Lahat ng Kabanata ng Entangled Affair: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

The soft morning light slipped through the gauzy curtains of the penthouse bedroom, brushing warm streaks across the ivory sheets. Ava stirred under the covers, letting out a quiet groan as a dull ache throbbed behind her eyes. Her limbs were heavy, her stomach uneasy, and a persistent fatigue clung to her like a second skin—one she couldn’t seem to shake.She pushed herself upright slowly, pressing her hand to her forehead. This wasn’t like her. She’d pushed through exhaustion before late nights before gallery openings, the chaos of press conferences, the emotional drain of public scrutiny. But this? This felt… different.Dragging herself out of bed, Ava shuffled toward the bathroom. The cold tiles sent a chill up her spine. The silence felt louder than usual, stretching around her as she braced herself against the sink. In the mirror, her reflection looked back at her eyes shadowed, skin pale, lips pressed into a tight line.Her mind wandered over the last few days. The nausea that

The nights were growing longer. Ava was curled up on the distant side of their shared bed, facing away from Damien, her figure tucked in like a fortress under attack. Outside, the city buzzed in its typical cadence, but within their apartment, time seemed halted—dense, weighty, relentless. The quietness shared between them, previously a refuge, had become stifling. It echoed with unvoiced sentiments, with feelings neither was brave enough to confront. Each night, Damien slipped into bed a little later, and every morning, he rose before dawn. They shared the same environment yet existed in separate realms—his burdened with duties and darkness, hers occupied by doubt and sorrow. He barely looked at her anymore. When he did, it was as though he was seeing through her. Not past her—but through her. Like she was a memory he was attempting to forget. It had not always been like this. There was a moment when his touch anchored her, when his voice could soothe the tempests within her heart. A

Ava stood without shoes on the inn's porch, her cardigan snugly wrapped around her. The ocean wind pulled at her hair, yet she remained still. She merely stood there, gazing at the waves as if they could provide the answer she was unable to express.Should I stay? Or should I disappear for good?She rested a hand on her abdomen, sensing the calm presence of the baby developing within her. It anchored her—made her realize that this was more than just sorrow. It was about something bigger. Something fragile.She hadn’t told Damien.He didn’t know.And maybe… maybe he didn’t deserve to.Damien drove like a man chasing ghosts.Three days. Three long, agonizing days of searching, retracing steps, calling every lead, sleeping in a house that felt hollow without her. Guilt ate at him—every missed turn, every unanswered message, every memory of the look on her face before she walked away.He hadn’t spoken up when it mattered. He hadn’t fought for her. And Ava? She hadn’t waited.But he had to

He hadn’t expected to find her so soon. He’d prepared himself for months of silence—maybe a year of dead ends. But Nathan, loyal as ever, had followed a trail Ava never meant to leave behind: a gallery clerk who remembered her eyes, a crumpled receipt from a local art store, the soft ripple of clues that led Damien here.He remained in his car for almost an hour until he gathered the bravery to unlock the door. He was now looking at an aged building draped in ivy, located across the slender road. The upper window was slightly open, and a white curtain fluttered softly like a gentle heartbeat.He recognized it.It had lived in one of her sketches—the ones she’d left behind like breadcrumbs, hints of the life she had wanted, or maybe the one she’d feared she'd never have.His hand trembled as he knocked.No answer.He knocked again, this time firmer, a plea in the quiet.And then, the door creaked open.Ava stood in the threshold, barefoot, paint smeared on her shirt, curls tied in a lo

Shadows sprawled over the majestic front of the estate Damien used to refer to as home. It remained as magnificent as always—spotless columns, flawless landscaping, the aroma of wealth from the past wafting in the atmosphere. However, as he remained on the marble floor just outside his father's study, the area seemed like a prison, rather than a recollection.He used to run through these halls, barefoot and laughing, before he knew what it meant to be a Sterling. Before he learned that love here was conditional, and legacy came with shackles.In that moment, his hands curled into tight fists at his sides, his entire body tense, wound tight like a coiled spring. The deep rooted yearning for his father's approval, a weight he had carried for so long—had finally begun to fade. He was no longer that boy. Not the person who anticipated a gesture, a phrase, or anything at all. He was now a man, occupying the silence his father once brought, opting for himself instead. He was a man seeking t