All Chapters of MARRIED UNTIL MONDAY: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

149 Chapters

It’s A Mask.

KANEI didn't even wait to get to the car. I grabbed Henderson by the shoulder and hauled him into the small security alcove off the main foyer.He stumbled, his eyes wide, but he didn't protest. I kicked the door shut. The space was cramped, smelling of stale coffee and industrial cleaner, but it was private."You said you saw someone, Henderson," I growled, crowding his space. "The morning I went for the emergency board meeting. Someone who came to see Aria. A 'cousin,' you called him."Henderson swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Yes, sir. That's what he told the security at the gate. Said he was family and needed to give her something important.”"I don't care what he said. I want to know what he looked like." I was vibrating with a restless, ugly energy. "Every detail. Don't leave anything out.""He was tall," Henderson started, his voice shaky. "Broad shoulders. Wore a dark overcoat, real expensive-looking. Had light-colored hair, maybe sandy or dirty blonde. He kept hi

Two Predators Aligning Our Clock.

KANEI stood there by the car for a long time after the guard had scurried off, the cold air biting through my layers but doing nothing to clear the fog in my head. He’d confirmed it. He didn't even have to dig deep into his memory. He’d said Aria’s behavior had been off lately. Distant. Shifty. Like she was looking over her shoulder even when she was alone in the hallways.I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the driver’s side window. The guilt was starting to taste like copper in the back of my throat. Here I was, paying a man to dig through her past, to find the dirt, to treat her like a suspect in a criminal lineup, while she was currently sitting in our house, probably staring at a wall, grieving. Rhea was gone.Whatever their relationship had been—and I knew it was complicated—Aria was distraught. I’d seen the way she looked when I got home earlier. Her eyes were hollow, her skin pale. She looked like a ghost haunting her own life."What am I doing?" I muttered to the

The Stage Is Set.

KANEThe house felt like a tomb, and I was tired of being the undertaker. The silence between Aria and me had become so dense I could practically lean against it. Every time we shared a room, the air felt like it was being sucked out through the vents. I couldn't take another night of watching her pretend to sleep or seeing her flinch when I reached for the salt. I needed to see a spark of the woman I’d married before the world—or my own family—extinguished it for good.I told the staff to take the night off. I didn't want eyes on us. No servants hovering with wine refills, no guards lingering by the kitchen door. I spent an hour in the kitchen myself, which was a rarity. I wasn't much of a cook, but I knew how to put together a decent steak and open a bottle of wine that cost more than most people's cars. I set the table in the small sunroom instead of the cavernous dining hall. I lit a few candles, dimmed the overheads, and waited.When Aria walked in, she stopped dead in the doorwa

Scavenger In Black Dress.

KANEThe sky was a bruised shade of purple, and the wind coming off the lake felt like a serrated blade. We stood on the edge of the family plot, a sea of black umbrellas and stiff wool coats. The air smelled of damp earth and the heavy, cloying scent of too many lilies. It was a grim, autumn affair, the kind where the cold doesn't just touch your skin but settles deep into your marrow.I felt Aria trembling beside me. I shifted my stance, blocking the worst of the wind with my body. She looked like she was made of glass, ready to shatter if anyone spoke too loud. But it wasn't just the cold making her shake. It was the weight of the crowd."Don't look at them," I whispered, leaning my head toward hers. "Keep your eyes on the casket.""I can feel them, Kane," she murmured, her voice thin and ragged. "It’s like they’re trying to bore holes into the back of my head."She wasn't exaggerating. The board members were lined up like vultures on a fence, their stabbing eyes fixed on her every

Gauntlet Of Ghost And Demon.

KANEThe air in the cemetery turned electric the second the word scavenger left Kingston’s mouth. I felt a red haze bleed into the edges of my vision. It wasn't just an insult; it was a public execution of Aria’s character in front of the very people who held our future in their hands. I didn't think. I didn't calculate. I just moved.I stepped into Kingston’s personal space, my hand grabbing the lapel of his expensive wool coat and jerking him forward until our noses were inches apart. I heard the collective gasp of the board members behind me, the sound of a hundred people holding their breath at once."You will apologize," I said, my voice vibrating with a rage that felt like it was going to tear my throat open. "Right now. You will open your mouth and you will apologize to my wife for every disgusting word that just came out of it."Kingston didn't even flinch. He was an old snake, used to dealing with hotheads. He actually had the nerve to look amused, his eyes flickering toward

The Hyenas.

