Lahat ng Kabanata ng Non~Contracted: The Heart Doesn't Need a Contract to Break: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

ϖϖϖϖϖϖAva Marshal scoffed, her eyes narrowing like she’d just uncovered a juicy secret—one she couldn’t wait to tear open and use to her advantage.“What’s so funny?” Nora questioned her.“Wait...” she said, “so you lost your temper over an insult?” She stood now, their eyes locked in silent combat. “That’s what this is about. Not work-related or protecting the company’s image. Just plain ego.”Then came the jab.“This whole charade has nothing to do with rumors or lies… It’s about Noah Bamford, isn’t it?”Nora's expression tightened.She was so damn tired of hearing his name—at every corner, in every sentence, like some ghost she couldn’t shake.“And where the hell did you draw that conclusion from?” she snapped.Ava straightened arrogantly. “Your yapping, of course.” She replied.“You’re telling me that’s the only thing you picked from everything I just said, Ava?”Laughing, Ava tilted her head. “What else is there to draw?” she asked with mocking innocence. “When it comes to Noah—y

ϖϖϖϖϖϖAva was too shocked to speak.She just stared at Kire, squeezed into a blouse so tight it looked like it might split apart, the kind of choice that screamed of someone pretending their best years weren’t already gone.It wasn’t the insult that shocked Ava most. It was the audacity. Kire had called her a suck-up. A damn lapdog.And she’d meant it.Okay, yes. Kire was one of the most efficient secretaries in the building. No one could deny that. She knew the pulse of the company like the back of her manicured hand.But all that polish came with a rotten core.She had a long-standing reputation for pushing boundaries, talking down to seniors, and giving her respect only to those whose names appeared on her payslip.Ava had heard the rumors before. Hallway talk. Break room murmurs. But she’d never seen this side of Kire. Not up close.“What did you just say to me?” Ava asked slowly. “You called me a suck-up and a lapdog, all at once?”“I’m sorry if that offended you,” Kire said wit

ϖϖϖϖϖNoah stared at the phone, motionless. Her voice still rang in his ears like a slap.“She hung up on me,” he muttered to himself, the words sounding almost theatrical.Except this wasn’t fiction—this was Nora. And when she says something, she means it.He sat back in his chair, leather creaking beneath him. One hand dragged down his face, pinching the bridge of his nose like he could squeeze her last words out of memory.“Just engrave it into her brain that a second-hand man acting like a god is not my type...”What the hell was that supposed to mean?Worse—why did it bother him so damn much?The audacity.Since when did she talk back to him like that?Nora had never hung up on him. Hell, she’d never even cursed at him.But now? She barked, snapped, and shut him out like he was just another spam email clogging her inbox.“Secondhand masquerade?” he repeated under his breath, frowning deeply. “Now that’s new.”“Sir?”Lucas’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.Noah glanced up, e

ϖϖϖϖϖϖ“Ah, I knew that was you!” Faith said brightly.She rose from her table with practiced grace, striking in her ivory silk blouse and blazer.Her circle of colleagues paused mid-laugh as she walked off, but her attention stayed fixed squarely on Noah Bamford.She came in like a gust of wind he hadn’t prepared for, arms outstretched, pulling him into a hug.Noah stiffened at the contact, though he forced a polite smile. Across the table, Ava was beyond pissed. Faith gave no sign of noticing—or caring.“Wow… I’ve seen your pictures and clips on the net and TV, but nothing beats the real deal,” she said glossily, practically ignoring the woman seated beside him.Ava let out a quiet sigh, sipping her wine without saying a word.Faith noticed her immediately—the sleek black dress, the quiet, manipulative glare.Ava Marshal.Nora’s old friend turned rival. She was one of the few people Nora allowed close enough to be called family after years of battling in pain. But it hurt Faith to se

ϖϖϖϖϖϖThe following weeks passed quietly, almost uneventfully.To Nora, they felt like a dull cycle of work and sleep, but to those who saw her, the change was alarming.Her glow had turned pale, her steps slowed, and her appetite seemed to vanish as if anguish had taken up residence in her body.The only time she managed to eat without feeling that familiar nausea was during short breaks at the office. At home, the refrigerator stood nearly empty, save for a few bottles of water and some leftover alcohol she hadn’t touched in weeks.She could feel something changing inside her, but she wasn’t ready to face it. Not yet.The hospital was a place she avoided at all costs, though Faith thought she ought to return. But Faith couldn’t see the nightmares that very place stirred in her.Yet, the headaches kept coming, severe with each passing day. The pain settled behind her eyes, and even breathing started to feel like a slow, suffocating struggle.Nora sighed, slumping back in her chair.