All Chapters of BRIDE FOR A YEAR : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

FLAVIA’S POVMy lunch sat in front of me like a sad peace offering… grilled chicken, rice, and vegetables that smelled good an hour ago but now, they just looked like regret… I had been staring at it so long that the sauce had gone cold…The office was quiet except for the soft hum of the AC and the occasional clack from the outer desk where Jazmine was finishing a report ... It was lunch break, but I had lost my appetite hours ago...Jaz leaned in through the open doorway, one eyebrow raised… “You are not eating your food.”I poked at the rice with my fork… sighing. “I am not hungry.”“You have been saying that all day,” she said, walking in and plopping herself on the chair opposite me like she owned the place. “Let me guess… you are still sulking about Louis.”I looked up sharply. “I am not sulking.”She gave me a look... “You haven’t eaten, you haven’t smiled, and you are picking at your food like a sad movie heroine. You are obviously sulking.”I slumped back in my chair... “I do

LOUIS'S POVThe moment she said she had something to tell me, I knew it wasn’t good. I thought that maybe she lied about something again but hearing Carter’s name… that was enough to sour the air between us. And when she said he had threatened her? My blood went cold, then hot all over again.“What? You are joking right?” I asked, my voice low, controlled... barely.She flinched a little. “Louis… please. Just calm down...”“Calm down?” I snapped. “You just said that bastard threatened you.”She nodded, eyes soft, nervous.“Okay, fine.” I exhaled, forcing the rage back down where it burned... “Tell me exactly what happened.”“He came to my office,” she said quietly... fingers tracing the rim of her glass. “He apologized. Or at least, pretended to but it was only because he wanted me to beg you to forgive him.”“Wow,” I muttered, bitterness curling at the edge of my tongue.“He said you are trying to buy him out forcefully,” she went on, “and when I refused to get involved, he said I wo

LOUIS'S POV Tommy burst in like a man with a headline in his mouth. That’s Tommy’s style... urgency with a grin. He shut the door behind him and didn’t sit until he had told me what I wanted to hear...“He signed the deed,” he said, face split with something like satisfaction. “Carter’s out. He’s officially no longer an investor here.”For a second I let the news land and sit like warm sun on my chest. “Fantastic,” I said, and even that word felt small against the bigger thing I wanted to do. “Fantastic... but I am not done with him yet. Not after what he did.” The flame that had been smoldering in my chest for days flared up... It was clean and hot.Tommy’s expression sobered. He sat down and leaned forward. “What happened? Did he do something else?”I told him... slow, clipped, the story rolling out exactly the way it had lodged in my teeth. "He had the audacity to go to Flavia’s office and he tried to charm his way in. He wanted her to talk to me but when she refused to be his pup

LOUIS'S POVTommy swaggered in with that tired-grin look he gets when things start falling into place. The TV in my office was on the business channel... the sticker scrolling like it owned the world... and the anchor was running a fresh package. New headline: BREAKING NEWS... Carter Spencer Faces Multiple Wrongful-Termination and Coercion Allegations; Sponsors Pull Back. The banner below that read... Major Clients Sever Ties Amid Scandal. It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t quiet. It was the kind of public wallop that leaves people looking for corners to hide in.Tommy and I watched for a moment, the two of us with our coffee untouched. The clip rolled through interviews with former staff, HR emails, and a string of cancelled client statements. There was a crisp cruelty to the way the media trimmed a man’s reputation down to nothing... just facts, a few assembled quotes, and suddenly a name was toxic.Tommy laughed, a short, hard sound. “You have completely ruined him,” he said, sounding al

LOUIS'S POVA week later.I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my tie for the third time ... The reflection staring back at me looked sharp... tailored black suit, gold cufflinks, polished shoes. It was more than confidence... it was victory dressed in Armani.Today wasn’t just another day at the office. Today, I was going to watch Carter Spencer’s world collapse... by my hand.The bastard still didn’t know I had bought out the majority of his company. For a week, he had been parading around like the king he thought he was, oblivious to the fact that the throne was already gone... And now, for the first time ever, I was paying him a little visit... to look him dead in the eye and let him feel the fall...As I was fixing my cufflinks, Flavia walked in ... Her heels clicked lightly on the marble, and I caught her reflection in the mirror... soft curls, that silk robe hugging her like temptation…“Someone looks good,” she said… smiling. “Where are you going all dressed up like that?