Semua Bab HE LEFT ME FOR MY STEPSISTER, I MOVED ON TO THE NEXT: Bab 101 - Bab 110

Chapter 101CARMEN’S POVThe hum of the machines filled Nathan’s room with an eerie rhythm, the steady beep of the monitor cutting through the sterile quiet. I sat on the chair beside his bed, my hands folded so tightly together in my lap that my knuckles ached. Outside the window, the city lights twinkled faintly against the black sky, but none of it reached me. I was trapped in this room, in this moment, with a storm raging inside me that no one else could see.Nathan, the man who once carried the weight of kingdoms on his shoulders, the man whose name made enemies tremble, lay here looking fragile, his skin pale against the white sheets, his breath uneven, his body a shadow of its former self. He had always been untouchable, unbreakable, but now, as I looked at him, he seemed almost human, he looked unbreakable.I didn’t know about Nathan but his face shows the battles he has faced to be where he is.And I hated how much that both scared me and tempted me. I had heard about a cert

Chapter 103CARMEN’S POV It's been some days and it was time to discharge Nathan. The discharge papers rustled in the doctor’s hand as he entered the room, his white coat flaring just slightly with his brisk stride. Nathan sat propped up on the bed beside me, looking healthier but still pale, the hollowness in his cheeks proof of how close death had brushed him.Dr. Hanley cleared his throat softly, giving me that professional, measured smile doctors wear when they know the family is fragile. “Mr. Nathan, Miss… Rivers.” His eyes flicked between us. “I’m pleased to say Nathan is well enough to be discharged today.”Well, before this, I already discussed with the doctor that I was pretending to be the woman he had been mentioning in his unconscious state, Elena and I didn’t want Nathan to start thinking too much so that was why I was pretending. The doctor gave me a go-ahead, but he didn’t know my true intentions.Nathan blinked slowly, as though the word itself carried weight. “Discha

Chapter 105Carmen’s povI wrapped my arm gently around Nathan’s as I guided him toward the waiting car. He didn’t resist, but his silence pressed on me like a weight. He climbed into the car slowly, like every motion required thought. Once he was seated, he leaned back and stared out the window, as though the passing world might answer the questions he couldn’t form. I got into my seat and started the car.The city lights blurred across the windshield as I steered us through the evening traffic. Nathan sat in the passenger seat, his gaze drifting from the window to the dashboard and back again, as though trying to stitch together memories from the shadows outside.For several minutes, silence filled the car, thick and heavy, broken only by the hum of the engine and the occasional hiss of passing tires on wet pavement.Finally, his voice broke through, soft but weighted.“Why does everything feel so… strange?”I tightened my grip on the wheel, careful not to let the tension show in my

Chapter 107Carmen’s povBut instead, I let my lips tremble, my eyes soften, rehearsed vulnerability slipping easily into place. “Because I care about you,” I whispered. “Because we’re… us. Don’t you feel that, Nathan? Even if your mind doesn’t remember, your heart does. I am here to take care of you so, I won't leave you all by yourself, I will stand by you.”His expression faltered, a flicker of conflict passing over his features. He didn’t argue, but his silence spoke volumes.I led him upstairs, careful to match his slower pace. “There’s something else you should know,” I began, watching him out of the corner of my eye.He glanced at me warily. “What?”I steadied my breath as I led him up the staircase. His steps were slower than before, but his grip on the banister was strong, deliberate. I knew the question was coming even before his lips parted.“In a few days,” I said gently, “we’ll have to attend my company’s board meeting together.”He frowned slightly. “A board meeting? Why

Chapter 109Lucian povWhile she spoke, I kept my face steady, but inside I was unravelling.Jasper Cain. The name was enough to ignite a fire in me. That man wasn’t just cruel, he was venomous. To leave Elena for her sister, and to come crawling back with filthy accusations, and still dare to call her names? It was more than weakness, it was evil.And then Nathan. The brother, the missing piece of her heart. I listened as she spoke about him like one speaks of oxygen, necessary and invisible, yet everything. Every time she said his name, her eyes softened, and my chest burned.I wanted to scream my truth. I wanted to tell her what my heart feels for her, I wanted to tell her that since the night I saved her life, I hadn’t stopped thinking about her. That every smile she gave me stitched a wound I’d thought would never heal. I wanted to tell her that after my fiancée’s death, I swore I’d never love again, but she, Elena, changed that without even trying.But I couldn’t.How could I la