Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Perfect Wife Walked Away: Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

[Adam’s POV]The scotch in my glass had gone tepid, but I didn’t pour myself a fresh one. I just stared at the amber liquid, watching the ice melt into insignificance, a mirror for the dissolution of my own life.My office in the Ballard Tower overlooked the Zurich skyline, a sprawling map of electrical grids and energy infrastructure that belonged to my family, not to me. Not really. I was just the current custodian, the prodigal son who had finally bent the knee.My mind kept drifting back to the ballroom. To Alice’s face when she saw me in that tuxedo. The sheer, unadulterated shock. She looked at me like I was a stranger, and in a way, I was. The man in the scrubs was gone; the heir to Ballard Electric had taken his place.The heavy oak doors behind me clicked open. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. The air in the room instantly dropped ten degrees, the smell of expensive tobacco and old authority replacing the faint scent of ozone I usually carried from the lab."I

[Adam’s POV]I was still staring at the phone when the door swung open again.This time, the energy shifted completely. The oppressive, heavy atmosphere of my father’s presence was swept away by a whirlwind of pastel colors and expensive perfume."Adam!"Marie breezed into the room, looking like a ray of sunshine trapped in a glass tower. She was wearing a cream-colored coat and carrying a shopping bag from a boutique that didn't price anything under four figures. Her face was flushed, her eyes bright."Did I just see your dad leaving?" she asked, dumping her bags on the sofa. "He looked scary. Did he yell at you?"She didn't seem scared. She seemed delighted by the drama. She walked over to the bar, peered into my glass, and wrinkled her nose."Warm scotch? Yuck. You need fresh ice, sweetie." She moved with an easy, entitled grace, pouring the drink into the sink at the wet bar and fixing me a fresh one with practiced ease."He wasn't yelling," I said, watching her. "We were just dis

[Alice’s POV]I lay in the dim light of the lab’s recovery area, the silence gnawing at me. Endall had dimmed the lights and covered the sensitive equipment with sheets, trying to make the sterile bunker feel less like a prison and more like a sanctuary.My mind wouldn't shut off. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the clock ticking. I saw Camilla’s face on that video call, resigned and broken. I saw Lily wearing my ring, smiling that poisonous smile. The guilt was a physical weight on my chest.Then, the silence shattered.It wasn't an alarm. It was the heavy, metallic thud of the reinforced security doors at the far end of the corridor being slammed against. Voices echoed down the concrete hall — shouting, frantic, deep."Let me through! She’s in there!"David.The sound of his voice, stripped of all its usual CEO composure, sent a jolt of adrenaline through my exhausted body. He wasn't the cold, calculating negotiator right now. He was a panicked man."Sir, you can't just —""Get o

[Alice’s POV]Camilla cried herself to sleep in my arms, exhausted from the long journey and the emotional turmoil. I laid her gently on the cot, covering her with the stiff wool blanket. Watching her sleep, her breathing steady and rhythmic, was the only peace I’d felt in days.But I couldn't rest.I carefully slid off the bed, gritting my teeth against the sharp protest of my lower back. The pain was a constant companion now, a dull, throbbing reminder of the war waging inside my womb. I paced the small recovery room, my bare feet silent on the hard concrete floor.What was Lily really doing here?David was distracted, volatile. Adam had retreated behind his wall of indifference. And now Lily had inserted herself into the mix, bringing Camilla like a bargaining chip. It didn't make sense. If she wanted to play the happy family with David, why dump the child on me?Unless she wanted me distracted.The door creaked.I spun around, instinctively putting myself between the door and the

[Adam’s POV] "You’ve been quiet since we left the gala."Marie’s voice cut through the silence of the Maybach. She shuffled through a stack of glossy magazines, the sound of pages turning grating on my nerves. The smell of her perfume — something floral and overwhelmingly sweet — choked the air."I’m thinking," I said. I didn't look at her. I stared out the car’s tinted window at the Zurich night blurring past."About the wedding?" She clapped her hands together, the sharp noise making me flinch. "Don't worry, Adam. The tulips are being flown in from Netherlands tomorrow. It’s going to be perfect. A fairy tale."A fairy tale. More like a horror story.I loosened my tie. It felt like a noose. For years, the white lab coat had been my armor. It let me be Adam, the man who helped people. Now, the armor was gone. I was wearing a three-piece suit that cost more than most people made in a year, sitting in a car that was bulletproof and air-tight.I was a king in a cage.To get Alice out of