Lahat ng Kabanata ng Steal My Heart, Mr Cole : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

Laura SterlingThe car ride to Cole Enterprises felt longer than it should have. I sat in the back seat, dressed in a fitted black dress that covered my legs completely. The stylist had chosen it, and Aaron had approved. I kept adjusting the hem, nervous energy making my hands restless.Aaron sat beside me, one arm resting along the back of the seat. He didn’t speak much during the drive, but I could feel him watching me every few minutes.When the car finally stopped in front of the massive glass building, my stomach tightened. The Cole Enterprises headquarters was even bigger than I had ever seen...tall, modern, and intimidating. Aaron got out first. He came around to my side, opened the door, and carefully lifted me into the wheelchair. His hands were steady and gentle as he adjusted the blanket over my legs.“Ready?” he asked quietly.I nodded, even though my heart was pounding. “Let’s get this over with.”The moment we entered through the automatic doors, everything changed.

Laura Sterling The hallway felt longer than it should have. I pushed my wheelchair forward steadily, keeping pace with Amelia’s slow and seductive steps. She walked beside me with perfect posture, one hand occasionally brushing her hair back like she was posing for an invisible camera. Aaron followed a few steps behind us, silent but present. Every push of the wheels reminded me how much effort this took, but I refused to show any weakness. Amelia glanced at me with that sugary smile again. “You’re doing so well, Laura. It must be exhausting moving around like this.” I smiled back, sweet as poison. “Not as exhausting as pretending everything is fine when it clearly isn’t.” She let out a soft laugh, but it sounded forced. I could feel Aaron’s eyes on us. He was watching everything closely. We reached a junction in the hallway. Amelia slowed down even more, clearly hoping Aaron would step in and help her again. I could see her body angling toward him, ready to “feel dizzy” once

Laura SterlingI couldn’t stop shaking.Amelia’s words kept repeating in my head like a broken record. *“He will never love a broken woman like you.”*I tried to push them away. I wasn't even sure if I even wanted love and emotions, we were only in a contract marriage. But why do her words hurt me this much.I opened the file on my desk and stared at the numbers, but they blurred together. My breathing was too fast. My chest felt tight, like someone was sitting on it.“Focus, Laura. Just focus.“I picked up a pen and tried to write notes, but my hand trembled so badly the words came out crooked. The office suddenly felt too small. The walls were closing in. My legs, still heavy and useless in the wheelchair, felt even more like dead weight.“She’s wrong. She has to be wrong.“But what if she wasn’t?What if Aaron really saw me as nothing but a broken project? A responsibility? A temporary fix for his guilt?My breathing grew faster. Short, shallow gasps. My vision started to blur a

Laura SterlingThe afternoon dragged on slower than I expected.I tried to focus on the files, but Amelia’s words kept slipping back into my thoughts like poison. I pushed them away each time, forcing myself to read line after line, making notes with a pen that felt heavier than it should.My stomach growled loudly around 1 PM. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and the stress had drained me more than I wanted to admit.The door opened without a knock.Aaron walked in carrying a tray with two covered plates and two glasses of water. He looked calm, but his eyes scanned me carefully as he set the tray on the small meeting table in the corner of my office.“You haven’t eaten,” he said simply. It wasn’t a question.I leaned back in my wheelchair, watching him. “I was working.”He pulled out a chair for himself and sat down, uncovering the plates. Grilled chicken, vegetables, rice ... simple but smelled incredible.“Eat with me,” he said. His tone left little room for argument.I

Laura Sterling“You’re not fragile,” Aaron said again, his voice low as he pulled me closer on the garden bench. His hand was still on my waist, warm through the thin fabric of my dress. “You’re fighting every single day. That’s not weakness.”I looked up at him, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to escape my chest. The lanterns around us cast soft light on his face, highlighting the sharp line of his jaw and the intensity in his eyes. He was so close. Too close. I could smell his cologne, feel the heat of his body, and it was making my head spin in a way I couldn’t control.“I still don’t know if I can trust this,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. My hands were on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart under my palms. “Every time I let myself get close, I remember who you are. Who your brother is. What this all started as.”Aaron’s grip on my waist tightened just a fraction. Not painful. Possessive. His other hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb br