Semua Bab Bound By The CEO's Contract : Bab 61 - Bab 70

Natalie’s POVThe hospital rooms seemed to close in around me with each passing hour. The smell of antiseptic, the gentle beeping of machines, the intermittent sounds of nurses shoes, all of these seemed like reminders that Alexander's world had just cracked open, and none of us were sure if it might ever be mended.Never in my life had I ever seen him this broken. He was standing next to his father's bed, stiff as stone, looking at the person who was once his beacon of strength. And next to him, like a shadow choking in humiliation, was Eleanor, his mother.Her hands quivered, her face was pale, her eyes were red from constant weeping. She desperately wanted to talk, but her voice choked in her throat every time and I understood why. This wasn't just about betrayal. This was about years, decades of silence, deception, and choices that could never be undone.The moment Alexander went outside to pick up a phone call, the silence in the room became unbearable. Eleanor then moved closer

(Natalie’s POV)The house had become unbearably silent. Silence so deafening that any sound, any step, any sigh, even the ticking of the grandfather clock rang out loud and intrusive. After the storm of revelations, everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts, carrying invisible weights on their shoulders.However, it was Eleanor who appeared most haunted.She wandered about like a woman who carried a shadow. Her eyes were distant, her hands were agitated, her voice trembling while speaking. I have been keeping a watchful eye on her. Guilt was attached to every move of hers, and I was certain that something was accumulating within her. Something she was holding back.I was not shocked when she eventually whispered to herself one night in the corridor, her voice low but desperate.“I must find him. I need to”.I thought I had misheard at first. But then she repeated herself and I knew right away who she was referring to. Victor.She hid it, but I could observe the change in her. She avo

(Natalie's pov)The night Eleanor rushed out of Jacob's study, her sobs echoing down the empty hallways, it haunted me long thereafter. The pounding of her footsteps on the marble floor still echoed within my mind as she ran away, her dress trailing like a broken shadow. I could not have stopped it, nor did I have the courage to reveal that I had witnessed it all.I could not help but think of the way Jacob leaned towards her, his eyes were sharp with hunger and cruelty, his words dripping with poison. Eleanor had rejected him, yes, but that rejection had made her tremble, shaken to her very core.And me? I had seen enough to know the truth: Jacob wasn't just some man from Eleanor's past anymore. He was a snake, coiling tighter and tighter around them all; around Victor, around Alexander, around the whole family.The next morning, Eleanor didn't come down to eat breakfast. The servants were silent and spoke of the fact that she had locked herself in the room, and nobody had the courag

(Alexander's POV)Being inside prison changes a man.It strips you down, peeling away every mask you’ve ever worn until you are left raw. The quiet is never truly quiet because it whispers doubts, screams terror, and reminds you every second what you have lost. Days crawled like years, and nights were even worse. The four walls pressed in, as if they wanted to choke me.The newspaper outside regarded me as corrupt. Old friends distanced themselves from me. My enemies rejoiced over my fall. And there I sat, behind bars, with the weight of crimes I did not commit.Yet even in the darkened corner, there was one light that refused to flicker out which was Natalie.Her visits were the only times I remembered to breathe. She would sit on the other side of the glass wall, her eyes blazing with determination, her hand on the cold surface."I believe in you," she said one day, her voice strong though her hands trembled. "And I'll prove it to the world."I wanted to crack. I wanted to weep. But

(Alexander's POV)Freedom tasted uncanny.It wasn't what I expected. I had pictured walking out of that courthouse and feeling that the world's weight had been lifted. But the air remained heavy, heavy with suspicion, with pain, with echoes of betrayal.Even when the chains were removed, the memory stayed with me.The first time I awoke in my own bed again, I did not move right away. I was staring at the ceiling, my mind was wandering back to the prison walls, cold metal, and constant watchful eyes. Old habits remain, even when danger is no more.But when I turned over, I could see Natalie lying beside me, her face peaceful, her hand resting on my arm as if guarding me from the past. And for the first time in a long time, I let myself believe that I was truly home.But the world outside was less forgiving.My name was cleared in court, but folks remember. My rivals smelled weakness. Shareholders whispered about replacements. Newspapers wrote about me like I was both a victim and a sca