Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Million-Dollar Marriage: A Story Of Heart Over Contract: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

The pounding rain faded to white noise as Gianna lost herself in the taste and feel of Mason. His hands rose to the back of her neck to keep her closer to himself. His other hand slipped around her waist; his touch was systematically dismantling every wall she'd ever built.Her fingers remained shy on his shirt, but when things began to heat up even further, she reached up to his neck, using the leverage to change the angle of the kiss and deepen it until she was dizzy with the need for oxygen and the intoxicating flavor of expensive scotch on Mason's tongue.Teeth clashed, noses bumped, and at one point Gianna was pretty sure she accidentally elbowed Mason in the ribs. But none of that mattered, not when he was kissing her like she was water in the desert, air in the vacuum of space, the answer to every question he'd never thought to ask.When they finally broke apart, Gianna stared into Mason's eyes with both wonder and dawning horror. What just happened? This wasn't part of the pla

Evelyn's lip curled in instant dissatisfaction and disgust on seeing the girl. She didn’t even last as long as the others had done. The girl approached the car, her mouth already opening to give some excuse for her failure to do as asked, but Evelyn silenced her with a cold look. The power window purred down just enough for her to thrust a thick envelope through the opening.“Your services are no longer required. I’m sure you remember the terms of our agreement regarding discretion?”The girl nodded frantically, snatching the envelope and scurrying off into the night without a backward glance.Evelyn exited the car and headed into the mansion afterward. The staff greeted deferentially as she swept through the grand foyer.The annoyance Colin felt was barely invisible when she came to him where he was sitting at his home bar.“What the hell is the meaning of that?” he immediately snarled, because, of course, it was only one person who would have the audacity.“When are you going to sto

It initially looked like Lily might argue further. But then something in Gianna's expression must have stopped her, because the girl's face softened.“I guess. Thanks for the advice, Mrs. Caldwell.”The use of her married name was like a splash of cold water, reminding Gianna of the vast gulf between her current reality and the world this young girl inhabited.Gianna gestured towards a patch of leafy ground they hadn't yet explored. “I bet there are more snails over there.”They then set off across the field, and the school building began to loom larger in the distance. Gianna noticed a figure hunched over on a bench in one of the game courts up ahead. She wouldn’t have been so curious had there been any other soul loitering around the surroundings at the time.“Who's that over there?”Lily looked in the same direction.“Oh, that's Patt. He likes to hang out there sometimes,” she explained as they both began to walk towards the court.As they got closer, Gianna could see that Patt was

The only figure standing in a space that should have been teeming with literary enthusiasts was Darrel. He’d arrived at the venue for the book fair, but it was empty.He was still thinking of how unbelievable this was when Sonia also arrived. He was standing close to a table with a fist pressed over it as he stared at his phone. As always, he looked handsome. But that was beside the point, what were they the only two people in attendance?“Darrel,” Sonia called his attention as she began walking to where he stood, also looking around.“Is this...are we in the right place?”He turned on seeing her. He smiled, although a bit upset.“Hi,” he said.“Hey,” she responded, “Where’s everyone though?”“I’m sorry, I just found out they changed the venue at the last minute. They made an announcement but I must have missed it.”Sonia felt the blood drain from her face when she realized what was going on. She knew exactly why the venue had changed, and it was her fault.Three days ago, she’d drunk

DOOM’S DAY?She stiffened, or rather, her body did.The coppery stench of blood hit her next, it made her want to gag. Her stomach roiled as though it was going to expel all its contents right there on the ground, and Gianna had to sink her fingers deep in a clench onto her skirt just to keep herself from collapsing.Her eyes, traitors that they were, couldn't look away from the blood that oozed from a slash across the driver's throat, down to his shirt. His head fell limply to the side. The car door was wide open so a hand of his dangled out lifelessly. His eyes stared sightlessly ahead, clouded over.A keening sound filled the air, and it took Gianna several heartbeats to realize it was coming from her own throat. Her gaze dropped to the ground and she watched in mute horror, how a small rivulet of blood was seeping from under the car door, snaking towards her shoes.She made another sound. It wasn’t a scream, neither was it a whimper. It was the vocalization of her innocence shatte