Todos os capítulos de Bullied Wife In A Contract Marriage : Capítulo 101 - Capítulo 110

~ Amara ~ I sat in the corner booth of the Linden Row Café. The air smelled of roasted beans and maple syrup. It was a normal Tuesday morning. My laptop was open on the scratched table. I was reviewing the contract from yesterday. The mysterious client had already paid the retainer. The numbers were huge. They could change the future of Kline Logistics. But I could not focus. My mind kept returning to the representative in the dark suit. He had been too smooth. His smile had been too perfect. It felt like I had invited a ghost into my office. Outside the window, Linden Row was waking up. The sun hit the red bricks of the buildings. It was that honey light I loved. I watched the sidewalk. Gideon was there. He was not the King of Logistics today. He wore a heavy canvas apron over his blue sweater. His sleeves were rolled up. He was helping Mr. Russo unload a delivery truck. Gideon grabbed a heavy crate of red apples. He lifted it with ease. His muscles shifted under the fabric. He loo

~ Gideon ~I walked slowly away from the bakery with flour still clinging to my rough hands. The sun was setting over Linden Row, casting long, honey-colored shadows across the cracked sidewalks. My mind was still stuck on the incident from this morning. Those associates from Helix Tower had looked at me like I was a broken machine. They recorded me with their phones, laughing at my canvas apron and boots. I told myself their opinions did not matter, but I could feel the old, familiar "eraser" tension returning to my jaw. I was trying to be a different man, but the world kept trying to pull me back into the gray. I needed to see Amara. I needed her light to drown out the echoes of their mockery. I needed to see her face. I climbed the stairs to her studio, my boots heavy on the old wood. As I reached her landing, a scent hit me. It was not the turpentine and herbal soap I expected. It was a thick, floral perfume. It smelled like expensive galas, cold marble, and a past I tried to bury

~ Gideon ~I adjusted the cuffs of a shirt I no longer wanted to wear. The starched fabric felt like a second skin I had tried to shed in the streets of Linden Row. I stood outside the Metropolitan Club, a gray stone building that breathed wealth and exclusion. The heavy brass doors were a barrier between the honesty of the bakery and the lies of my past. I took a slow breath. The Ravenport air was thick with the scent of rain and city exhaust. I pushed the door open. The silence inside was different than the silence of Amara’s studio. Her studio was peaceful, but this was a heavy, calculated stillness. It felt like a vacuum. I walked past the portraits of dead men who thought they owned the world. My work boots made a dull, heavy sound on the thick Persian rugs. I reached the private dining room at the end of the long, dark hallway.Rolan and three other board members sat around a long mahogany table. Chloe sat in the corner, her legs crossed. She wore a sharp black suit that looked

~ Amara ~The morning sun hit the warehouse floor in long, pale streaks. I stood by the window of my office and watched the dust motes dance. For months, this view had made me feel powerful. The blue trucks were lined up. The drivers were ready. We had three new contracts. Life in Linden Row was supposed to be the prize for surviving the Moore family. But as I watched a white sedan pull into the lot, I felt a familiar chill in my spine. It was followed by two more. They were government cars. Sarah burst into the room. Her face was pale. She was clutching a tablet to her chest like a shield."Ms. Kline, we have a problem," she said. Her voice was thin."What kind of problem, Sarah?" I asked. I did not move from the window."The City Safety Bureau is outside," she replied. "They have an injunction. They are halting all truck movements immediately."I turned around fast. "On what grounds? We just passed the state inspection two months ago.""They are already recording the license plates,

~ Gideon ~ The sunlight hit the white ceiling with a brightness that felt like a physical attack. I didn't recognize the crown molding. It was too intricate and too expensive for the apartment in Linden Row. The air smelled of heavy floral perfume and expensive gin. It was a smell I had tried to scrub from my life months ago. I tried to sit up, but my head pulsed with a rhythmic ache. My stomach turned. The sheets beneath me were silk. They were cold. I looked to my left and saw a mess of dark hair on the pillow. Chloe was awake. She was propped up on her elbow, watching me with a look of calm victory. She wore an emerald silk robe that was open at the throat. The sight of her made the bile rise in my throat. The memories of the night before came back in jagged, broken pieces. I remembered the Grand Hotel suite. I remembered the whiskey. I remembered the feeling of my thoughts turning into a thick, gray fog. I remembered her touch. I remembered the moans. "Good morning, Gideon," Ch