All Chapters of One Heart, Which Brother?: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Lia’s POVThe morning sun was soft mocking, even as it poured through the tall windows of the estate.But nothing about this morning felt soft. Nothing about it felt warm.It felt like fire on her skin.She stood by the massive window in Ruben’s private study, her arms folded tightly around herself, heart pounding in anticipation. The folder she had hidden under her blouse last night now lay open on the desk. Names. Ledgers. Photos. A bloody empire built on bodies and secrets.Her fingers trembled as she waited.The heavy door opened.And he walked in, tall and calm, as if he hadn’t nearly lost everything.As if the silence between them wasn’t ripping them apart.She turned around slowly. “Sit down.”His jaw clenched. “Lia”“I said, sit. Down.”He did.She pointed at the file. “Tell me what all of this is.”He didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.“That’s none of your concern,” he said coldly.Her hand slammed the desk. “Don’t you dare gaslight me, Ruben. I saw everything. I read everything!”

The hospital room was dim, save for the monitors that blinked steadily, the only reminder that her mother was still alive… barely.Lia sat by the bed, her fingers trembling as she brushed a strand of her mother’s hair back. "I did this," Lia whispered, voice shaking. "I brought her into this world I was so desperate to escape."The door creaked open behind her. Daph limped in slowly, a white bandage wrapped around her forehead, trailing down to her eyebrow. Her eyes, tired but warm, scanned the room before settling on Lia.“You’re not sleeping,” Daph said softly.Lia didn't turn. “I don’t deserve to.”Daph sighed, lowering herself onto the couch against the wall. Her shoulder was stiff. Her head was still pounding from the crash. But none of that compared to the guilt she saw pouring out of Lia like a river that had snapped its dam.“She was so proud,” Lia murmured, eyes locked on her mother’s face. “She just got her license two months ago. Called me every day to tell me she practice

Daph’s penthouse was too quiet, save for the sound of Lia’s breath hitching every few minutes as she stared out over the city skyline. A city that had cost her everything.Her mother was gone.Her heart shattered.Her trust in Ruben extinct.The woman she had buried just two days ago had barely started to live. She had just started her own business, just bought her own car. She had gone to the Delwuncos estate to deliver paperwork. Lia had helped her get that job and now she was gone. All because of a twisted world Lia hadn’t known Ruben was fully drenched in.She didn’t want to cry anymore. It felt like crying wouldn’t bring anything back. Not her mother. Not her innocence. Not the version of Ruben she had loved.Daph stepped into the room, a tray in her hand. Tea, again.“You haven’t eaten.”“I’m not hungry,” Lia said, eyes still fixed on the horizon.“You’ve said that every day since she died.”Lia turned slightly. “Because every day since then has been the same. Empty.”Daph’s hea

Chapter 88: "The One I Let Slip Away"RubenThe house was too quiet.He stood in the living room, the file from his lawyer crumpled in one hand — Divorce Proceedings.He hated the way her name looked next to his now.Like it was borrowed. Temporary. A mistake.“You really did it, Lia,” he muttered, dragging a hand through his disheveled hair. “You’re leaving.”He didn’t need anyone to tell him she wasn’t coming back. Not this time.He’d knocked on Daph’s door two nights in a row and hadn’t seen her once. She wouldn’t respond to his texts. She wouldn’t answer his calls. She’d vanished into Daph’s care, just like that, and she had every right to.He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cold marble wall, guilt slicing through his chest like glass. He remembered it all.The day he threatened her with her mother’s job.The day he used her nudes as leverage.The way she flinched the first time he touched her shoulder after the wedding.And somehow, in his twisted world of co

The airport was loud, buzzing with departure calls, suitcase wheels, and conversations in every language.Lia barely heard any of it.One moment, she was standing in line for her final check-in. The next, the terminal tilted. Her vision blurred into white noise, her fingers numb around her passport.Then everything went black.Hospital Room - Late AfternoonThe beeping was the first thing she heard when consciousness returned.Soft. Slow. Consistent.Lia’s lashes fluttered, her head throbbing. The scent of antiseptic lingered around her like cold breath. She turned her head slowly and saw Daph slumped in a chair by her bedside, her hand protectively cupping Lia’s.“You scared the hell out of me,” Daph murmured, eyes still closed. “You faint in the airport and vanish into emergency care and don’t expect me to age five years?”Lia let out a hoarse chuckle.Daph opened her eyes and straightened. “You okay? Should I call the nurse?”“I… what happened?”“You collapsed. They ran some tests.