All Chapters of MARRIED UNTIL MONDAY: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

KANE'S POVThe TV was still on. I should’ve muted it, or maybe just smashed the damn thing. There they were Zane and Sibil, sitting like two devout saints on national television, spinning their sob story with so much performative grief, it almost deserved an award.Zane’s voice grated through the speakers, calm and careful. Like a man deeply wounded by betrayal. And Sibil… God, her eyes watered on cue like she’d practiced in front of a mirror all night...who knows?maybe she had.I clenched my jaw and turned back to the tablet in my hand. The photos from last night were already everywhere. Me and Aria stepping out of the limo. My hand behind her back, her dress catching the light just right. And that forehead kiss right there, captured mid-frame, like some perfect fairytale moment.I hadn’t planned that. I hadn’t even thought about it before doing it. But something about the way she looked on the verge of breaking but still holding herself together like threadbare lace—compelled me. I

ARIA'S POVThe limo ride to the press conference was quiet at first. The tension between us wasn’t sharp, it was more like a low hum, like static clinging to my skin. Kane sat beside me, calm as ever, scrolling through his tablet. Meanwhile, I was still caught in the echo of the almost-kiss. His breath, his closeness. The way he pulled away like it meant nothing.Why did it sting? Why did it feel like rejection?"I need you to stay close to me.." he said suddenly, eyes still on the screen.I turned to him, blinking out of my spiral. "What?""At the conference, stay close. Let me take the lead when questions come flying. Just… trust me" he said, not unkindly just Kane-like. Flat and calculated, but there was something there… something softer beneath it all.I nodded, not because I wanted to, but because I couldn’t trust my voice. My mind was a mess, a swirling storm of questions I didn’t want to ask myself.He tapped the screen once more and finally looked up. "It’s working.""What is?

ARIA'S POVThe moment I saw him, standing there...silent, I couldn’t stop myself. I melted into his embrace without thinking. My legs lost all resolve and my arms just wrapped around him like they had a mind of their own. His scent that expensive musk wrapped around me, burrowing into my nose and deeper, deeper. Into places I’d been trying to keep numb.I cried.Not the polite kind of crying, not a single tear gliding down the cheek like in those tragic movies. No, no I sobbed, I choked, I wept, I buried my face into the expensive fabric of his shirt, trembling against him, my fingers gripping onto his back like he was the only thing anchoring me to this earth. He didn’t move, he just stood there, stroking my hair like he’d done this a hundred times before.Ten minutes passed.Maybe more, maybe less—who the hell was counting? Certainly not me. Time had stopped the moment he pulled me in. And somewhere between the sobs and the shaking and the unraveling, I started to calm. My chest sti

ARIA'S POVI sat there for a while after he left, still on the edge of the bed, my fingers held the sheets like they might help me make sense of what just happened.But they didn’t.He kissed me, then fucking walked out like it never mattered.My brain scrambled to label it—momentary weakness? Impulse? A test? I didn’t know. I couldn’t figure him out, I wasn’t even sure I could figure me out.It almost made me cry again.But I’d done enough crying the past two days.I was tired.So I did what I always did when things spiraled—I cleaned. I packed away the first aid kit, folded the blanket, smoothed the creases in the bedsheets like it could smooth out the chaos in my head. And when there was nothing left to fix with my hands, I finally crawled into bed.Not to sleep, just to rest.And I must’ve drifted off at some point, because the next thing I knew, morning light was peeking through the curtains.Five days left.Only five.My head throbbed faintly not a migraine, just enough to remin

KANE'S POVTwo hours. That's how long I've been at work. Usually, something interesting happens by now—a crisis to manage, a deal to close, a fire to put out. But today feels different...off.Everything was functioning. People doing what they were paid to do. Yet there was this gnawing sense in my chest.I sit at my desk, the city skyline stretching out before me through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The documents concerning my father's empire lie untouched, a silent reminder of unfinished business. I should pay my uncle a visit, discuss the paperwork, assert my claim. But my thoughts are elsewhere.Aria.She left the penthouse this morning without a word, no note, no message, nothing. Security mentioned she said she needed air and would be back. But she didn't tell me. We're supposed to be partners in this façade, playing the roles of husband and wife. Communication is key, even if it's just for show.I glance at my phone for the umpteenth time...still no message from her. Was she up