All Chapters of Contractually Yours: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Jem's POV Dante’s jaw tightened faintly. “It wasn’t done maliciously.” “That doesn’t answer what I asked.” There was another silence. Then finally— “Yes,” he muttered. The word hit me strangely hard. I didn’t even fully know why. Maybe because suddenly those crossed-out names from earlier no longer felt distant anymore. They were real people. Real lives. Real memories. People who once stood exactly where I was standing now before eventually being made to forget Dante completely like none of it had ever happened. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. And I just sat there, lost in everything as I sat staring at the darkness in front of me trying to process what he had just said. People had actually lived inside this house. Known him. Probably cared about him. And then one day everything connected to him had simply been taken away from them like it never existed at all. The thought made something cold crawl slowly through my chest. “So they don’t remember you at all anym

Jem's POV I slowly leaned back against the headboard, still holding the papers loosely in my hands, my eyes staring at them without really seeing them anymore, because for the first time since I met her, I fully understood why Mara had been acting the way she did, why she watched me so closely, why she tried so hard to push things in her own direction, and why every move she made carried that quiet urgency underneath it. Now I know why she wants me out of the house and far far away from her uncle. This was never just jealousy. Never just cruelty. This was survival to her. And somehow realizing that made everything feel heavier instead of lighter. I stayed sitting there for a long time after that, staring silently at the decree while morning light slowly spread across the room around me. Eventually, I forced myself to get dressed. But even while changing clothes, my mind still kept replaying everything over and over again. The curse. The council. The marriage. The seven ot

Jem's POV My chest tightened slightly. Dante leaned back slowly against the couch again before continuing. “No more partial explanations. No more half-truths.” His eyes stayed locked on mine steadily. “You deserve the full truth now, Jem.” I swallowed hard but nodded once. Dante exhaled quietly before speaking again. “The bond doesn’t just connect us emotionally.” Something about the seriousness in his tone immediately made my stomach tighten. “What does it do then?” I asked quietly. For a moment, Dante looked almost reluctant to answer. Then finally he said, “It merges us.” I frowned slightly. “What does that even mean?” His gaze held mine carefully. “It means the longer the bond deepens, the more connected our life forces become,” he explained calmly. “Not metaphorically. Literally.” I stared at him silently. Dante continued before I could interrupt. “That’s why you’ve been reacting to my injuries,” he said quietly. “That’s why you feel things connected to me before

Author's POV After that rainy moment and the kiss, Dante had actually wanted them to do more—to have sex probably, but Jem stopped him immediately. Dante started bleeding from his wound in his stomach, and he had completely ignored it and still wanted them to continue, even to the point of having sex, but Jem didn’t let it happen. Jem had pushed him back immediately, more forcefully than he normally would have, his hands pressing against Dante’s chest as he tried to break the moment apart. But Dante was so lost he pinned Jem down and tried to undress him. “No,” Jem had said sharply, breath still unsteady, his voice more firm than he expected. “Stop it. You’re bleeding.” Dante barely reacted at first, like he was still caught in the same momentum, like his mind hadn’t fully accepted the interruption. But Jem didn’t let it continue. He grabbed Dante properly this time, steadier, more certain, and pulled him away from him completely. “You’re not even thinking,” Jem continued, frus

Author's POV Cruz let out a small chuckle and stepped further into the room slowly, finally letting the door close behind him with a soft click that felt heavier than it should have. For a moment, he just stood there, watching Mara as if trying to read her before deciding what version of this conversation he was about to have. The air between them already felt tense, familiar in the worst way, like they were both arriving late to an argument that had been waiting for them for a long time. Mara didn’t move from where she stood. She only lowered her phone slightly, her expression already shifting the moment he spoke again. Cruz noticed it immediately, that subtle change in her face that always came whenever the subject wasn’t something she wanted to confront directly, and it only made his frustration tighten further in his chest. He let out a short, humorless breath and shook his head slightly as he stepped deeper into the room. “You called me here again just to stand and look