Lahat ng Kabanata ng Condemned Wife's Compliance: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

The first thing Aris noticed when he woke was the emptiness beside him. The sheets still carried the faint warmth of her body, or maybe that was his. Her scent lingering like an imprint of the night before, but Adrea was gone.He pushed himself up on one elbow, frowning slightly. The cabin was quiet, suffused with the soft hush of waves lapping gently against the yacht. It was early—he could tell by the pale gold light slipping through the curtains, not yet bright enough to be harsh. He stretched, ran a hand through his hair, and swung his legs out of bed.It was unlike Adrea to vanish without a word. Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was exactly like her—slipping into her thoughts, drifting where he couldn’t follow. He threw on loose trousers and padded barefoot across the cabin, pushing the door open.And there she was.She stood at the rail of the deck, facing the horizon, the rising sun painting her in strokes of orange and amber. She wore one of his shirts, the crisp white fabric butto

She had been trying not to think about it but it was now upon her. Today was when she was supposed to have her divorce hearing. She had decided to go to a hotel and use the internet there as it was more stable than that on the yacht. It was also quieter compared, and privacy mattered here. This was the dissolution of something her father had put together for her. It was the end of something she had cherished. It was the end of a marriage. It deserved gravity, even if she had given up on it and wanted it done quickly.Adrea leaned her head against the window, watching the morning traffic snake along the coastal road. The sea glimmered on their left, sunlight bouncing off the water like shattered glass. She should have been thinking about the case, about the words she would have to say to the judge, but her mind drifted elsewhere, to all the what-ifs she’d trained herself not to touch.Aris’s fingers drummed lightly against the steering wheel. Not impatiently, just rhythmically, like he

Sofia waited until she was back in her hotel room before she opened the folder. Hunter’s words had followed her all the way through dinner, even as she returned to the table and plastered on a smile while Aris and Adrea carried on their easy banter. She had barely touched her food.When the meal was done and they had gone their separate ways—Adrea heading back to the yacht with Aris, Sofia claiming she was tired—she finally shut herself away. She locked the door, tossed her bag on the bed, and sat down at the desk with the folder in front of her.Her fingers hesitated on the clasp. Hunter wasn’t a man who dabbled in dramatics. If he had said she was being careless, then she had been. If he had given her something to look at alone, it meant he believed it mattered.She flicked the folder open.A photograph stared back at her from the top of the file. Her breath caught.It was William.William, with his easy smile, his dark hair a little too long, his suit pressed and neat. The image was

Belinda adjusted the strap of her handbag on her shoulder as she stepped out of the obstetrician’s office, a smile tugging faintly at her lips. The corridor smelled faintly of antiseptic and hand sanitiser—comforting in its familiarity. She’d worked in this hospital for a couple of weeks, walked these same hallways hundreds of times, but today she felt different. Lighter. She clutched the small envelope of ultrasound printouts close to her chest before slipping them carefully into her purse, as though the very act of protecting those little black-and-white images might somehow protect the tiny heartbeat she’d just seen flickering on the screen.The baby was healthy. Tiny as a seed, but healthy.Her hand lingered over the purse’s clasp for a moment before she shut it, pressing her lips together to stop the tremor that threatened to form there. The doctor’s words still echoed softly in her head—low risk, good heartbeat, steady growth. It should have been all she needed to smile without

The floor buzzed with an energy that made the air feel alive. Cameras panned over the poker table where the last six players sat beneath the glare of spotlights, their faces calm but their eyes sharp. The semi-final round had drawn a crowd—professionals, enthusiasts, and casual fans alike. Every seat was filled, and the noise from the audience dulled to an expectant hush each time a hand was dealt.Adrea sat between Sanne and Moreau, her hair neatly tied back, a move that kept her face unobscured for the cameras. She had the faintest trace of a smile on her lips—the kind that came not from confidence but from focus. She tapped her fingers lightly against her stack of chips, listening to the rhythmic sound as she mentally counted odds.Sanne, across from her, had her usual playful composure, but her shoulders were a little tighter than normal. This was not her first time reaching the semi-finals of a televised tournament, and while she’d kept her nerves at bay through most of it, the ga