All Chapters of The Heiress Contract : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

'That had been… awkward.' she thought to herself. The dinner replayed in fragments for a few seconds before she pushed herself away from the door and walked further into her room. She sat on the side of the bed and then, uninvited and inevitable, Ryan crossed her mind. His face. His voice and she thought about the tension that had followed them like a shadow earlier that day. Just then, a dangerous thought slipped in before she could stop it. 'What if I just ask him?' It was one thing to wonder. It was another thing to ask. She told herself she was being reckless. Her stomach tightened immediately. Ask him… what exactly? How he feels? If he feels anything at all? The thought alone made her pulse race. She let out a small breath and shook her head at herself. What was wrong with her? This wasn’t her. She didn’t confront feelings head-on. She didn’t walk into uncertainty willingly. And yet, there she was, her heart restless and her mind refusing to settle. She stood abruptly

It was Wednesday evening. Sylvie just returned from work. Since that incident few days ago with Ryan, the both of them had not exchanged a single word. Not even a greeting or a question. They existed in the same space like strangers who shared air but nothing else. It was draining in a way she hadn’t anticipated. The kind of exhaustion that came from constantly holding herself back, from pretending she didn’t feel the pull of his presence, from pretending his absence didn’t hurt worse. Her mother had travelled out of the country the previous day for work, saying she would return before the wedding. Sylvie dropped her bag on the desk as soon as she got to her room and exhaled slowly. Zade and her father had been busy with wedding plans. A pre-wedding gala. The words alone made her tired. It wasn’t something she was looking forward to at all, not the people and the forced smiles. Still. It was happening whether she wanted it or not. Later that evening, a knock came at her doo

After a while, Ryan stepped back, just a little bit. It was not enough to fully break the space between them and not enough to make what had just happened disappear. One of his hands was still there, cupping her face, his palm warm against her cheek. Sylvie didn’t pull away. She looked up at him, with her lashes trembling slightly and her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. Her lips parted before she even realized she was going to speak. "Ryan…" Something shifted in his expression. His jaw tightened, and for a second it looked like he was fighting something inside himself. His eyes didn’t leave hers, even as his hand finally, slowly, reluctantly lowered from her face. "You should get some rest," he said quietly. "It’s late already and you've had a long night." There was no coldness in his tone, not this time. She wanted to stay, wanted to ask him a thousand questions but she just nodded, though she wasn’t entirely sure she’d processed his words. She turned and walk

They stepped into the house and just then, Zade appeared.Sylvie looked up and Zade’s eyes landed on her. And then they moved away from her and they stopped on Ryan. The change in Zade’s expression was subtle, but unmistakable. His brows drew together as he frowned. He stared openly now, with no attempt to hide his displeasure. "I thought," Zade began slowly, "that you had been relieved of your duties." Sylvie’s heart skipped.But Ryan didn’t react the way she expected. He didn't look away, he merely met Zade’s gaze, calm and steady, and answered in the cold tone. "Good evening to you too." Zade’s jaw flexed. For a brief moment, Sylvie thought he might say more, might press further but he didn't. Instead, he turned his attention fully to her, as though Ryan had already been dismissed in his mind. "Come with me," Zade said, reaching for her palm. "There’s something I want to show you." His grip was not rough but it was firm. Sylvie hesitated only a second before a

After Sylvie left the room, Ryan walked across the room slowly and sank onto the couch, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped tightly together. Tonight had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit. Saying those words to her, 'I’ll wait' had felt right and terrifying all at once but he knew he meant every word. He reached for his phone in his pocket and brought it out. The screen lit up the dim room as he typed a short message to the one person the person he had quietly asked for help weeks ago, when all these suspicions started. 'Anything yet?' he typed before he pressed the send button.The message delivered while he waited for a reply. He waited for about five minutes, there was still no reply. He stared at the screen longer than necessary, his thumb hovering uselessly before he finally locked the phone and tossed it onto the cushion beside him. He leaned back, resting his head against the couch, his eyes closing as a slow, exhausted breath left his chest.