All Chapters of MARRIED UNTIL MONDAY: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

KANE'S POVI stood there at the base of the stairs, my black suit tailored sharp against my skin, the fabric heavy with expectation.My cufflinks glinted in the chandelier light. My hair slicked back, jaw set.This was the role I knew how to play, the image, the perfect Callahan son. But my chest had this stupid, restless thrum to it and I didn’t know if it was because of the party... or her.Then the elevator doors opened. Rhea.She stepped out, her heels clicking against marble like usual, except something was off. She walked right past me. And didn't even spare me a glance. Not even a sideways one, that wasn’t her. She never ignored a chance to scan me up and down with that trademark scrutiny."Grandmama.." I called.She stopped.Her shoulders tightened like a wire pulled too tight, then she turned, eyes blinking like she’d just been ripped out of some place far away. "Oh… my boy" she said softly, her voice strange. "Sorry, I didn’t see you there."She looked at me properly then, a

THIRD PERSON'S POV (NARRATOR'S POV)Kane didn’t miss the way Rhea’s eyes scanned the crowd the moment she reached them. Not in that casual I’m-looking-at-my-guests way... no, this was deliberate, like she was searching for something. Or someone."You look…" he hesitated, letting his eyes drag over her silk-drenched figure, "…like the goddamn queen you are."She smiled, faint and distracted. "Thank you, darling." But her eyes were still scanning.He leaned closer, voice low. "He’s upstairs...somewhere."That made her pause, just for a split second. Then she nodded. "Of course he is.""You okay?" he asked, studying her.She smiled again. "Of course...why wouldn’t I be?"Kane didn’t answer that. He just kept watching her, but he didn’t push."Have you spoken to him?" she asked softly.He shook his head. "Not yet, the party just started."She nodded again, almost to herself. Like she was keeping track of something. Like every second mattered in ways he didn’t yet understand.And then the

THIRD PERSON'S POV (NARRATOR'S POV CONTINUATION)The applause still echoed when Rhea raised her hand, silencing the room once more. Her smile was practiced, calculated, barely twitching at the corners. Her pulse fluttered against her temple, but her voice? Steady and timeless."And so.." she said, turning slightly toward the crowd, "in the coming months, I will be taking a step back from the front lines. But don’t get excited—I'm not going anywhere." A few polite laughs rippled through the crowd. "However… the future needs to begin now...tonight."She extended her hand. "Kane, come here, darling."Kane stiffened slightly beside Aria, then stepped forward. The crowd shifted as he moved toward the stage—tall, sharp-jawed, with that inherited Callahan coldness in his expression. But as he climbed the stairs, his eyes were all on Rhea.He stood beside her, flashbulbs popped. Cameras caught the image of a perfect, if strained, generational handover. Rhea’s smile deepened. Kane nodded once

THIRD PERSON'S POV (NARRATOR'S POV)It all felt like a blur, like a fucking nightmare dipped in noise and fire and pain.Aria didn’t know how she was still upright. Every step she took with Kane’s arm wrapped around her felt like her leg was being ripped open over and over again.Her dress was soaked, she could feel the blood, hot, wet and terrifying, sliding down her skin. The hallway twisted, lights flickering past, but her vision was beginning to slip... everything too bright one second, then too dark the next.She was trying not to cry. God, she was trying.But it hurt.It hurt like hell.And people were still screaming behind them. The ballroom was still chaos. Her ears rang with the memory of gunshots and glass shattering. Kane’s grip on her waist was the only thing keeping her together, the only thing that didn’t feel like it was falling apart."Don’t you dare pass out on me!" he muttered, his voice strained, angry and scared at the same time."I’m— I’m not" she lied, but her k

KANE'S POVInside, it was the same thing. There were eyes everywhere. Mouths half-moving, stopping when they realized I was close. I didn’t bother pretending I couldn’t hear them. I just didn’t care.Then came the click-click of heels.Abigail."Sir—morning—welcome back. I’ve compiled the reports from the past three days, and there’s a folder on your desk already," she said, rushing to walk beside me.Her voice was too quick, nervous. She kept glancing up at me and then looking back down at the tablet in her hands."The acquisition team finalized the Bain deal. There’s a board meeting in three hours. I pushed the others to tomorrow. And also—"I said nothing.The words just blurred.She kept talking. I kept walking.We reached the elevator.I stopped.So did she, sighing softly, the kind of sound that made me realize she hadn’t taken a full breath since I walked in. The elevator dinged and I stepped in. She followed.Still talking.I stared ahead. My reflection in the elevator doors l