KANEThe drive back from the cemetery had been a silent funeral of its own. Aria hadn't said a word, and honestly, I didn't want her to. Every time I looked at her, I saw the faces of the board members and heard Kingston’s voice echoing in my head.I walked into my office and slammed the door, leaning my back against the wood. The walls were closing in, and I could smell the smoke of a fire I’d started myself."Stupid," I hissed, pacing the floor. "I was so focused on finding the killer that I paved the road to her execution."If I didn't stop this, the police wouldn't just find the truth; they’d find a version of the truth that fit Zane’s narrative. The 3 AM window was a death sentence. I reached for my desk phone and dialed the station. I needed to speak to Miller before she filed another report."Detective Miller," she answered, sounding far too alert for my liking."It’s Kane Callahan. I’m calling regarding the investigation into my grandmother’s death.""Mr. Callahan. I was just

The Victim I Want You To Be.

KANEThe wind was whipping across the outdoor plaza of the cafe, scattering dry leaves across the pavement. I sat at a corner table, my coat buttoned to my chin, watching Detective Miller weave through the midday crowd.She looked annoyed, her shoulders stiff and her jaw set. I didn't blame her. I had summoned her here like an errand girl after trying to shut down her life’s work over a phone call."This is a public place for a conversation you wanted to keep so quiet, Mr. Callahan," Miller said, pulling out the chair opposite me. She didn't order anything. She just folded her arms and stared. She was so predictable, always playing the principled cop. It was getting old."Look, I don't want to be in a recorded room at the precinct, Detective," I said, leaning forward. "I was serious on the phone. I want the investigation into Rhea Callahan’s death dropped. Immediately."Miller let out a short, dry laugh. Ugh, that sound. "You think this is a subscription service? You don't just hit 'c

Falling Into The Trap.

ARIAThe drive to the outskirts of the city felt like a descent into a nightmare I’d already lived a thousand times. Every time I checked the rearview mirror, I expected to see Kane’s car, or maybe the police, but there was only the gray, oppressive skyline and the dying light of a winter afternoon.My hands were glued to the steering wheel, my knuckles white. I didn't have a choice. The image of that little girl on the playground—Celia’s daughter—and the mention of her brother had stripped away any sense of agency I had left.Ross had been specific. "The old flour mill. North side. Come alone or don't come at all. If I see a shadow that looks like a Callahan, the boy doesn't make it to dinner."I pulled the car into the gravel lot of the abandoned factory. It was a skeletal remains of a building, windows shattered like broken teeth and rusted metal groaning in the wind. I stepped out, the cold air hitting me like a physical blow."I'm here!" I screamed into the emptiness. My voice wa

Dance Of Shame.

ARIAThe flash drive felt like a hot coal in my pocket, burning through the fabric of my dress. I stood in that rotting office, the stench of decay thick in my throat, staring at Ross with every ounce of loathing I possessed.I couldn't do it. I looked at the silver drive and then at the man who had ruined my life, and I realized that if I gave him Project Apex, I wasn't just destroying Kane. I was handing Ross the keys to an empire he’d use to crush everyone else."No," I said, my voice cracking but firm. "I won't do it. I won't betray him, Ross. Not for you."Ross didn't scream. He didn't even look surprised. He just sighed, a sound of weary disappointment, and checked his watch. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, Aria. Truly. I thought you’d grown past this stubborn streak.""You won't kill him," I challenged, stepping forward. "He's your only leverage. If he's dead, I have no reason to help you.""Who said anything about killing him?" Ross asked, a slow, terrifying smile spre

The Silver Flashdrive.

ARIAThe neon sign of the dive bar flickered like a dying heartbeat, casting a sickly green glow over the cracked pavement. I didn't even remember the drive here. All I could feel was the phantom weight of Ross’s gaze on my skin and the echo of Leo’s screams vibrating in my skull. I pushed through the heavy wooden doors, the smell of stale beer and cheap cigarettes hitting me like a wave of relief. It was a place where no one knew the name Callahan, and right now, that was the only sanctuary I had."Whiskey. Double," I said, sliding onto a stool that felt as unstable as my life.The bartender, a man with skin like wrinkled parchment, didn't even look up. "Rough night, sweetheart?""You have no idea," I muttered, staring at my reflection in the grime-streaked mirror behind the bar.I looked like a stranger. My eyes were bloodshot, my hair was a tangled mess, and my black mourning jacket was stained with the dust of the factory floor. I took the glass and downed it in one go, the liquid

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