All Chapters of Entwined With You : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

34 Chapters

Chapter Twenty One

Morning light filtered through the glass façade of Atlas Tower as Eric Keaton stepped into the lobby a little after seven-thirty. The marble floor reflected the bustle of early arrivals—assistants clutching tablets, analysts balancing coffee cups, security greeting executives by name.Eric nodded to the receptionist. “Morning, Clara.”“Morning, Mr. Keaton.”The title still felt strange. Mr. Keaton. He was only twenty-nine. By the time he reached his office on the twenty-second floor, his phone was already buzzing with notifications. He dropped his briefcase on the desk and opened his laptop. Emails flooded the screen; Marketing performance report.Sales update from the European team.Reminder: 8:30 strategy briefing.Eric rubbed his temple and began scanning the numbers.“Morning.”He glanced up. Daniel Park, one of the analysts on his project team, leaned against the doorway holding a tablet.“Have you seen the campaign results yet?” Daniel asked.“Just opening them now,” Eric said.

Chapter Twenty Two

Eric stepped out of the elevator when it reached the underground parking level. The echo of footsteps bounced faintly across the concrete space as employees filtered toward their cars after another long day at Atlas.Daniel followed him out. “Well,” Daniel said, stretching his shoulders, “if tomorrow doesn’t explode, drinks are on me.”Eric huffed a tired laugh. “I’ll hold you to that.”Daniel gave him a mock salute before heading toward the opposite row of vehicles. “Night, Keaton.”“Night.” Eric lifted a hand in farewell and turned toward his own car. The cool air in the garage carried the faint smell of oil and exhaust. His shoulders felt heavy now that the adrenaline from the workday had finally begun to fade.What a day.He reached his sedan and pressed the unlock button on the key fob. The headlights blinked in response. Just as he pulled the door open, his phone rang.Eric closed his eyes briefly. Of course.Sighing tiredly, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled the phone

Chapter Twenty Three

Maya stepped into the lobby of Starlight Apartments, Eric’s residence, and instinctively lowered her head as if that might somehow make her invisible. Her eyes flicked toward the reception desk while a silent prayer formed in her mind, directed vaguely to whoever might be listening above.Please don’t let her be there.She didn’t even know why the receptionist rubbed her the wrong way so much. Maybe it was the way the woman’s eyes lingered too long whenever Maya signed in, or the faint curl of her lips that always looked suspiciously like disapproval. Whatever the reason, the dislike had been mutual from the start. The moment Maya saw the woman busy entertaining a small cluster of residents and delivery staff, relief rushed through her chest.Yes.She gave herself a quick mental high five and slipped toward the elevators before anyone could notice her. Her movements were quick but deliberately casual, like someone who belonged there and had nothing to hide.Except she did.Her finger

Chapter Twenty Four

“I’m sorry.” Eric’s voice carried an almost rehearsed softness now, the kind people used when they were trying to clean up a mess they had already made worse. “You’re a beautiful woman who deserves to—”“Don’t patronize me, Eric.” Maya cut him off sharply, the words snapping through the room like a whip. The sudden venom in her voice startled even herself, but she didn’t care.Her chest felt tight, her heart pounding painfully against her ribs. “You don’t have to tell me what I already know,” she continued bitterly. “I was just too stupid to realize that dating you was too good to be true.”Even as the words left her mouth, part of her recoiled at herself.Too stupid.The phrase echoed in her head like an accusation she had been avoiding for months. Because the signs had been there. God, they had been there.“You never liked doing the things I love,” she went on, her voice trembling with anger and humiliation. “I was always the one calling you first. Texting you first.” Her hands clen

Chapter Twenty Five

Alessandro was relieved that Maya’s injuries were minor. The nurse in the emergency unit had cleaned the scrapes on her palms and knees, carefully disinfecting them before wrapping them in neat white bandages.Physically, she would be fine. But her silence unsettled him far more than the bruises. She hadn’t spoken a single word since the accident.The violent sobs had stopped, thankfully, but the quiet that followed felt worse somehow—heavy, suffocating, unnatural. Shock, the doctor had said when Alessandro asked about it. Perfectly normal after a traumatic incident.The explanation did nothing to ease him.Normal or not, he didn’t like it.His gaze lingered on Maya’s pale face as she sat motionless on the hospital bed, her eyes unfocused as though she were staring through the walls rather than at them.Someone had hurt her.The thought made Alessandro’s jaw tighten. Someone had pushed her into the road. He was certain of it. The terror in her eyes when he had seen her minutes after t

