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Todos os capítulos de Bullied Wife In A Contract Marriage : Capítulo 41 - Capítulo 50

128 Capítulos

Cold Shoulder.

~ Gideon ~I sat in my study, the leather chair creaking as I leaned back. The clock on the mantel read 1:00 AM. Amara's words still hung in the air, even though she had left two hours ago."I am done being the price other people pay."I picked up my pen, then set it down. I reached for the scotch instead. The liquid burned going down, but it didn't erase the look in her eyes. She had been angry. Not the quiet, shrinking anger I was used to. Something sharper.I told myself she was being dramatic. Overly sensitive. The contract was clear. She had security, status, everything a woman from Linden Row could dream of. And she wanted to throw it away because of a seating chart?But the way she said her name. Amara Rose Kline. Not Moore. She had never done that before.My phone buzzed. I ignored it. I didn't want to hear Adrian's voice asking if I had "handled the domestic situation." I didn't want to explain that I had handled it exactly as I always did—by making her feel small enough to d

Kindness in the Dark.

~ Elara ~I stood in the lobby of Helix Tower with a coffee cup in one hand and a small handkerchief in the other. My shift had ended ten minutes ago, but I stayed behind because I saw her walk in earlier. Amara Moore. Or Amara Kline. I still was not sure what to call her when no one else was around.She sat on the low bench near the side elevator, the one staff used when they did not want to be seen. Her shoulders curved forward. Her hands rested in her lap like they carried something heavy. She stared at the floor tiles. I watched her for a moment. She did not move.I took a slow breath and walked over. My shoes made soft sounds on the polished stone. When I stopped in front of her, she lifted her head. Her eyes looked red. Not from crying right then, but from crying before.“Mrs. Moore,” I said quietly. I kept my voice low so the security guard at the front desk would not hear. “I brought you this.”I held out the coffee. It was plain black with one sugar, the way I had seen her or

The Calm Before.

~ Amara ~I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my suite and smoothed the front of the black evening gown. The fabric felt heavy against my skin. It looked perfect, just like Helena wanted. The neckline sat high, the sleeves long, and the cut made me look taller than I felt. I turned sideways and checked the hem. No wrinkles. No loose threads. Everything in place.My hands moved slowly over the material. I had practiced this look for hours earlier. Hair pulled back neat. Makeup light but even. Lips a soft neutral color. I looked like the wife Gideon needed for the Moore Family Foundation Gala tonight. Calm. Put together. Invisible in the right way.But inside, my stomach twisted. The packed bag waited in the library, hidden behind the heavy law books on the bottom shelf. The job offer sat in my secret email folder. The first paycheck had already hit my private account. Everything was ready. Tonight would be the last time I played this role.I picked up my small clutch from the

The Foundation of Lies.

~ Amara ~The Moore Crest ballroom was a cavern of shimmering gold and predatory smiles. Crystal chandeliers hung like frozen explosions from the ceiling, casting a light so sharp it felt surgical. I stood near a marble pillar, my fingers tracing the cold stone. I was wearing a gown of midnight blue silk—a "perfect" choice vetted by Selene’s stylist—but the fabric felt like a shroud.My mind wasn't on the champagne or the string quartet. It was in the library, tucked behind a row of leather-bound encyclopedias where I had hidden my packed bag. In my clutch, a folded piece of paper weighed more than the diamond necklace Gideon had left on my dresser without a note. It was the job offer from the firm Elara had told me about. Remote work. My own income. My own silence."You look particularly ghostly tonight, Amara. Even for you."I didn't have to turn around to recognize the honeyed poison in Selene’s voice. She stepped into my line of sight, her gown a daring, blood-red contrast to my s

The Glass Shatters.

~ Gideon ~“She didn’t join the final toast,” I said to Adrian as we stepped off the small stage.Adrian adjusted his cufflinks and gave a short laugh. “Maybe she went to the powder room. Or maybe she finally had enough.”I ignored the jab and scanned the ballroom. The crowd still clapped for the Kline Logistics announcement. My mother stood near the bar, smiling at donors. Selene laughed with a group of cousins. But Amara was nowhere in sight.I checked my watch. “She knows the schedule. We need her for the photos.”Adrian sipped his drink. “You sure about that? She looked ready to leave when Selene whispered in her ear earlier.”I frowned. “Selene was just being Selene. Amara handles it.”We moved through the crowd. People shook my hand and congratulated me on the subsidiary expansion. I nodded and smiled the right way. Inside, something felt off. Amara usually stayed close during these events, quiet but present.I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick text. “Where are you?”No r

The Midnight Run.

