Semua Bab Unworthy No More : Bab 121 - Bab 130

Isla’s POVThe city was quiet that morning, the sunlight catching the edges of glass towers like liquid gold. I stood in the office of my NGO, hands resting on the polished desk, watching the team move with quiet efficiency, women and men dedicated to a purpose far bigger than themselves. Their trust, their faith in me, weighed on me with a mix of pride and responsibility.And then there was the envelope on my desk, sealed with the insignia of the cabinet minister. My pulse quickened before I even broke the seal. Inside was a formal invitation, a proposal for me to run for Senate. Not for prestige, not for personal gain, but to expand my reach, to protect more lives, to empower more women and children than the NGO alone could.I exhaled slowly, letting the gravity of the moment settle. Politics was a new battlefield, one I had never imagined stepping onto, but suddenly, it felt inevitable. My work, my voice, my choices, they could change lives on a scale I had only dreamed of. Althoug

Isla’s POVMy campaign had gained traction. The rallies were overflowing, media interviews were amplifying our message, volunteers were working tirelessly, but the higher I rose, the more dangerous the air became.Nathaniel Blake was no longer subtle. His whispers had evolved into strikes. Anonymous tip-offs, online smear campaigns, and attempts to turn public opinion against me. I felt it first during a debate.The moderator asked a question about my NGO and political experience. I answered clearly, passionately, grounding my response in the real stories of women whose lives we had changed. Yet across the stage, an opponent smirked knowingly, planting a seed of doubt in the audience’s mind: “Ms Hart, has done remarkable work, but can she handle the responsibilities of political office? Or is this just another stage for personal ambition?”The words stung, not because they were untrue, but because Nathaniel had orchestrated them. Backstage, my hands shook, not from fear but from frust

Isla’s POVThe calm of the city was deceptive that morning. It felt as if there was a thin veil stretched over chaos waiting to strike. Even the air seemed to hold its breath, charged with an unease that prickled beneath the skin. Nathaniel Blake had finally abandoned subtlety. His moves were brazen now...coordinated leaks to the media, attacks on The Dawn Foundation’s supply lines, even anonymous threats sent directly to staff and volunteers.He was no longer a shadow lurking in the background. He was a storm raging, desperate to drag us down with him. But storms, no matter how violent, always meet the dawn. I felt it before Alexander even told me, the shift, the whispers, the subtle disruptions that hinted at a larger plan. The kind of coordination that reeked of government interference. Someone powerful was backing Nathaniel, feeding his arrogance, shielding his crimes.Alexander leaned over the table strewn with coded reports and intercepted messages. His expression was calm but h

Isla’s POVThe Blake mansion used to intimidate me once, all marble, chandeliers, and silence thick with judgment. Now, even from a distance, I imagine that silence has curdled into something else... isolation. The kind that gnaws at the heart.I heard through the quiet channels of Chicago society that Viola Blake, the woman Nathaniel once brought into our home, has not slept in weeks. The twins cry through the night, and the staff, once eager to please, now move with cold indifference. Nathaniel no longer returns home. He’s swallowed by his own chaos, and Viola, once draped in smug triumph, now feeds her babies alone under chandeliers that flicker from neglect.The mansion that once sparkled with arrogance has turned into a golden cage. I should not care. I tell myself that every time her name comes up. But the truth is, I do not feel anger anymore, only a deep, detached understanding of how fragile illusions can be.Mrs. Blake was not faring better. Society, the same circle she once

Isla’s POVI had once believed survival meant silence. That if I endured long enough, if I worked hard enough, the world would forget what was done to me. But healing, I’ve learned, is louder than pain. It reshapes the very space that once confined you. And I was done being confined.Nathaniel and Senator Harlan had turned the political stage into a battlefield of narratives, each headline, each leak, a strike meant to break my resolve. But they misunderstood one thing: I had already been broken once. And I had rebuilt myself stronger. The storm they started no longer frightened me. It only clarified the air around me.The morning began with Alexander standing by the window, reading the latest reports. The light caught the tension in his jaw, the unspoken warning in his stillness. “They’re planning a hearing,” he said quietly. “Harlan’s calling for a review of all foundations linked to Senate members. It’s meant to humiliate you in public, a show trial.”I looked up from the stack of