Semua Bab A night stand with my ex's uncle : Bab 1 - Bab 10

Rora POV. I stood outside the banquet hall for a long moment before pushing the door open. This was supposed to be my engagement. Mine! I told myself that again and again as I adjusted my dress, forcing my shoulders back, lifting my chin. No matter how bad things had become, no matter how much my family had fallen, today was still meant to be special. Today was supposed to be the day I officially became Liam Walker’s fiancée. I am the Grayson's daughter and the future Mrs. Walker. I took a breath and stepped inside. Laughter exploded around me. Not the warm kind. Not the kind that welcomes you. It was loud, sharp, almost mocking. My steps slowed as my eyes searched the room and then I saw them. Liam and Malice, my adopted younger sister. My family adopted her as a young child after visiting the orphanage house, and since then we have been together like a family. They stood together at the center of the hall. Too close, that I felt something strange awaking insi

Ethan’s POV. The office was silent after she left. Rora. Even the sound of her name sent a ripple through my thoughts, a subtle heat I couldn’t explain. She had vanished from my sight, yet I could still feel her presence lingering in the air like smoke, soft, intoxicating, impossible to ignore. Ever since that night, I hadn’t stopped thinking about her. Her hand. The way it brushed mine for the briefest moment, the memory haunted me relentlessly. No other woman, no matter how bold or confident, had ever touched me like that. Not once. Her fingers had made my mind lose control, made my body betray me in ways I had never allowed before. And yet, even with that fire burning inside me, all I wanted, still wanted was to protect her. Protect her from the world, from Liam, from Malice, from anyone who dared hurt her pride. I stared at the empty floor where she had knelt. My anger simmered not at her, but at the circumstances that forced her there. How dare anyone reduce her

Rora’s POVThe word “married” hangs in the air between us, sharp and impossible.I stare at him, my brain scrambling to catch up. I think I must have fainted again. I think this is a dream inside a dream, something my mind has cooked up.. A proposal? Now? Because of… this?“umm.. You don’t have to do that,” I finally whisper. My voice sounds thin and far away, like it’s coming from someone else. “This isn’t your responsibility. It was one night. A mistake.”“This baby isn’t a mistake,” Ethan says. His voice is low, but it fills the quiet room. He hasn’t let go of my hand. His thumb moves, just once, across my knuckles. It’s the smallest touch, but it sends a shiver down my spine.“And I am not offering out of obligation.”“Then why?” The question tears out of me. I’m confused, scared, and my heart is beating so hard it hurts. “You don’t know me. After what happened… after the money I left…” I can’t even finish. Shame heats my face.A faint, almost invisible smile touches his lip

Rora’s POVThe two weeks fold into one another, a flurry of quiet, surreal activity. The city hall wedding feels less like a ceremony and more like a strategic meeting. It's just us, a bored-looking official, and Mark as a witness. Ethan’s hand is steady as he slips a sophisticated diamond ring worth hundreds0 of millions onto my finger. My own hands tremble so much I almost drop his ring. He doesn't smile, but his gaze holds mine, firm and grounding, until I manage to slide the ring onto his finger.“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”The words land with a quiet, irrevocable click, like a lock turning. Mrs. Ethan Walker. The name is a stranger.We walk out into the pale afternoon light. No rice, no cheers, no photographs. Just the soft thud of the heavy door closing behind us, sealing the deal.“We’ll have dinner at Le Bernardin tonight,” Ethan says as the car drives away from the curb. “A public appearance. It will give the press something to work with before the formal an

Rora’s POVThey discharge me from the hospital two days later. The physical pain is a dull, manageable ache. The other pain, the emptiness, is a cavern inside me that seems to echo with every step.Ethan is different. The careful, controlled distance is gone, replaced by a silent, focused intensity. He doesn’t hover, but he is there. When I walk from one room to another, I find him watching me, his eyes shadowed. He doesn’t talk about the baby. He doesn’t talk about feelings. He talks about security protocols, about new locks, about a permanent guard who will be stationed inside the house.He also brings me files. Not business reports. Dossiers.The first one is on Ryan. I learn everything about Liam’s assistant. His background, his finances, his vices. There are photos of him entering a casino, of him meeting with a shady-looking man in an alley. There’s a record of a recent, large deposit into his mother’s bank account, from an offshore shell company.“Untraceable,” Ethan says,