Semua Bab Love Lies and Deceit: Bab 81 - Bab 90

* Penny *My heels echoed through the marble hallways of Dankworth & Co., sharp and certain. But every step felt heavier than the last.He knew.Of course he knew. Lance didn't miss anything. The meeting request had come just a few hours after I left Alex's office. Brief. Formal. No explanation. But I didn't need one. When your brother is Lance Dankworth, you learn early on that silence always has a motive.I adjusted the cuff of my blazer as I stepped into the elevator, its mirrored interior offering a perfect reflection of the woman I had taught myself to become.But inside, I wasn't any of those things. I was burning.With fear. With hope. With the memory of a kiss that still lingered on my lips, even if it never touched them. And with the quiet, dangerous realization that I had meant every word I said to Alex.This marriage... If it was going to happen, it would be mine to shape.The elevator doors slid open, and there he was. Lance, already waiting in the glass conference room, p

* Penny *The moment Alex pulled away, I felt it.That shift, sharp, cold, like the snap of glass underfoot. One second, his mouth was on mine, soft and certain, and the next his body had gone rigid, his eyes narrowing toward the window behind me."Shit," he breathed.Then louder, more furious, "Goddamn it."My heart jolted. "What?"But he didn't answer. Just stood abruptly and stalked toward the front of the restaurant, the tension in his shoulders coiled like a fuse lit too close to fire.I turned in my seat, and that's when I saw it.A glint. A lens. The low, unmistakable flicker of a camera flash from the shadows just outside.No. No, no, no.My fingers gripped the edge of the table, white, knuckled. For one fragile moment, this night had belonged to us. Not the board. Not the family. Us. And now...Flash. My chest burned. Alex returned a minute later, jaw clenched so tightly I could practically hear his teeth grinding. But his eyes, they found mine immediately. Not with guilt. No

* Penny *I opened my door the next morning to find a single cream-colored envelope, tucked neatly under the handle like an afterthought. It sat there innocently, as if it belonged, as if someone had placed it with care and not urgency. No name on the front. No address. No stamp. Just... waiting.For a fleeting second, I smiled. Maybe it was from Alex. Something sweet. Romantic. He had a way of doing things like that, old-fashioned gestures with modern charm. Maybe he'd written me a letter, because he believed words lasted longer on paper than they did in texts.But then I realized, my name wasn't even on it.I carried it into the kitchen like it might break if I held it too tightly. My fingers trembled as I slid one under the flap. The paper inside was thick, almost too rigid, and the message was typed in a font that reeked of boardrooms, legal memos, and generational wealth. Cold. Precise. Impersonal.There was no greeting.No sign-off.Just a message:"This is not out of malice, bu

* Penny *I found it hard to sleep in my apartment, even though it sat like a jewel in the heart of the city, guarded by layers of digital security and round-the-clock personnel. It was a luxury place, granite countertops, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, smart lighting that adjusted to my mood, but even the most expensive cage still felt like a cage when your mind refused to quiet down.Ever since that anonymous warning arrived, unmarked, unsettling, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Followed. Stalked not by footsteps but by some invisible thread tugging at my sense of ease. Lance, predictably, had gone into overdrive. He insisted I return to Magnolia Manor, where the grounds were patrolled and the walls whispered old safety. But going back meant surrendering. Me, the baby sister, tucked under his arm again. Watched. Directed. Protected to the point of suffocation.And I couldn't do that. Not anymore. Not now.When the doorbell rang, I froze. My spine stiffened, e

* Penny *The sunlight was kind when it slipped past the curtains, painting the bedroom in pale gold. I blinked against it, warmth stretching across my skin before my thoughts fully caught up with my body.I reached out instinctively, my fingers brushing soft linen sheets instead of skin.He was gone.Not in the way that left a hollow. The bed still held the shape of him. The scent of him, faint cologne and warm cotton, still lingered on the pillow beside me. But he wasn't there.My heart clenched, just a little. Then I noticed it.A small, folded note on the nightstand, weighted down by the cap of his pen.I pushed myself up slowly, the robe slipping down my arm. My body felt oddly lighter, like some invisible burden had been eased in the night. I tucked my legs beneath me and reached for the note, fingers trembling slightly.The handwriting was unmistakably his, clean, sharp, controlled. Just like him.Good morning, sleepyhead.Didn't want to wake you. You looked too peaceful (and f