Lahat ng Kabanata ng Mary Johnson ~ The Paid Bride: Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

~~~~For crying out loud, where should I even start? I questioned myself as the eyes around the room seemed to be pressuring me into saying something. This is what everyone’s been waiting for, no doubt. Even though I promised to make Diana pay, I never expected her to reveal this much.What should I do?“Mrs. Black?” Berry called, smiling that smug smile.I turned to her calmly. “Yes?”“You’re silent?” she said, her tone sharp.“That I am!” I replied just as calmly.“Why? Is it that you don’t have anything to say, or should we just count your silence as you agreeing with it being true?” She added, her words dripping with sarcasm. “Not that it is not.”Take a deep breath, Mary. You’ve got this.“You don’t have to count my silence for anything,” I said, my voice steady. “I was just wonde

~~~~Sam took a deep breath. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he witnessed how she overpowered his boss with just a single call, he wouldn’t have believed her to be connected to a powerful man like Eric Black of the Black Empire, let alone being his wife.Of all the celebrities he had come across, who seemed to control wealth without needing to be told—just from their appearance, their cars, and the guards surrounding them—you could tell they held wealth beyond your wildest imagination. That was why, when he first saw her and heard that she was a Black, Sam had questioned it and even thought she might be a scammer. How could someone with so much wealth to rule the world be so simple? He would never understand.While Sam was still deep in thought, Mrs. Johnson appeared out of nowhere, scaring him out of his thoughts.“So, how long do we have to wait here?” she asked.“Jeez, woman, don’t do that!&rdq

~~~~For the first time in years, I felt safe, loved, and at ease—this was truly where I belonged. In my mother’s arms.“Mother… Mo… ther… Oh, Mom!” I wailed, like a child who had been abandoned, even though I was the one who had left.The years of separation, the pain, all of it came rushing back, and I couldn’t hold back anymore. Slowly, I lifted my head from my mother’s chest, and I saw Lara and Lisa frozen in place, both of them crying, smiling through their tears.“Hey…” I managed to choke out, raising a shaky hand toward them. “Don’t leave me hanging,” I whispered through a tearful smile.“Sis…” Lisa and Lara cried, their voices breaking as they rushed toward me.And then, we cried together, the weight of all the years apart crashing over us like a wave.Then there were heavy footsteps, and my heart lurched at the sound. “What’s going on? I heard screams,” my father’s voice rang out, followed by the door bursting open. His worried expression turned to confusion as he looked from

Continuations~~~~~~My ring… my wedding ring.I thought I’d hidden it well.He held it out to me, his hand hovering in the air, while I just stood there, staring at it like it had grown teeth. My fingers didn’t move.Sighing, he gently took my hand and placed the ring in my palm. Then, keeping his hand over mine, he looked straight at me.“You’re grown now, Mary. And there’s a part of you—no matter how much we love you—that we no longer know,” he said calmly, but with a heaviness in his voice that only a father could carry. “Still, no matter how old you get, there are some decisions you shouldn’t make without talking to us first. You know that, right?”Shit. He figured it out just from the ring?“Yes, Papa… I do,” I murmured, nodding. “And I promise, when the time is right, I’ll tell you everything… all the parts of me you don’t know yet. But please, for now… just don’t tell Mother. Not yet.”“Of course,” he said gently. “I’ll wait until you’re ready to talk. But don’t take too long,

Continuations~~~~~~By the time morning came, I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. My muscles ached from all the running around, and mentally, I was just drained. I needed a moment. I needed to breathe.Without thinking too much, I got up and headed to the bathroom. “I’m beat,” I murmured as I slipped out of my nightwear and sank into the bathtub. There’s nothing more relaxing than soaking in rose-scented hot water. It’s heaven—like my bones were finally sighing in relief.I stayed there longer than I planned, just letting the heat melt everything away. When I finally got out, towel wrapped around me, I caught sight of the chaos I left behind the night before—twenty different outfits scattered across the bed.I sighed again.The thought of going to Black’s Enterprise had kept me up most of the night. It’s been months since I last saw Eric. And after that little stunt I p