Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Forbidden Fruit : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

The hallway was dark, silent save the sound of the ticking clock on the wall and the soft whispering of leaves against the window. Evelyn emerged from her bedroom in her bare feet, holding her empty glass. The house seemed strangely dense tonight, heavy with suspense she couldn't quite put a finger on. She crept down the hallway to the kitchen, still adjusting to the dim light. That's when she heard it. The sharp tone of her father’s voice cut through the silence. “I’ve had enough, Rosaline,” he snapped. “I’m not going to tolerate this under my roof any longer.” Evelyn paused mid-step, frozen. Her hand tightened around the glass. Rosaline—her mother—spoke next, her voice softer but laced with desperation. “Please, just give me a little more time. I’ll talk to her. She’ll understand. She’s just traumatized coping with—” "Traumatized?" her father cut in, nearly scoffing. "This is not trauma. This is disgrace. What sort of example is she providing for Evelyn? What is our dau

(THIRD PERSON POV) The setting was stunning. When Evelyn walked in alongside Enzo, her hand curled daintily around his arm, she couldn't help but pause to take in the beauty of it all. The entire hall glistened under golden warm chandeliers that dangled like stars floating in the air. Off-white velvet panels covered the walls, with intricate embroidery lacing them together, and golden bouquets of flowers filled tall vases in each corner—baby's breath, white roses, and orchids shining beneath the soft lights. Even the floor had a subtle shine, buffed to almost mirror finish.Round tables were placed neatly, draped in ivory satin tablecloths, goldenware cutlery set alongside porcelain plates rimmed with exquisite lace. A string quartet played softly on a raised dais, their melodic notes gentle and subdued, enveloping the air with quiet grandeur. They made their way from one party guest to the next, welcoming, smiling civilly and saying courteous pleasantries. Evelyn floated as if

Since the time we arrived at the hall, Evelyn had been… different.Not so obviously so—not the way anyone else would realize. To everyone around us, she was her normal composed self, smiling politely, welcoming guests, making small talk. But I knew better. I had known her long enough to listen for the spaces between words, to read between the lines of her face, to notice the way her eyes kept darting toward places no one else was looking.And it all began after Lucas pulled me aside.He'd appeared agitated—more than agitated, really. There was this tension in his jaw, a fidgety shift in his posture, as if his mind was racing too many things at once. When he informed me she was here—Amelia—I didn't know what to say. I was not anticipating the mention of this name tonight.I hadn't even had time to get used to it when Lucas had gotten up, grumbling that he needed something to drink. I'd seen him stride towards the bar, his shoulders set. Evelyn had trailed behind him a minute later, her

The water flowed hot and continuous, slapping against the shoulders, covering over the thunder of my heart. Enzo was that close, the misty steam curling up to isolate us from the world. His fingers were braced on the wall, caging me in, forehead against mine, and it felt like he was a thousand miles distant."I saw her today," I breathed, voice all but drowned by the pounding water.His gaze didn't waver. "I know."The words fell with weight, like a secret he'd carried for far too long.I gulped air, chest burning. "Why didn't you tell me?"His jaw clenched, water running down his cheek like glass. "Because Amelia doesn't die when you talk about her. She lives. She flourishes. And I wanted her gone."I shivered under the heat, laying my hand over his chest, sensing the erratic thud of his heart. "She gazed at me, Enzo. Like she recognized me. Like she needed me out of her way." His fingers closed around my wrist, holding me firm, anchoring me. His gaze was flame and darkness, battlin

I never wanted to shout at her. Not Evelyn.The reverberation of my own yell still rang in my head, ugly and incorrect, but she wouldn't let up. She wouldn't leave the old wounds alone, wouldn't leave them closed. Her eyes—wide, shining with betrayal—were the last thing I wanted to see, and yet they were seared into me now.God, I'd do anything to spare her this.But the truth stung, and tonight it finally pierced.Amelia. Sebastian. His older brother Nikolai.That name on my lips tasted like ash, like the ashes of a war that never truly ceased. When I watched Evelyn's face crumple under the weight of it, I loathed myself for having spoken it. For verifying what should have remained buried.She didn't get it. She couldn't. That Amelia wasn't angry. She wasn't lost, waiting to be rescued. She was gone—sold out to the one person our blood had been taught to hate.And Sebastian Perez wasn't just an adversary. He was a snake. Sinister, manipulative, vicious. If Evelyn thought I was control