All Chapters of Once my Wife: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

The papers lay spread across the dining table, blueprints and permits mixed with coffee stains and scribbled notes. It wasn’t the kind of chaos Jason Reed tolerated in his own office, but here, in their home, it was Lila’s war room.She leaned over the plans, her dark hair falling loose around her face, eyes burning with a determination that made Jason’s chest tighten. He had seen that fire before—once in Bella, when she’d stared down men twice her size in boardrooms, and once in himself, when he’d been forced to claw his way out of the shadows of Reed & Co. corruption.“Dad,” Lila said suddenly, looking up at him. “They’re trying to bury me in paperwork. Three weeks, and my permits are still ‘under review.’ No phone calls returned. My contractor says someone higher up leaned on him to pull out of the deal.”Jason’s jaw clenched. “Vance.”Bella, who had been quietly sipping her tea in the corner, glanced up. “It has his fingerprints, yes. But let’s hear it from Lila. Tell us exactly w

The invitation was written in ink that looked too calm for the war it promised.Chief Sterling Vance wanted them at his Manhattan estate. “A chance for two great families to find common ground,” the card read, but Jason read it for what it was—a provocation, an opening move in a high-stakes game.Jason accepted without hesitation. For him, this was a battlefield dressed up as a dinner table. Bella accepted too, though not for war. She held out hope for something Jason couldn’t yet see—that peace could sometimes be won without drawing blood.The Vance estate was less a house and more a declaration. Marble steps, gold-trimmed windows, chandeliers that could blind a man with their arrogance.Bella glanced at Jason as the butler led them in. His jaw was locked tight, his expression stone. She knew that look too well—it was the mask he wore before battle.“Jason,” she whispered as they walked through the echoing hall. “Remember, this is a dinner, not a duel.”He didn’t look at her. “With V

The study felt colder than it should have. The lights were low, the city humming far below, but Jason didn’t move from the window. His hands were pressed to the glass as though the chill could steady him. He had been waiting.When Bella stepped inside, she sensed it instantly. Something was wrong. Not the usual kind of wrong, not the kind they could fix with a late-night talk or a kiss. This was heavier.“Jason?” Her voice was soft, almost cautious.He didn’t turn. He just said it, each word dropping like a hammer.“You went behind my back.”Bella froze.Jason finally turned around. His face was sharp, hard, unreadable except for the fire in his eyes. On the desk beside him lay a folded paper. A report.“I know you met with Chief Sterling Vance at the Oju Gallery,” he said flatly. “Now tell me why.”Bella’s chest tightened. She opened her mouth, but the words tripped over each other.“Jason, I can explain…”“No,” he cut in, his voice low and dangerous. “Don’t spin this. Don’t soften i

The flashes of cameras hit like lightning.For a moment, Jason couldn’t see past the burst of white lights exploding across the stage. The venue—once an empty construction site, now transformed into a living promise of what would one day be Lila’s Sanctuary—felt more like a battlefield than a press conference. Hundreds of reporters jostled for position, their voices rising in a tide of questions. Community leaders filled the front rows, their faces sharp with expectation, while teenagers from every corner of New York crammed shoulder-to-shoulder along the edges, holding hand-painted signs:“Our Sanctuary, Our Future.”“Let Them Build.”“Children Over Corruption.”Jason tightened his grip on Bella’s hand. To his left, Lila stood calm, her eyes steady. It wasn’t the calm of naivety—it was the hard, glowing fire of a girl who had already been tested and refused to break.Bella whispered, just low enough for him to hear, “This is it. No going back.”Jason’s jaw flexed. “We never were.”Th

The night was heavy. No music, no TV, only the sound of Jason’s treadmill humming like an engine about to burst. Bella stood by the door, arms folded, her stomach tight. He was pushing himself too far again.Bella: “Jason, that’s enough.”Jason: [breathing hard, not looking at her] “Five more minutes.”Bella: “You said five more minutes twenty minutes ago.”Jason: “Then five more.”Bella: “Jason, stop. Please. You look like you’re about to fall.”He didn’t slow down. His legs pounded the belt like hammers, his face slick with sweat, his chest heaving.Bella: “I’m serious. This isn’t strength—it’s punishment. What are you even running from?”Jason: [gritting his teeth] “Not running from. Running through.”Bella: “Through what?”Jason: “Through them. Through all of them.”Bella: “Them? Jason, who? Carter? Pierce? Reed? They’re gone.”Jason: “They’re not gone. Not really. They live in every scar. Every whisper. Every reminder that I was supposed to be finished. I’m still here, Bella, and