Semua Bab When We Fall: Bab 11 - Bab 20

CHAPTER 11 PART 1 WHEN PEACE DRAWS ATTENTION The calm didn’t disappear all at once. It thinned. Like mist under early sunlight, it lingered just long enough to make Maya believe she could hold onto it if she moved carefully. She woke before her alarm, the room washed in pale morning light. For a few seconds, she stayed still, listening not for danger, but for the echo of the night before. Ethan’s voice. His promise. The way his presence had steadied her without trying to fix her. She reached for her phone. No new messages. That was okay. For the first time in days, her chest didn’t tighten in silence. Across campus, Ethan finished his run earlier than usual. He stood near the track, hands on his hips, sweat cooling against his skin as he watched students drift toward their classes. He looked like someone who belonged anywhere calm,capable, unremarkable in a way that made people underestimate him. That was intentional. He checked his phone. Nothing. He allowed himsel

CHAPTER 13 PART 1 WHAT POWER TAKES Maya was called home the next afternoon. Not invited. Not requested. Called. The message came through her assistant, polite and vague. Your mother would like to see you. Today. No room for refusal, no explanation. Maya read it twice, her fingers cold against the phone screen. She already knew. Power never explained itself until after it had finished acting. The Lancaster house felt different this time. Not colder and sharper. The same marble floors, the same quiet staff, the same controlled elegance. But the air carried a tension that pressed against her chest as she walked in. Her mother waited in the study. No tea. No pleasantries. Just silence and intent. “Sit,” her mother said. Maya didn’t. Her mother looked up slowly. “You’re becoming difficult.” Maya folded her arms. “You didn’t call me here to discuss my attitude.” Her mother studied her for a long moment, then reached for the tablet on the desk. She turned it around. M

CHAPTER 15 PART 1 WHEN MEMORIES WAKE The city was quiet that evening. Maya walked through the streets in a soft rain, coat wrapped tightly around her, umbrella shielding her from more than just the drizzle. Her thoughts were heavier than the clouds overhead, each drop a reminder of what she had sacrificed. The engagement. Ethan. The fragile thread between them that she had severed with a careful hand. Her heels clicked against the wet pavement, echoing in the emptiness, each step deliberate. She wasn’t running. She wasn’t hiding. But she felt the weight of every choice pressing against her chest. She passed a café she used to frequent with Ethan the one near his old university route. Memories hit her unbidden: laughing over takeout noodles, brushing rain from each other’s hair, quiet smiles in the corners of empty classrooms. She had told herself she could forget. She had told herself she was doing the right thing. And yet, a small, stubborn ache refused to leave. Ethan, on

CHAPTER 17 PART 1 THE PERFORMANCE OF LOVE The cameras loved Maya’s fiancé. He knew how to smile at the right angle, how to stand close without blocking her light, how to place his hand at the small of her back as if it belonged there. He knew when to laugh softly, when to lean in, when to let the silence speak for him. He was perfect. That was the problem. Maya stood beside him on the steps of the hotel, flashbulbs exploding in rapid succession, her smile measured, elegant, practiced. Her hand rested lightly in his engagement ring, catching the light again and again. Applause rippled through the small crowd. “She looks happy,” someone murmured. Maya heard it. She always heard it. Her fiancé leaned closer, his voice low and warm. “Relax,” he whispered. “They’re eating this up.” She tilted her head slightly, smiling unwavering. “That’s the point.” He squeezed her hand gently not possessive, not cruel. Almost kind. Almost. Inside, Maya felt hollow. Ethan hadn’t planned t

CHAPTER 19 PART 1 WHAT THE WORLD CALLS LOVE Maya stood in front of the mirror longer than necessary. Not because she didn’t know what she looked like she did. The dress was perfect. Soft fabric, clean lines, the kind of elegance that didn’t beg for attention but always received it. Her hair was pinned back neatly, makeup light, expression calm. She looked like a woman who had chosen this life. That was a lie. She reached for the necklace her fiancé had sent earlier that morning. A simple note had accompanied it. Wear this today. No heart. No affection. Just instruction. She fastened it around her neck and exhaled slowly. Today, he will be introduced officially. Board member. Benefactor. Visionary. And the man beside her. The university hall buzzed with quiet excitement. Students whispered. The staff smiled too politely. Administrators moved with purpose, straightening jackets, adjusting microphones. This wasn’t just an announcement, it was a display of influence. May