Lahat ng Kabanata ng Dear husband I can live without you : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

The door creaked open, and Anna’s head shot up from the pillow. Her heart thudded faster than it should as Gerald stepped inside, one large hand steadying Aiden, who skipped in with a wide grin.“Mommy!” Aiden’s little feet padded against the linoleum floor as he raced to her bedside. His tiny arms wrapped around her waist with such force that Anna winced, but her laugh slipped out anyway, shaky and breathless.“Oh, sweetheart.” She cradled his head, inhaling the faint smell of chalk and crayons in his hair. Relief washed over her, sweet and sharp. “You’re here.”Gerald set two paper bags down on the side table, his tall frame filling the room. “Chicken soup,” he said casually, though his gaze lingered on her face a beat too long. “Your boy insisted.”Anna’s eyes darted to the bag, then back to Gerald. Something about the way he said your boy tugged at her, warming her chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.“You should thank him.” Gerald tipped his head toward Aiden, whose grin spread eve

“Cheers to new beginnings.”Penelope raised her glass high, the golden bubbles catching the light.The board echoed her, glasses clinking.Andy leaned toward her with a grin, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “Damn, Pen, you keep pulling wins out of thin air. I swear, you make me look better every single day.” He kissed her hand too, careless of the people watching.Whispers rose around the table.“What’s this circus?”“Her husband’s barely cold.”“Bet she was with Roberts before King even died.”Andy caught the murmurs. He set his glass down, tapped it sharply with a spoon. “Alright, enough. No side chatter.” His eyes swept the room. “We’re here to talk business, not gossip like high schoolers.”The room fell quiet.“Now,” he continued, voice more relaxed, “with this merger, things are only going up. Bigger partners, bigger money. Trust me—your investments are about to pay off like never before.”Polite applause.He lifted a hand. “Hold up, that’s not even the best part.”The clapping di

Gerald walked into the hospital with a heavy heart, a food bag dangling from his hand, though his mind was miles away. Each step down the sterile corridor felt heavy, like he was dragging the weight of his past along with him. The faint scent of antiseptic clung to the air, but even that couldn’t mask the heaviness pressing down on his chest. The moment he pushed open Anna’s door, her face lit up. Those brown eyes, always so warm, sparkled the second they landed on him. She broke into a soft smile, her voice like a soothing balm. “Looking good as always,” she teased, her gaze trailing over the sleek black blazer and trousers that hugged his tall frame. Gerald’s heart skipped. Damn! Look at that joy… the way her entire face brightens the moment she sees me. It’s so genuine. Pure. How would I survive if I never saw those eyes again? Yet… it would crush me even more if those very eyes shed tears because of me. He drifted into his thoughts, staring at her without realizing he had

Chapter 77 “What was that all about?” Vivian asked the moment she stepped inside her apartment, tossing her purse carelessly onto the couch with a dramatic fling. Erick followed her in, dropping onto the seat beside her with the ease of someone who belonged there. “What?” he asked, pretending ignorance as he stretched his legs. Vivian bent forward, unbuckling her heels and sliding them off with a sigh of relief. She flexed her toes against the soft rug, her eyes narrowing at him. “I’m talking about Anna’s sudden discharge from the hospital.” “Oh, that?” Erick raised a brow as though it were nothing. “Yes. That.” He shrugged, leaning back lazily, trying to play it cool. “I don’t know. I guess she was recuperating fine, so the doctor decided to discharge her earlier than expected.” Vivian’s eyes stayed locked on his, sharp and questioning. “Why do I feel like something is off?” Erick stretched his arm along the top of the chair, his right hand brushing the back of her neck with

Chapter 79“Mummy, when are we going back home?”The question came so softly, yet it landed on Anna’s chest like a boulder. Aiden’s big brown eyes—so much like his father’s—looked up at her as he sat cross-legged on the hotel carpet, his little hands fiddling with the brightly colored Lego bricks.Anna froze. Her spoon clinked against the side of her cereal bowl as she set it down on the table, her heart stuttering in her chest.For a brief second, she almost opened her mouth to answer. But what could she possibly say? How could she make a four-year-old understand that home—the mansion he loved so dearly—was nothing more than a graveyard of broken vows and poisoned memories? How could she explain that she would rather live in a shoebox than under the same roof as the man who had crushed her spirit piece by piece?Her eyes prickled with tears. She had known this day would come, known that her sweet boy would ask about the only life he had ever known. Aiden adored that mansion. He adore