t move.Just listened.Nothing.No footsteps.No voices.Just silence.Then I turned my head slightly.Aiden was there.Of course he was.Sitting in the chair beside the bed, one arm resting loosely against the armrest, head slightly tilted back—not fully asleep, but not fully awake either.Even like that, he looked… composed. Very peaceful.He looked so tire

Arianna They had informed me my father was on his way up from the intercom. They said it calmly. Not in a way that sounded like a warning. But I was panicking. I could feel the burning sensation in my chest, something very heavy. Like a weight folding me under. The quiet became tighter. More deliberate. Like something important was about to walk through the door, and everything else had stepped back to make space for it. I was sitting up when the nurse left. That alone had taken effort. More than I wanted to admit. My body was improving, yes—but slowly, and not on my terms. Nothing about this recovery felt like mine. Aiden was near the window again. In his usual stance. Brooding. Of course he was. He had taken that spot like it belonged to him, like it gave him a view of everything that mattered. And maybe it did. He hadn’t said much since Q left. Neither had I. But the silence between us didn’t feel empty anymore. It felt like something waiting.

Aiden She looked at the documents in silence. Too much silence. Her fingers trembled slightly against the file resting on her lap, but her expression stayed controlled, almost detached, like she was trying to process years of betrayal without letting herself break apart completely. He had handed her her biggest desire but she didn't seem particularly happy about it. Understandably so. It was a touching move but it didn't erase years of abuse and manipulation. She had felt so much power, holding on to those files, waiting for the right moment to strike. And she did. Badass style and all. I knew what those files contained. Every disgusting detail. Every hidden affair. Every stolen transaction. Every manipulated lie carefully crafted to ruin Arianna while Mrs. Young smiled sweetly in public like the perfect wife and mother. A snake. That was the only word for her. Patient. Poisonous. Calculated. The evidence had taken months to gather completely. Voice recordings, hote

AriannaRecovery was exhausting.Not physically anymore.Mentally.Somehow, healing turned into work before I even fully realized it.My days no longer revolved around medication schedules and physical therapy sessions alone. Now they were filled with encrypted meetings, classified files, coded systems, and endless hours learning about an organization I never knew belonged to me.The Merge didn’t believe in easing people into responsibility.Especially not leaders.And apparently, especially not me.Because every single day since Teacher officially began my training, I had been overloaded with enough information to drown an average person.Trade systems.Shadow financing.Political alliances.Cyber intelligence.Underground syndicates.Arms routes.Economic manipulation.Corporate infiltration.At this point, I was beginning to suspect the Merge secretly monitored half the world.And honestly?They probably did.The organization’s greatest strength wasn’t power.It was invisibility.N