Semua Bab Fallon’s Reid: An Arranged Contract: Bab 241 - Bab 250

~Reid~The airport was a blur of movement and muffled voices—families reuniting, couples navigating baggage, businessmen with wireless earbuds talking into the air. I kept my head down, shoulder to the wind, my leather duffel strapped across my back like a shield.It wasn’t LAX-level chaos, but it was busy enough to feel disorienting. Every second spent in that terminal felt wasted. She wasn’t here. She was somewhere, but not here.My hands were shaking by the time I made it through the sliding glass doors. Not from nerves, not exactly. From adrenaline. From the weight of almostness. From the hope I’d shoved down too many times, now clawing its way back up.My phone buzzed.The driver I’d arranged was already waiting. Black SUV. Tinted windows. Discreet, just like Fallon used to prefer when we still made joint appearances—when I still had the right to stand beside her and call her mine.The driver stood beside the vehicle as I approached. Older man. Polished. Professional. A water bot

~Fallon~The sun woke me like a secret.It spilled through the wide glass doors of our suite in long, lazy streaks—soft gold brushing over the marble floor, slipping across the linens, warming my bare legs as I stirred beneath the sheets. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was.Then I heard Mia’s soft, not-so-cute snoring from the other bed and remembered.Paradise.I blinked into the light, stretched slowly, and smiled.There was no schedule today. No meetings, no publicists, no press calls. No one expecting me to perform grief or resilience or grace. Just waves crashing like applause against the rocks outside, and birds calling overhead like they knew we were free.I rolled out of bed and stepped onto the cool tile floor. My muscles were sore in the best way—from dancing barefoot on the balcony, from laughing too hard, from carrying less than I did the day before.I grabbed my bikini and an oversized white shirt from my suitcase. Sun-kissed skin. Bare feet. Loose curls. I looked li

~Fallon~The sun is already low when I step out onto the balcony.It casts everything in that late-afternoon glow I wish I could bottle—rich, golden light that slides over the ocean like melted honey, catching the waves in motion and kissing the edges of the horizon. The breeze is softer than usual, less playful. Like even the wind knows we’re leaving soon.I press my hands to the warm stone railing, letting the heat of the day soak into my skin one last time. I inhale slowly, drawing in the salt, the hibiscus blooming just below, and the faint trace of sunscreen still clinging to my collarbone.There’s something sacred about this moment.Not loud. Not dramatic.Just still.Mia joins me after a few minutes, a glass of white wine in her hand, her curls swept up in a loose bun that’s already started to unravel.She leans beside me without speaking.And for a long time, we just… exist. Together. Watching the sky bleed its colors into the sea, the sounds of the resort growing quieter as d

~Reid~I saw her post.It wasn’t obvious. Just a sunset—blurry, golden, filtered like always. The kind of throwaway image most people scroll past without a second glance.But I saw her.Not her face. Just her silhouette. A sliver of reflection caught in the rippling edge of the water.Most people wouldn’t notice. Wouldn’t care.But I’d know that shape anywhere.The curve of her shoulders.The angle of her neck as she tilted her head just slightly to the right.The quiet stillness of her form when she was lost in thought.I’ve memorized her without meaning to. Studied her in silence like the kind of art I never felt smart enough to understand—but couldn’t look away from.And now she’s back.Not in my life.Not in my arms.But in this city.In this time zone.Walking streets I’ve walked. Breathing air I’ve choked on. Laughing in restaurants I probably drive past without even realizing.She’s close enough to find.And that’s when it starts—the pressure in my chest. The steady throb behin

~Reid~It had been months.Months since I heard her voice.Since I saw her walk out of that mansion with her suitcase and her silence.Since she stood on the steps with tears in her eyes and I said nothing. Did nothing.And now, here I was again.Back in her city.Back in the place I promised myself I’d never return to unless I was ready to mean every word I’d never said.The black SUV cut through the late afternoon light like a whisper. Everything looked the same and completely different at once. Street signs. Coffee shops. Rows of townhomes with vines growing up their sides. A woman jogged by with headphones in. A teenager sat on a stoop blowing gum bubbles.The world had kept turning.Even when mine had stopped.I sat rigid in the back seat, fingers pressed into my thighs, knuckles white. The silence in the car was loud—too loud. My thoughts filled the space where music should have been.She’s here.She might open the door.She might not.My hands were sweating. My jaw ached from h