บททั้งหมดของ The CEO's pawn : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

CHAPTER 21: The Unforgivable

Rosalie’s POVI didn’t open the door at first I stood still, frozen as the knocking continued. Firm, heavy, deliberate.I shut the laptop. My heartbeat pulsed behind my eyes. I didn’t need to ask who it was.Another knock.“Rosalie.”His voice. Hoarse,low“Open the door.”I stepped away from it.Backed into the room like it was a crime scene“Please”The lock clicked. I didn’t touch it, it was him. He had the key.The door creaked open and Alessandro stood there. Shirt unbuttoned, tie loose, hair disheveled, drunk.His eyes looked like they hadn’t slept in a year.He stepped in slowly then shut the door behind him“Why are you here?” I asked, voice small“I had to see you.”He staggered slightly but caught himself. Walked past me and sat down on the edge of the bed like it was his“Do you even realize what you did?” I asked, heart pounding.His eyes met mine bloodshot but something raw inside them“You don’t understand" he muttered “I didn’t mean to-”“Mean to what? Embarrass

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CHAPTER 22: Just One Month

The phone call came in the middle of a quiet afternoon.Rosalie had been lost in thoughts on the couch when her phone buzzed. She stared at the name flashing across the screen; Sant'Elena Private Hospital and felt the air still around her.She answered on the third ring, already holding her breath"Hello?"The voice on the other end was polite, too distant to carry bad news softlyMoretti Enterprises had officially withdrawn funding, there was no appeal, no reconsideration.Her mother would be allowed to continue treatment for one more month, no more. After that, unless full payment was made, she would be discharged.Rosalie didn’t cry, she didn’t shout. She sat very still on the couch and listened until the call ended.Then she placed the phone on the armrest beside her, stood up slowly and walked to the sink. She filled a glass with water and sipped it, staring out the window, trying not to crumble.Only one month.She should have seen it coming, she had typed the resignation her

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CHAPTER 23: When the Fog Lifted

The morning after was never supposed to feel like this.Alessandro blinked awake, eyes foggy from dried sleep and alcohol, his body a dead weight on the stif hotel bedFor a moment, the world was silent, too silent. Then a throb pulsed behind his eyes and down his spine like a drumbeat. He groaned, reaching blindly for the edge of the bed as his mind fought to piece together the last 24 hours.But it was just fog.Thick, heavy fog.He sat up, slow and cautious, the blanket falling off his bare chest. His mouth was dry, his limb ached.He frowned, running a hand through his disheveled hair. A flicker of something hit him; her face, pale and wounded, her voice trembling as she told him to leave. The echo of a slammed door but the rest was unclear What the hell did I do?He stumbled into the bathroom, turned on the tap and splashed cold water over his face. As the cold bit into his skin, some of the fog cleared but not enough, just fragments. Her scent lingering in the hallw

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CHAPTER 24: The Unseen Wife

The Moretti mansion was too quiet that morning, not the peaceful kind of silencebut the kind that felt heavy, like something important was missing. The sunlight got in through the large windows but it didn’t warm the house.In the kitchen, Emilia sat at the counter drawing quietly with a pink crayon, her small hands moved slowly and her tongue stuck out the way it always did when she focused but this time, her picture wasn’t of a castle or a princess or her favorite stuffed cat.It was of a house broken down the middle one side had two people holding hands the other side had only one.Vivianna stood by the stovestirring a pot of oatmeal even though she knew Emilia probably wouldn’t eat it , she watched her daughter from the corner of her eye, her chest tightened“Sweetheart” she said gently “do you want anything with your oatmeal?”Emilia shook her head, no.“When is Papa coming home?” she asked not looking up from her drawing.Vivianna hesitated. “Soon” she said forcing a smile.

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CHAPTER 25: Strings attached

The morning sun crept gently into the small apartment, spreading warm light across the tiled floors and up the walls. The silence was a fragile thing, broken only by the distant rumble of traffic and the clink of porcelain from the kitchen Beatrice was already awake, she leaned against the counter in a silk robe, sipping coffee with one hand and scrolling through her phone with the other. Her hair was perfectly tousled, like she’d stepped out of a commercial instead of someone else’s cramped apartmentRosalie emerged from the bedroom slowly, eyes swollen with sleep, her body dragging like it had aged overnight. Her shoulders sagged with weight she never talked about"Morning" Beatrice chirped without looking up"Morning" Rosalie mumbled, heading toward the kettleThe silence stretched again, Rosalie poured water into the kettle and flicked it on. She moved on autopilot now, coffee, toast, hospital. Repeat.Beatrice sat at the table, her legs crossed lazily. "I was thinkin

