บททั้งหมดของ Contract bride: from contract wife to his obsession : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

The city was calm and peaceful,but not for everyone.Jeff stared at the financial reports spread across his desk. All he could see were red numbers, declining profit margin,delayed payment, withdrawn investors interest. Everything was wrong and the worse part was that he couldn't explain why or figure out the cause of all the loss. For the past few months, his company had been slipping, but recently the decline had become impossible to ignore. Projects that should have brought in strong returns were underperforming, investors were suddenly becoming cautious, and two major partners had quietly postponed negotiations without solid explanations. It felt like the ground beneath him was shifting and his office was starting to suffocate him. Jeff loosened his tie and stood from his chair, walking toward the large glass window behind him. The city stretched below, alive and moving, but all he could feel was pressure tightening around his chest. He had worked too hard for this.

In the other part of the city,Ava sat behind her desk in her office at Lin Industries, flipping through a stack of reports she had barely been able to focus on for the last ten minutes. The morning had been unusually quiet. After the chaos of the board meeting and Clara’s constant attempts to provoke her, silence should have felt like relief but instead, it only made her restless. She tapped her pen lightly against the table, staring at the same page without reading a single word. Her mind kept wandering to Elias again which was becoming increasingly annoying. Ever since their conversation in the study, something between them had shifted. Nothing obvious,just a dangerous kind of awareness. The kind that made every glance heavier,every silence louder.And Ava hated how much space he was starting to take up in her thoughts. A sharp buzz from her phone interrupted her.She glanced at the screen,it was Jane calling.Ava answered the call without looking up from her papers.“If

Morning arrived with a silence that felt wrong. Ava stirred slowly beneath the soft sheets, still half-asleep as sunlight poured through the curtains of the bedroom. For a brief moment, everything felt normal and peaceful. Then her phone buzzed again on the bedside table,it kept buzzing non stop.Ava frowned and reached for it lazily, expecting maybe Jane sending dramatic voice notes at an unreasonable hour. But the moment the screen lit up, sleep disappeared completely. Twelve missed calls from Jane,five from her father,three from the office,several from unknown numbers.Even two from people she barely spoke to.Her stomach tightened instantly. Immediately she felt something was wrong. She sat up quickly, pushing the blanket aside as she stared at the screen.More notifications kept appearing, calls and messages. Her heart started beating faster, something was not right.She immediately pressed Jane’s number and the call connected on the second ring.Jane picked up so fast

The next morning, Ava stood in front of the mirror longer than usual. She stared at her reflection,calm face, straight shoulders, controlled expression.A woman who looked strong,even if she didn’t feel it.The rumors were still there spreading,she has barely slept because anytime she closed her eyes she saw those headlines again.Gold digger.Mistress.Rich old man.It was humiliating in a way anger couldn’t fix but she had meant what she told Elias.She would not hide.If Clara wanted her ashamed, then showing up was she doing the opposite.Ava picked up her handbag and walked downstairs. As expected, a black car and two security men were already waiting outside. Of course it was Elias doing.She sighed softly and got into the car.The drive to Lin Industries was quiet, but the moment the building came into view, Ava knew peace had been too much to hope for. There were many reporters clustered at the front entrance like vultures waiting for something to die. They all had cameras, mic

Elias stood in the silence long after the door had closed behind Ava. Her words lingered in the air like a challenge he couldn’t ignore."One day, Elias… you’re going to have to decide whether you want me close or far away."His jaw tightened. He had always hated emotional conversations because it brought vulnerability. He also hated the dangerous way Ava had begun slipping past every wall he had spent years building.She asked questions he didn’t want to answer and looked at him expecting honesty. And worst part of it all,part of him wanted to give it to her,and that was a problem.Elias moved toward the window, loosening his tie completely now and stared at his reflection on the dark glass. He was the cold,controlled,unshaken CEO boss...at least that was what everyone believed.But Ava… Ava was starting to see the cracks and he wasn’t sure whether that terrified him or made him want her closer. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.He didn’t turn and just said,“Come in.”T