All Chapters of Until Paperwork Do Us Part : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The ballroom shimmered with candlelight and crystal, the air thick with champagne bubbles and barely restrained ambition. Conrad Vale stood at the center like a general at the gala, flanked by billionaires, politicians, and old-money dynasties. His daughter, Elena Vale, stood beside him in a white-silver gown worth more than most people's houses, her expression was composed, her posture immaculate.Her smile, however, was a lie.She watched as Richard Harrow — her soon-to-be fiance, if all went there father's plan, approached with a velvet box in hand and a smirk that made her stomach turn. Cameras flashed. The orchestra softened. The crowd hushed. It was the perfect moment.And she was about to ruin it. Just as Richard knelt and cracked open the box, Elena took a step back. “I'm sorry,” she said, voice clear, words cutting. “I can't marry you.”Gasps rippled like thunder through the room. Richard froze, confused. Conrad's eyes narrowed. But Elena wasn't finished.“Because I'm alre

Jack stared at the letter like it might burn through his hands. The Vale crest at the top gleamed like a brand, and Conrad's signature at the bottom was sharp enough to draw blood. The message was clear: walk away quietly, or everything would come to light.Elena folded her arms, unreadable. “Is it true?” Jack didn't flinch. “Which part?”She didn't answer. She didn't need to. He already knew which truth she was asking for — the one buried in sealed records, wiped servers, and the whispers that followed his name long before the world knew him.Jack met her gaze. “Yes. I used to hack for money. I took jobs from people who weren't exactly saints. I broke into things I shouldn't have. I got caught. Cut a deal. Turned legit.”“And now you run a cyber security firm.”He nodded. “ Which Harrow and your father have been trying to destroy from the inside out.”She paced across the living room, heels clicking the marble floor like a ticking clock.“You should have told me.”“I didn't think we

Elena Vale had always been taught to be two things: perfect and quiet.That night, with the rose petal turning brown in her palm and the threat echoing in her mind, she chose to be neither.“I want to burn him down,” she said, voice low, controlled and dangerous.Jack didn't ask who. He didn't even need to. They both knew the enemy had unmasked himself. Richard Harrow.“He's scared,” Jack said. “This is a power play. He seems to be loosing grip, so now he's going scorched earth.” Elena met his eyes. “Then let's meet him in the fire.”They spent the next three days locked in a silent war of information.Jack dove into old Harrow Tech servers, encrypted contracts, and leaked financial statements. He traced offshore accounts and shell companies that connected to names Elena recognized from her father's private meetings.Amidst the chaos, Elena wished for a vacation just to clear her mind and head because she was feeling choked up.Meanwhile, she quickly infiltrated the board, subtly re

They avoided each other's gaze for days. The house, once humming with the quiet rhythm of shared silences and carefully measured civility, now felt like a hollow shell, too quiet, too still. Elena moved through it like a ghost, drifting from room to room with downcast eyes and shoulders drawn tight beneath her loose sweaters. Jack, ever composed and calculated, had retreated to the study more often than usual, burying himself in unread reports and unopened books, trying to pretend the kiss, the tremor between them hadn't shifted the very axis of the arrangement. Neither of them spoke about it. The kiss had not been planned. There had been no declaration, no warning. It was heat and gravity and the unmistakable ache of two people forgetting from one suspended heartbeat that they were bound by a contract and not affection. But the moment Elena had disappeared into the bathroom that night, hearts pounding and hands trembling, the distance returned like a flood. Since then, words

Jack wasn't sure if he should lean in. The air between them throbed with a magnetic pull, the kind that blurred sense and consequence. Elena's breath was shallow, her lashes low. She wasn't sure how much longer she could pretend to be a level-headed boss, the one always in control. Jack's proximity, his warmth, and the look in his eyes. She felt her control slipping. Then came the interruption. "Mrs. Vale," a chipper voice, rang out. They both jerked slightly. It was a young secretary from the PR firm, bright-eyed and flustered, clutching her phone. "I just sent you the email you requested," she said quickly. Eyes darting nervously between Elena and Jack, still pressed so closely against each other. "Sorry, uhm, I —didn't mean to interrupt." Elena cleared her throat, her composure flickering back into place like a snapped wire. "Okay, thank you," she mumbled, barely audible. The secretary gave an awkward bow and practically scurried away, heels tapping like gunshots against the ma