Lahat ng Kabanata ng Dear husband I can live without you : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

The steady beep of a heart monitor ticked in the background, faint but insistent, like a reminder that time hadn’t stopped—even if her body had tried to.Anna blinked, groggy.The ceiling above her was a soft blur, lights dimmed to a golden wash that cast the room in a kind of muted hush. She shifted and a dull, blooming ache curled through her stomach. Her fingers twitched, bumping the tug of an IV taped neatly to the back of her hand. The tube stretched upward, fluid dripping down with a rhythm that made her nauseous.Her wrist looked pale. Fragile. Like someone else’s arm.She turned her head.The room was still. Private. Too quiet for a normal hospital. The kind of quiet that cost money. Floor-to-ceiling curtains hung neatly at the tall windows. The recliner beside her bed was leather—not vinyl. The sheets? Soft, like Egyptian cotton, not the usual scratchy hospital blend.What the hell?VIP suite.Her brows pinched together. How?And then she saw him.Gerald.Slouched in the chai

"Welcome home, grandson!" Xander's voice rang out with a burst of excitement as soon as Gerald stepped into the penthouse. The old man sat by the grand bay window, eyes locked on the entrance like a hawk watching its prey.Gerald froze mid-step, eyebrows raised. "What?"Xander's gaze didn’t waver. "Where is she?"Gerald blinked, taken aback. "Who are you talking about?""Your damsel in distress," Xander replied, a sly grin tugging at the corners of his lips."What damsel?" Gerald asked, confused and slightly wary of whatever game his grandfather was playing now."Don’t play dumb with me, kid," Xander scowled, wheeling his chair over to the glass dining table where his tablet lay.Gerald followed with a sigh, loosening his tie. "Seriously, Grandpa. What are you talking about?""Here," Xander tapped the screen and spun the tablet around.Gerald rolled his eyes. "Grandpa, if this is another one of those clickbait—" His words died on his tongue the moment his eyes landed on the screen.Th

The name hit Gerald like a ticking time bomb: Erick.His pulse spiked the moment it echoed in his mind. Erick—his half-brother, the perpetual thorn in his side. The son his father had from a fling that destroyed their family’s peace. The day Erick dropped by the house, he had eyed that confidential file like a lion circling its prey.They were like oil and water—never mixing, always flammable.Gerald cared for Erick in that obligatory blood-ties kind of way, but the guy was a royal pain in the ass. He seemed to live just to needle him. Whatever Gerald was interested in, Erick made it his mission to interfere. Even after Gerald stepped away from their father’s company and left it in Erick’s hands, he wouldn’t let up. Erick still called him constantly—asking for ideas, project leads, intel. And if Gerald didn’t hand it over? Erick would find a way to get it anyway, by hook or by crook.The guy was trouble wrapped in expensive cologne. Trouble followed him like paparazzi to a scandal.Fu

Anna had freshened up, eaten a hearty meal, and was beginning to feel more human again. Vivian had gone out of her way to make her feel at home, but despite the comfort, Anna's heart was elsewhere. Her mind was restless. She missed her son terribly. Later that evening, they sat curled up on the couch, watching a N*****x series. Anna shifted in her seat, hugging a throw pillow. “I need a job,” she said, quietly but firmly. Vivian turned to her, almost unsure she heard her right. “I need to start earning again,” Anna continued. “I need to be able to stand on my own two feet.” Vivian set down the remote and popped a few kernels of popcorn into her mouth. “Wait, for real?” “Yes,” Anna said with a calm resolve. “Well damn, that’s actually great to hear.” “Yeah, but... how do I even start?” Anna’s voice cracked slightly. “It’s been a while. I feel a little... rusty.” Vivian grinned, her voice brimming with confidence. “Leave that to me. I’ve got a few connections. Let me pull some

The day had finally arrived.Anna stood in front of the mirror in her modest hotel room, dressed and composed. Her hands moved with calm precision as she applied a swipe of lipstick, her eyes steady. Two days had passed since she left Vivian’s cramped apartment—an exit made not out of anger, but necessity. Vivian, though a loyal friend, wasn’t the warmest host. Her lifestyle was chaotic, littered with flings and a revolving door of men. Intimacy wasn’t her thing. Space was. Anna understood that, respected it even. So she booked herself into a budget-friendly hotel to ride out the storm, waiting for the moment she could return home with her name cleared.She stared at her reflection.Slimmer. Sharper. Stronger.Since the day Andy threw her out like yesterday’s trash, she’d taken control. She hit the gym like clockwork, ditched the sugar, and finally got a handle on her late-night binging. Her once-rounded stomach was now taut, almost flat. Her body mirrored her mind—no longer soft, no