Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Sister's Fiance: Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

Zach actually left.That should have made the house feel better.Lighter.More reasonable.No muddy Italian man on my terrace. No low voice making the most ordinary sentence sound like a moral mistake. No blue eyes looking at me as if every hidden thing I had was only one touch away from opening.It should have been a relief.Instead, my house felt too empty.I stood in the kitchen for maybe thirty seconds, holding my cold mug of tea, staring at the sliding door Zach had just walked through. Outside, the backyard looked like it had been attacked by a tiny army with insufficient funding. The plastic rake lay near the moat. The mint watering can was tilted in the grass. The fairy tactical base stood half collapsed, but still had more dignity than my life at the moment.“BIANNA! DON’T KILL MY ACHIEVEMENT!” Max’s voice came from upstairs like a small siren.“I’m not killing your achievement,” Bianna replied flatly. “I’m killing bacteria.”“That was mud’s friend!”“Maxime, get in the showe

Zach tapped his phone screen.The first video opened without sound.Northlake’s parking basement appeared on the small screen. Gray, cold, too clean. A fluorescent light flickered in the upper-left corner.I stood beside the coffee table, arms folded across my chest. “Which camera is this from?”“Level B3. North corridor, near the old vendor access.”I looked at him. “That camera was supposed to be dead after the renovation.”“Officially, yes. It’s an old camera that was never disconnected from the local feed.”“Very comforting sentence.”On the screen, a man entered through the basement’s side door. Gray hoodie. Black cap. Work boots. Not the kind of man I would look at twice if he walked through the lobby carrying a toolbox.“Who is he?”Zach enlarged the frame. The man’s face showed for a second when he turned toward my car. “Daniel Kessler.”“Who is he?”“Former maintenance contractor for the Northlake building. Old vendor. He had access before the acquisition.”I stared at the sc

I didn’t panic.That might sound like an accomplishment, but it wasn’t. Panic required space. Panic required a body willing to stop for a second and admit that someone, somewhere, had already tried to enter my life through three different doors.I didn’t have space for that.I had kids in the playroom who were probably staging a remote-control coup. I had a sister coming this weekend with emojis, a suitcase, and enough ignorance to blow everyone apart.I had a company with an old hole now wearing an expensive De Sanctis suit. And I had Zach standing in my family room like a sin that could read access logs.So I did the safest thing.I grabbed my laptop.The small work desk in the corner of the family room had the slim laptop I used whenever I needed to check a dashboard while pretending I wasn’t working from home. I opened it, typed in my password, then pulled up the internal security console.Zach sat beside me.His thigh touched my knee. The scent of soap from his still-slightly-dam

By the night, Theo still hadn’t come home.It started to feel personal around 8:12 p.m., after dinner was over, the dishes were in the dishwasher, and both messages I’d sent him had been left on read.Zach, on the other hand, was still in my house.He was supposed to leave before dinner. I had told him that very clearly, using complete sentences, an even tone, and the kind of stare that usually made regional directors revise their proposals without asking follow-up questions.Then Max heard the word leave and immediately asked, “Why isn’t Uncle Shiny eating with us?”Issa, still perfectly comfortable in Zach’s arms like a koala with glitter accessories, added, “That’s rude. He’s tired from being the obstacle.”I told them Zach had his own house.Max said his own house didn’t have my lemon chicken.Issa said tall men needed protein so their “shoulders stayed expensive.”Bianna choked on her water.Zach stood in the middle of my kitchen with one hand in his pocket, his hair still slight

I started typing.ME: You know he’s Fiona’s fiancé.This time, the reply didn’t come right away.On the rug, Zach finally finished one side of the structure. He turned the LEGO project slightly and checked whether the foundation was level.Issa was still attached to his back.Max came running back from the kitchen carrying a couch cushion nearly as big as he was.I watched him lift it over his head. “Maxime.”He froze, cushion still raised. “What?” he asked, wearing an innocent expression unsupported by any available evidence.“Put it down.”“I was giving it to Uncle Shiny.”“By throwing it at his skull?”“It’s delivery.”“Put the cushion down before I deliver you to bed.”Max lowered it slowly. “Mommy likes threatening people.”“Mommy likes peace. All of you make it impossible.”Zach looked over at me from the floor. “You like us.”“Bold statement from someone sitting on my territory.”“And still being allowed to breathe.”“That’s because the children are here.”“Mm.”I narrowed my e