Lahat ng Kabanata ng Reclaiming the Love We Lost: Kabanata 151 - Kabanata 160

Administrative leave. The words felt like a physical blow to Lydia’s stomach. If she was pushed out now, right at the start of the integration, her professional reputation would be permanently ruined. The business world would always look at her as the scandalous widow who tried to use her billionaire lover to secure an illicit corporate payout."Get me the original merger contract from the safe," Lydia commanded, her voice tight with suppressed panic. "And pull up the financial disclosure statements from the Sterling estate from six months ago. There has to be a counter-clause. I know Noah’s assets inside out. I know where the bodies are buried in those accounts.""Yes, ma'am!" Clara turned and bolted out of the room, shutting the doors behind her.Left alone in the massive suite, Lydia felt the walls closing in on her. The scent of vanilla and white roses, which had felt so dominant and protective this morning, now felt like a cruel mockery of her situation. She stood up, her legs

It was Clara’s voice, but it didn't sound like her usual polite, professional self. She was screaming through the thick wood, her voice completely hysterical, laced with an absolute, raw panic that made Lydia's stomach drop instantly.Lydia slid off the edge of the marble desk, her professional instincts flaring as a sudden, terrible premonition hit her. "Adrian... something is wrong. Clara wouldn't do that unless it was catastrophic."Adrian glared at the door as if he could incinerate it with his mind. He turned, his movements stiff with controlled rage, and walked over to the deadbolt. He twisted the brass lock with a sharp, violent snap and pulled the heavy oak door open.Clara practically collapsed into the room. Her hair was messy, her blouse was disheveled, and her face was completely devoid of color. In her trembling hands, she held a fresh, crisp stack of legal documents that had just been spat out by the high-security corporate fax machine. Behind her, Adrian’s personal sec

Lydia didn't even lift her head. She knew the heavy, powerful cadence of those footsteps without looking. Adrian walked into the room, his expression instantly softening the moment his eyes fell upon her small, fragile form huddled on the massive sofa. The cold, ruthless billionaire who had just terrified forty of the country's top lawyers vanished, replaced by a man deeply, fiercely in love, and fiercely protective. He walked over, his long strides silent against the Calacatta marble, and sank onto the velvet cushions beside her. Without a word, he reached out, his large, warm hands gently gripping her ankles, pulling her legs across his lap so he could wrap his powerful arms around her waist, pulling her back against his solid, heat-radiating chest. "You're shaking, my love," Adrian murmured, his deep, rich baritone vibrating directly against her shoulder blades as he pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the side of her neck. Lydia let out a shaky, trembling breath, finally lett

"Calm your aristocratic nerves, Jessica," Vanessa purred, her eyes scanning the handwritten notes from Lydia's former primary psychiatrist. "The emergency warrant was always just a test to see how Adrian would deploy his legal defense. The real weapon is sitting right here in my lap. I just spent the last forty-eight hours negotiating with Dr. Silas Evans—Lydia's old primary doctor from that facility on the outskirts of New York." There was a sudden, sharp silence on the other end of the line. "The doctor? Is he willing to cooperate?" "Every man has a price, Jessica, especially a doctor who has been living under the radar with an expired medical license due to hidden malpractice claims," Vanessa chuckled, her voice filled with a cold, triumphant satisfaction. “For the right price, Dr. Evans is more than willing to sign a comprehensive, sworn affidavit stating that Lydia Hart suffered from chronic, irreversible delusional psychosis during her stay at his facility. He is prepared

The flashing of the camera lenses didn’t stop until the heavy, reinforced steel gates of JFK’s private executive terminal slammed shut behind them. Even through the tinted windows of Adrian’s armored Maybach, the blinding white strobes of the paparazzi felt like physical blows. The media bloodhounds of New York had smelled water in the corporate shark tank, and they were desperate for a single picture of Lydia and the billionaire who had rewritten the laws of the city to protect her and their son. "Mommy? Look! Big plane!" The sweet, high-pitched toddler voice instantly shattered the suffocating tension inside the vehicle. Lydia snapped out of her daze, forcing her rigid facial muscles into a bright, warm smile as she looked down at Hayes. Her four-year-old boy was strapped securely into his custom leather car seat, his large, dark eyes blinking up at her with complete, unbothered excitement. He pointed his small, chubby finger out the window, clutching a plush dinosaur in his