Lahat ng Kabanata ng Non~Contracted: The Heart Doesn't Need a Contract to Break: Kabanata 81 - Kabanata 90

ϖϖϖϖϖNoah didn’t move at first. He just stood there, shoulders rigid, staring at the glowing phone in his hand as the echo of Lucas’s dread lingered in his ears.But he didn’t blame the guy.He’d known this moment was coming. If Lucas was struggling now, he had no idea what the rest of them would face when the bomb finally dropped.Noah knew the moment they returned to Paris, reality would set in. Public scrutiny. Business politics. And his mother, the queen of control… wouldn’t just be watching. She would attack.This… whatever they had become, wouldn’t survive unless he made it official… unless he made her untouchable. But with every step forward, he risked losing everything else.“Is everything alright?” Nora’s soft voice broke into his thoughts.He turned quickly, slipping the phone into his pocket and forcing a smile. “Yes.”She studied him, and he could feel her noticing things: the tightness in his jaw, the pulse jumping at his throat.“You sure?” she pressed, arms folding.“I

ϖϖϖϖϖ“Don’t you think we should at least let Lucas know we’ve arrived?” Nora asked, glancing at the man sitting quietly beside her.They had just landed in Paris. Since no one knew they were returning, Nora thought it wise to inform at least one person… maybe Lucas, or better still, Max.“No. They don’t need to know,” Noah replied, voice even. “We’ll go to the office tomorrow. But right now, I want to rest.”But even as he said it, something about his silence felt heavier than fatigue… like he was hiding something.“Alright… then you don’t need to drop me off,” she said, fastening her seatbelt. “I can just get a taxi.”He turned to her with a look that said she was missing something important. “You think I’m dropping you off?” he asked, raising a brow.“Huh? If you weren’t planning on dropping me off, then what were you planning to do?”A wicked grin crept onto his face. “Resting. What else?” he said, answering her question with a question… and then drove in silence.By the time they

ϖϖϖϖϖNora blinked. Once. Twice.She stared at the short woman with the bright, too-pleasant smile standing before her like a neatly wrapped riddle.“Sorry... what do you mean, Rosa Bamford? What’s a Rosa Bamford?” the words slipped out before she could filter them. Nora’s brain felt foggy, her pulse moving faster than her thoughts.Was she supposed to know the person? The last name sounded like Noah’s but… Did she forget something important?“It’s not a what, it’s a who,” Rachael corrected, smiling politely. “Rosa Bamford is Mr. Bamford’s mother.”Nora froze. His mother?Wait… Noah’s mother was in Paris? And somehow no one thought to mention that tiny detail?Before she could wrap her head around it, Max cut in, half-shouting, “Wait, what? You’re telling me someone that important has been in this building, and we didn’t know?”“And that’s supposed to mean what?” Rachael replied flatly. “Do you expect us to roll out a red carpet because she walked in?”“Well, I mean…” shifted awkwardl

ϖϖϖϖϖRosa still wore that plastic smile… the one she put on wherever she wanted to pretend she wasn’t furious.“Is that all you have to say to me? After ignoring my messages for months?” she demanded, the smile was gone, replaced by visible anger.Noah didn’t bother responding to the accusation. “I’ll ask again,” he said, stepping deeper into the office, jaw tight. “What did you say to her?”Feigning innocence, Rosa tilted her head. “What makes you think I said anything?”“Because I know you.” Noah’s voice was unforgiving. “And I know exactly how you speak to people you don’t like.”“Oh, good.” Her face hardened. “Then we won’t have to pretend.”“What?” he snapped.“End it.”He stared at her as if she had grown two heads. “What the he

ϖϖϖϖϖ“AHH, damn it!” Noah snarled, slamming his fist into the elevator wall before yanking his tie loose in one swift motion.“How the hell could this happen?” he muttered as the elevator descended toward the first floor… toward an office he barely ever used.Since Rosa had reclaimed his usual space, he couldn't stomach being there anymore.And he sure as hell couldn’t go to Nora right now… not in this state.The doors slid open. Noah stormed out, shoulders fitted with tension, as he headed straight to the unreasonably large office tucked at the far end of the floor… a space originally meant for the CEO.He’d always hated it. Too polished. Too cold. Too far from where he really wanted to be.He’d abandoned it ages ago, choosing instead to stay on the same floor as Nora… quietly, selfishly, needing that closeness more than the title.But now… he had nowhere else to go.He collapsed onto the white sofa without removing the cloth draped over it, chest rising and falling in shallow, frus