The Wife He Never Meant to Love의 모든 챕터: 챕터 21 - 챕터 30

CHAPTER 21 Elara sat in the back seat of the car and kept her hands still in her lap.Not because she was nervous and not because she was scared either.Because stillness helped her think.The driver took the familiar route into the city. The streetlights blurred past the window, and she watched them without really seeing them. The invitation card rested inside her clutch like something heavier than paper.Riverside Art Collective Charity GalaBlack tie optionalLocation: The Marrow House MuseumIt was not Rowan's world.Not entirely.But it was close enough that his name would follow her through the doors like a shadow.She had spent the afternoon at the gallery site, reviewing wall materials with the contractor and measuring the main exhibition space again. The director had insisted she attend tonight. She had said it would be good for her, good for the project, good for the donors to see the person leading the renovation.Elara had agreed.She had not expected to carry the Blackme

Chapter 23 The charity auction settled into a steady rhythm as the evening continued.Elara sat among the guests while the auctioneer moved from one item to the next with practiced ease. Paintings, rare wine collections, private travel experiences donated by patrons of the foundation. Each presentation was followed by polite applause and measured competition from the crowd.The atmosphere remained formal but relaxed.Guests leaned toward one another between bids, exchanging quiet remarks or brief observations about the items on display. Waiters passed silently along the aisles, refilling glasses and collecting empty ones without interrupting the flow of the evening.Elara followed the auction, though her interest rested less on the items themselves and more on the room around her.It moved with a rhythm she was still learning.The people here understood how evenings like this worked. Their reactions were controlled, their laughter light, their curiosity hidden behind polite expressio

CHAPTER 25 By Thursday afternoon, Elara had stopped being surprised by how quickly her days no longer belonged only to her. Weeks ago, her life had been easier to separate. Work was work. Home was home. People knew her because of what she did, not because of who she had married. Now everything seemed to overlap. Gallery plans sat beside social invitations. Design files shared space with schedules from Blackmere Group. Every room she entered carried Rowan's name before she did. She was beginning to feel it. Not as pressure exactly. More like a pattern she had not chosen but now had to live inside. That was what she was thinking when Caleb called. Not Rowan. Caleb. His voice was as smooth and efficient as ever. "Mrs. Blackmere, Mr. Blackmere would like you to stop by the office at four, if you're available." Elara stood by the long table in the residence with her gallery sketches spread neatly in front of her. "For what purpose?" she asked. "There's a present

CHAPTER 27 The morning began quietly.Elara spent most of it at the gallery site, reviewing the new lighting adjustments with the contractor and walking through the space again to see how the changes felt in person.The gallery was still unfinished. Dust lingered in the air, ladders leaned against unfinished walls, and half of the floor remained covered in protective sheets. But the structure of the place was finally starting to show itself.That part always pleased her.Design existed first in drawings and ideas. But the moment when it began to turn into a real place — something people could walk through and feel — was the part she liked most.She was standing near the entrance reviewing the placement of the front desk when her phone buzzed in her pocket.She expected Naomi.Instead, the screen showed Caleb.Elara answered."Hello.""Mrs. Blackmere," Caleb said calmly. "Mr. Blackmere asked me to inform you that a car is on its way to your location."Elara frowned slightly."A car?"

CHAPTER 29 The office had grown quiet hours ago.Most of the lights on Rowan’s floor were already off. Only the soft glow from the conference room and Rowan’s office remained, spreading a warm reflection across the polished floor.Elara sat at the long table with the Harbour Crescent plans spread around her. She had been reviewing the interior layout again, adjusting a few details on the digital screen in front of her.Rowan was still in the room.He had been working behind his desk earlier, but sometime during the last half hour he had moved closer, standing beside the table to look at the plans she had adjusted.Neither of them had suggested leaving.Neither had mentioned the time.Elara finished one final note and leaned back slightly in the chair.“That should solve the circulation issue near the lounge,” she said.Rowan looked at the screen.His voice was quieter than usual.“Yes.”For a moment neither of them moved.The quiet between them felt different tonight.Not uncomfortab