All Chapters of Mary Johnson ~ The Paid Bride: Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

Continuations~~~~ The silence that followed after was awkward. I could see the tension in my mother's clenched jaw, the fire in her eyes—but I didn’t care. I wasn’t the little girl she used to guilt-trip. I was a grown woman now, and I could handle myself.I ignored her glare until Eric cleared his throat, trying to shift the mood.“Well, it looks like everything’s in order with the documents,” he said, voice calm but firm.Papa nodded in agreement. “Yes. Everything is properly arranged. No need to go over it again.”“Then I suppose you can resume farm operations this week?” Eric asked.“Probably. The deployed machines are already in motion. If they keep up the pace, we should be ready for planting by the end of the week,” Papa responded.“That’s great. Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to the farm with a few of the managers for an

~~~~The moment I stepped out of Diana’s office, something felt off.At first, I chalked it up to stress—emotional exhaustion, maybe—but the pounding in my head and the ache in my joints said otherwise. According to the doctor, I’d caught the flu. The same one Eric had, apparently.Go figure. I probably caught it from him.Just then, my phone rang. Diana’s name flashed across the screen.“What is it?” I asked, not even trying to hide the fatigue in my voice.“Are you far off?” she replied, ignoring my question with one of her own.“Why?”“Well… I just signed the papers,” she said. “I’d prefer if we got to work right away.”“Wow, that was fast.”“What can I say? I’m desperate,” she said with a dry chuckle.I sighed. “No—I’m far from town right now. Tomorrow ev

~~~~Looking back, I’m glad Eric and I stole those quiet, passionate moments together that day—because what followed was nothing short of chaotic.The days blurred into each other, with Eric bouncing between the farm and the office, barely catching his breath, while I tried to keep my health from fading completely.Even meeting up with Diana had to be rescheduled, and for once, she didn’t argue.Now, it was a Monday—two months later—and the girls seemed unusually free, their eyes filled with both excitement and suspicion.“So…” Lisa began, arms crossed and brows raised. “Are you finally going to tell us where we’re going?”“Yeah! And should I be worried?” Lara added, fidgeting in her seat.I looked over my shoulder at them, those curious young eyes fixed on me like I held all the secrets of the universe.With a soft sigh, I turned forward. “Relax. You’ll know everything soon enough. There’s really no reason to panic.”I tapped the glass partition. “Driver, find us the nearest café.”“

~~~~As we stepped into the elevator, I glanced sideways and caught Lisa and Lara whispering to each other. I sighed.Of course, they were whispering. I had just casually dropped a bomb on them—the truth about my marital status. One look at their faces, and it was clear they hadn’t seen that coming.Sorry, Lisa. Sorry, Lara. From here on out, you're about to hear and see more truths about your sister. The kind that’ll shake you. I just hope you’re ready for it.Another sigh slipped out of me.“You’ve been sighing non-stop,” Diana said, punching in her office floor. The elevator responded with a soft ding and began to climb. Ruth stood behind us with Lisa and Lara, still silent.“You’re not still bothered about what happened downstairs, are you?” Diana asked.“Not really,” I replied flatly, refusing to meet her eyes.“Then, what’s with t

~~~~Ruth found herself laughing at Rolex’s sudden change in behavior.“Wow… is that really the same Rolex?” she asked, still chuckling as she watched him walk away.“I know, right?” Diana replied with a faint smirk. “I guess this just proves how powerful she’s become. How annoying,” she added with a sigh, and then turned to Ruth. “Take this to the new recruits over there. Have them sign the documents and ask a few questions while you're at it.”“Okay,” Ruth nodded.“Mrs. Black brought them in, so I want you to take proper care of both of them,” Diana instructed, rising to her feet.“Yes, ma’am,” Ruth responded dutifully, before heading over to where Lara and Lisa were quietly seated. Meanwhile, Diana made her way to the modeling session.**I never knew being a model could be this exhausting.Just one outfit alon