Chapter Twenty Six

When Maya’s eyes fluttered open the next morning, the first thing she noticed was the unfamiliar ceiling above her. Stark white. Too bright. Too sterile.Confusion crept in slowly, like fog rolling over a quiet field.Her gaze shifted, taking in the faint antiseptic smell lingering in the air, the soft beeping of a monitor somewhere nearby, and the thick privacy curtains drawn tightly around the bed.Hospital.More specifically—the emergency ward.A faint crease appeared between her brows as the memories of the previous night tried to piece themselves together. The street. The headlights. The sudden screech of tires.Her accident.Her heart thudded once, hard against her ribs.Instinctively, she looked down at herself. For a brief moment, she braced for the worst—an unfamiliar hospital gown, bandages wrapped around half her body, evidence of injuries she hadn't yet felt.But to her relief, she was still wearing her own clothes. Nothing seemed out of place.Except...Her gaze stilled.

Chapter Twenty Seven

Maya hadn’t intended to run home to lick her wounds, but she felt like it was the only place left where she could breathe without feeling like the walls were closing in on her. Which was why she was currently standing in the driveway, her duffel bag hanging from her shoulder as she stared wistfully at her childhood home.The home that had become her refuge after everything.After the orphanage.After… him.Thinking about the orphanage—and the boy whose name she had long ago decided she would never speak again—sent a dull ache through her chest. It tightened painfully beneath her ribs, threatening to weaken her knees if she lingered on it too long. So she forced her gaze back to the house.Her house.It sat quietly at the end of the gravel driveway like it had been waiting for her all along.The structure itself was simple—a modest one-storey home with a gently sloping roof and wide front windows that caught the afternoon sunlight. The exterior walls were painted a warm cream color t

Chapter Twenty Eight

Maya sat curled into the corner of the sofa, both hands wrapped around a ceramic mug as if it were the only thing anchoring her. The cocoa had long since stopped steaming, but she kept bringing it to her lips anyway, more for comfort than taste. The marshmallows had melted into a pale swirl at the surface, soft and indistinct—just like her thoughts.The house was quiet. Too quiet.She hadn’t realized how loud silence could be until she came back.Then, at exactly a few minutes past nine, she heard it—the faint scrape of metal against metal. A key turning in the lock.Her spine straightened instantly.They were home.For a brief second, she just sat there, frozen, her heart giving a small, unexpected lurch. Then she quickly set the cup back onto its saucer, the soft clink echoing louder than it should have, and rose to her feet.The door opened.Her mother stepped in first, laughter spilling into the house before she even fully crossed the threshold. It was bright, unrestrained, the k

Chapter Twenty Nine

Maya was getting ready for bed, fluffing her pillows with the kind of mechanical ease that came from years of the same routine, when a knock sounded on her door. The sound was soft but deliberate — unhurried in the way her mother's knocks always were, like Amihan was announcing herself without imposing.Mom, Maya thought, already moving toward the door. She never could just let a quiet house stay quiet.There was something quietly comforting about the predictability of it. Even now, at twenty-six, her mother still checked on her — still padded down the hall to make sure she was alright, the same way she had when Maya was six years old and new to this house, new to the word family. Maya dropped the pillow and went to open the door.Surprisingly, it was her father.She blinked once, twice, recalibrating. Santos stood in the doorway with his hands loosely at his sides and an expression that tried to appear casual but landed somewhere closer to tender.Maya studied him for a half-second,

Chapter Thirty

"Mind if I ask why?" Santos asked, his tone gentle — carefully so, the way a man speaks when he knows the answer might cost something to give.She doesn't have to tell me everything, he thought. But I want her to know she can.Maya looked down at her hands for a moment, the silence between them thin and fragile. Then she drew a quiet breath, as though gathering herself from the inside out."I caught him..." She paused, swallowing against the sudden lump that rose in her throat — thick and stubborn, the kind that grief leaves behind long after the worst of the crying is done. "He... He doesn't love me anymore. I'm sure..." Her voice steadied itself with effort. "He never really did." She blinked, willing the burn behind her eyes into submission. "He's with Maddie now."The name landed in the room like something dropped from a height.Santos went very still. "Our Maddie?" His jaw dropped open, disbelief rewriting his expression entirely.Maya let out a humourless chuckle — a short, hol

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