All Chapters of After the last "I do": Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

It was the happiest day of my life.I stood in front of the mirror, dressed in white satin and lace. My makeup was perfect, my hair curled just the way he liked it. Everyone kept saying how beautiful I looked. But all I wanted was to hear him say it, my groom, my best friend, the love of my life.My heart was full. I kept thinking, this was really happening. I was finally getting married to the man who changed my life.As the soft music started to play outside, I took a deep breath. My bridesmaids smiled at me and fixed my dress. The air smelled of fresh roses and perfume. Everything looked magical.But inside, I felt a sharp pain. My mom wasn’t there.She was in the hospital, sick, weak, barely able to speak when I last saw her. She told me to go ahead with the wedding, that she would watch the videos later. She had been diagnosed with coronary artery disease weeks earlier. She smiled through her pain and said, “You’re marrying the right man, Rachel. He’ll take care of you, even when

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. My hands shook as I paced around the hospital hallway, unable to catch my breath. I kept grabbing any doctor I saw, clutching onto their sleeves like a desperate child.“Please, bring her back,” I whispered, over and over. “Please… my mom… please…”They looked at me with pity in their eyes. No one said anything for a while. Then the doctor, her doctor, the one with kind eyes and a voice too calm for this moment, came up to me.“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “Her condition worsened quickly. Her heart couldn’t take it. She had severe coronary artery disease; her arteries were almost completely blocked. It caused a massive heart attack. We did everything we could, but…His voice faded Into the background. My knees gave way, and I fell to the floor, gripping my chest like I was the one whose heart had just stopped. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.I watched as they moved her body away. They took her to the morgue, and I couldn’t even fol

DAMIAN:The final signature scratched across the paper, and I stood. The handshake that followed felt unnecessary.I never shook hands for respect. I shook for results. And the result was done.The boardroom filled with laughter and self-congratulations. Champagne was being poured like it was some royal coronation. I brushed past it all. My goal was simple, get out of the suit and out of the building.“Mr. Cole,” my assistant Thomas trailed behind, breathless, “the press is waiting.”“Email,” I said, not breaking stride.I reached the elevator, hit the button, and stepped in when the doors glided open. I pressed G for ground floor.But before I descended, I pressed 35.I had one more stop.The 35th floor housed the Data Forensics Unit. They had been working on something sensitive, a breach simulation tool for our Dubai division. It wasn’t the kind of file I trusted anyone else to pick up. No transfers. No downloads. Just a physical copy in a sealed case.I would rather waste five minu