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CHAPTER 26: Where she used to be

The morning was too quiet.Alessandro sat on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the untouched coffee on the tray beside him The sun had risen hours ago yet the house felt like it was still asleepNo soft footsteps, no faint sounds of typing from the hall office. No Rosalie.He rubbed his hands together slowly, trying to ignore the tightness in his chest, the silence was nothing new. Vivianna had stopped speaking to him two days ago. Emilia barely looked at him. But this silence, this one was differentBecause now, Rosalie was gone and she hadn’t looked back He stood up and crossed the room, grabbing his phone from the nightstand 8:13am. He was late for nothing, technically. There were no meetings Rosalie had reminded him about. No briefings she had printed. No gentle knock on his office door with “They’re ready for you, sir.”He hated how quickly she had melted into his routine and how quickly he noticed her absenceHis phone buzzed.Unknown Number: Upda

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CHAPTER 27: Let it burn

Leonardo sat quietly in the back seat of his car, fingers drumming against the leather armrestThe windows were tinted dark, hiding him from the world outside, rain tapped gently against the glass, soft and steady, like a lullaby trying to calm his thoughts. But nothing could settle the storm inside him.He stared through the windshield at the grey building ahea.dThe sign read "Villa del Sole Recovery Centre" It didn’t look like much, just a quiet place tucked away from the city, surrounded by trees and silenceBut he knew what was inside, he had waited weeks for this.Lucia was here.He opened the leather notebook on the seat beside him. Inside were photos, neatly printed and slipped into clear plastic sheetsHe flipped through them slowly, Aessandro with Lucia in a dimly lit club, Lucia stepping out of a sleek black car, lucia entering a penthouse building, another photo of her leaving the same building alone, her shoulders slumpedAnd then at the very back, a still frame from a

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CHAPTER 28: The girl in the viral clip

Rosalie stretched under the weight of the morning, her arms sliding across thesheets of her bed, the sunlight streamed in, pale and drowsy, lighting the edges of the roomHer eyes blinked open slowly, staring up at the faint cracks in the ceilingAnother day.Another morning.For the first time in weeks, there was no dread dragging itself across her chest when she woke upJust a quiet sense of exhaustion and a fragile sense of relief, relief from the moretti enterpriseDario had made sure that her mother’s hospital bills for the next two months were covered.iThat gave her some breathing room, time to find another job ttime to figure out her next steps She wasn’t under Alessandro Moretti’s thumb anymore and while that was both a relief and a quiet ache she didn’t want to name, she was determined to move on.She sat up slowly, her hair tumbling over her shoulder. Her apartment was still, quietFor about three seconds.Then came the slam of a cupboard from the kitchen and the sou

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CHAPTER 29: Cracks in the Empire

The morning light streamed through the large floor to-L ceiling windows of my office, casting A goldEn glow over the glass table and leather chairs I stood by the window, hands in the pockets of my slacks, trying to center myself. The city below buzzed with life, people moving about like they had no idea that my world was moments away from crumblingWork had always been my anchor. Numbers, plans, contracts, they never lied to me, they didn’t talk back, they didn’t feel they just existed. Constant and obedient.Until now.I turned around and made my way to my desk, intending to get through the files lined up for the day. There were meetings to prepare for, calls to make, deals to finalize. I reached for my phone, planning to call security about the parking arrangements for the guests scheduled to arrive this afternoonThere was a knock, it was sudden, sharp. Followed by the door flying open“Sir” Amara’s voice cracked as she burst into the room without waiting for permission. Her he

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CHAPTER 30: A slutty dress and the weight of guilt

Rosalie sat at the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the closet door, her fingers tugging at the hem of the oversized T shirt she wore. Beatrice's voicefrom a few minutes ago still echoed in her head: "Let's go out tonig, I'll find you something slutty to wear."Slutty.She hadn’t known how to respond then and even now, she wasn’t sure if Beatrice had been joking or serious. The way she'd said it, eyes wide, voice high and giddy, it almost felt manic. But Rosalie hadn’t questioned it, not after Beatrice had suddenly gone quiet, then apologized again for asking about whether she'd ever had sex with Alessandro."I'm sorry I was being a bitch" she'd said, curling her legs beneath her on the couch, her voice unusually soft. "I just wanted to understand"Rosalie had nodded, tight lipped, not wanting to go back into that swamp of memoryIt had been a long day, a loud oneDozens of messages, missed calls, mentions, and then, the video Alessandro's voice, sharp and venomous, filled t

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