All Chapters of Until Paperwork Do Us Part : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The morning light crept slowly through the towering windows of the penthouse, casting thin gold lines across the marble floors and half-drawn curtains. The city below was already awake—cars moving in lazy trails, horns calling out in frustration, and a constant hum that made it impossible to forget the world was still turning. But inside the penthouse, it felt like time had pressed pause. Elena moved about quietly, her footsteps hushed on the cold floor, trying not to disturb the silence Jack had wrapped himself in. He hadn’t said much since they returned from the hospital in the dead of night. Grief, when it wasn’t loud, could be isolating—and Jack’s version was the kind that coiled inward. Silent. Contained. Private. He sat on the edge of the couch, hunched slightly forward, his elbows resting on his knees, staring at the black screen of the television as if he was daring it to speak first. But it had already spoken. All morning, the news had bled through every channel, every he

The next morning, the sky over the city was a pale slate, streaked with high clouds that hadn’t decided whether to promise rain or let the sun break through. Elena stood by the tall windows of her penthouse for a brief moment before leaving, sipping the last of her black coffee, her mind already racing ahead. She had dressed in quiet colors—charcoal gray slacks, a cream blouse, a tailored coat layered over it all—nothing loud, nothing that drew attention. Today wasn’t about appearances. It was about motion. She had insisted Jack stay home. His grief hadn’t had room to breathe with everything happening all at once—his father’s funeral, Layla’s ominous warning, the looming threat of Demien, the fragility of their peace. Jack had argued at first, stubborn as always, but eventually relented, only after Elena placed her hand gently over his chest and said, “I need you strong when we go to Portugal.” That had settled it. Now, hours later, she stepped into Vale Corp’s towering headquarter

The suite was warm with the soft hues of golden lamplight, shadows stretching long across the plush carpet as the last of the evening sun bled out behind the curtains. The windows offered a panoramic view of Lisbon’s rooftops—terracotta tiles and church domes glowing under the fading amber sky. Inside, the air was rich with the faint scent of linen and citrus-scented wood polish, and for the first time in days, Elena Vale allowed herself to breathe without feeling like the weight of the world was tethered to her chest. As Jack disappeared into the adjoining room to check their schedule for the next day, Elena dropped her handbag on the nearest armchair and kicked off her shoes with a satisfying thud. Her feet, aching from hours of travel and high-strung adrenaline, finally surrendered to the lush softness of the thick rug beneath her. Without thinking, she walked straight to the edge of the king-sized bed, collapsed backward onto it, and sprawled herself across the crisp sheets. He

The next morning came quickly, ushered in by the distant chime of church bells and the faint hum of city life outside their hotel window. Sunlight spilled through sheer curtains, washing the suite in a golden warmth that might’ve felt comforting, if not for the weight of the day ahead.Elena stirred first, blinking against the light as she stretched out on the bed, momentarily tempted to stay buried in the stillness they had created the night before. But duty had a habit of being loud, even in the soft corners of a foreign hotel room. Beside her, Jack was already reaching for his watch on the nightstand, his movements quiet but efficient.Neither of them spoke much as they got ready—an unspoken agreement hanging between them. They just wanted to get this over with. The last board meeting had drained them, dragged longer than necessary with debates and counterarguments. Today, their goal was singular: finalize what needed finalizing, tie off every loose end, and have at least a few hou

The city greeted them not with warmth, but with the cold edge of familiarity. A blur of gray buildings, honking horns, and hurried lives passed beyond the tinted windows of the car as it pulled into the underground garage of the penthouse. New York didn’t care that they had returned. It never did. It simply kept moving, relentless and pulsing, like a heart that refused to rest.Elena didn’t say much during the elevator ride up. Neither did Jack. The exhaustion from the flight clung to their limbs, but deeper than that was the quiet dread of stepping back into everything they had momentarily escaped—the boardroom battles, the anonymous threats, the silent enemies hiding behind polite smiles.When the penthouse doors finally slid open, Elena didn’t bother with decorum. She dropped her handbag on the console table, kicked off her heels without grace, and all but collapsed onto the cream-colored couch in the living room. A sigh escaped her lips—long, slow, and heavy. It was the sound of s