~ Amara ~I clutched the handle of my suitcase tighter and scanned the departure board one more time. The numbers blurred for a second, but I blinked hard and found the line for the late bus. I refused to go to Noah’s house first. Gideon would check there right away. He knew my brother was the only person I trusted. I had to stay off the map for a few hours.I stepped up to the ticket window. The man behind the glass looked bored. He chewed gum and tapped his keyboard.“One way to the south stop,” I said. My voice came out steady, but my hands shook a little.He glanced at me. “That’s the cheap route. Ends near the old warehouses. You sure?”“Yes,” I said. “How much?”“Twenty-two dollars.”I slid the cash across the counter. It was from my secret account, the one no one at Moore Crest knew about. The man printed the ticket and pushed it back.“Bus leaves in twelve minutes,” he said. “Platform three.”I took the ticket. “Thank you.”He nodded and went back to his screen. No questions.

The Empire Trembles.

~ Gideon ~I walked into Helix Tower at six in the morning with my tie already loose. My head felt heavy from the scotch I drank last night. The security guard at the front desk nodded at me like always. I did not nod back. I went straight to the private elevator and hit the button for the top floor.My phone buzzed again. Another message from my mother. I did not open it. I already knew what it said. Fix this. Do not let the name suffer. I stepped out on the sixty-fourth floor. The office was quiet. Only a few lights were on. My assistant jumped up from her desk when she saw me."Mr. Moore, the board called twice already," she said fast. "They want to know about the Kline announcement and why Mrs. Moore was not at the final photos."I stopped at her desk. "Tell them I will handle it. Get me Adrian in my office in five minutes."She nodded and picked up her phone. I walked into my office and shut the door. The city looked gray through the big windows. I dropped my briefcase on the cha

A Different Kind of Silence.

~ Amara ~I woke up to the sound of traffic outside the thin motel window. My back hurt from the lumpy mattress. I sat up slowly and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It read 9:17 AM. The room still smelled like old carpet and cleaning spray. My suitcase sat by the door where I left it last night. I rubbed my eyes and stood up.The first thing I did was check my phone. I turned it on for just a minute. Twenty-nine missed calls from Gideon. Three from Noah. One text from Elara that said, “Hope you’re safe. Call if you need anything.” I read it twice. Then I turned the phone off again. I could not risk Gideon tracking me yet.I walked to the small bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. The mirror showed a woman with messy hair and tired eyes. No makeup. No fancy dress. Just me. Amara. Not Mrs. Moore. I brushed my teeth with the travel toothbrush I packed and changed into jeans and a plain gray sweater.My stomach growled. I had not eaten since the gala last night. I grabbed m

The Hunters Instinct.

~ Gideon ~I pushed open the door to Amara’s old room in the east wing. The hallway light spilled in behind me and made long shadows on the floor. I stood there for a second before I stepped inside. The air felt still. Too still.My shoes made soft sounds on the carpet. I walked to the center of the room and looked around. The bed was made with tight corners, like Maribel’s staff had already cleaned it. But they had missed some things. Dust sat on the nightstand in a thin layer. A small smudge of charcoal marked the edge of the windowsill.I opened the closet doors again. The fancy dresses still hung there, neat and untouched. But her simple blouses and jeans were gone. Only empty hangers swung a little when I moved the door.I turned to the dresser. The velvet box with the diamond necklace sat exactly where I had left it weeks ago. She never opened it. I picked it up, felt its weight, then set it back down.My eyes moved to the floor. A small piece of paper lay under the bed, half hi

The First Trace.

~ Amara ~I stepped into the small coffee shop on the corner near my new studio. The bell above the door jingled. Warm air and the smell of fresh coffee hit me right away. I kept my head down and walked to the counter. My hands still felt a little shaky from the bus ride this morning, but I pushed it away. This was normal life now. No one here knew me as Mrs. Moore.I ordered a plain black coffee and found a table by the window. The seat felt hard under me. I set my bag down and pulled out my notebook. The first page still had the line from yesterday. Today I ate what I wanted. I worked on my terms. I added a new line. First coffee alone. No one watching.The door opened again. I looked up without thinking. Elara walked in. She wore a simple jacket and jeans. Her eyes scanned the room until they found me. She smiled and came straight to my table.“Amara,” she said quietly. She sat down across from me. “You made it. I was worried when you didn’t answer my text right away.”I nodded. “I

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