Lahat ng Kabanata ng Contract Over: You're Free to Go: Kabanata 211 - Kabanata 220

Bellmere's circle of wealthy wives wasn't exactly large. In practice, everyone was only a few private group chats away from everyone else.That afternoon, Wendy posted the photo she had taken at Sunshine International Academy to a 200-member chat called Bellmere Socialites VIP.She avoided naming anyone directly, protecting herself from obvious trouble, but her caption was dripping with insinuation."Took my oldest to the school sports day and ran into a familiar face. Isn't that TRS Group's CEO's former husband, the one who walked away from the divorce with nothing?"And unless I'm mistaken, that's Miranda Cane from Valence Capital handing him the towel. That was fast. Look at that perfect little family of three."The men in our circle could learn a thing or two from him about climbing the social ladder."The message hit the group like a bomb.The women who had been discussing designer handbags and expensive cosmetic treatments suddenly came alive. They all moved in the same ci

Monday morning dawned bright and clear over Bellmere, and Sil Studio was already humming with activity. Downstairs, Chloe labeled newly delivered stone samples while the steady click of keyboards and mice filled the second floor.Silas had spent half of Sunday playing substitute dad for Luna, then shared an unexpectedly revealing lunch with Miranda. After returning home, he had worked late into the night on his drawings.Now he was nursing a large cup of strong black tea, trying to drag his exhausted brain back online. He had barely set it down and turned to the section drawing when something landed squarely across his plans.A manicured hand with nude-polished nails slapped a phone fitted with a privacy screen squarely onto his drawings, landing right over the keyboard shortcuts. Silas looked up from the manicured hand resting beside it and found Avery standing across his desk in a khaki trench coat, arms folded.She said nothing, merely tipped his chin toward the screen."What

The second-floor workspace was so quiet that a pin drop would have sounded loud. Avery stood in her office doorway, still brimming with irritation until she caught Silas' bleak, self-mocking smile. All her annoyance drained away like air from a punctured balloon.She pulled out the stiff folding chair and sat down with her arms crossed, looking every bit like she was waiting to hear what excuse he could come up with."Go ahead." Avery fixed him with a steady look. "I'm apparently your therapist today, so I might as well see this through. What possessed you to marry her in the first place?"Silas leaned back and stared at the exposed industrial ductwork crisscrossing the ceiling."Do you know what our novel is called?"The question came out of nowhere, edged with bitter humor. Avery blinked. "What novel?""In my head, the last three years were one badly written novel with a terrible ending." Silas lowered his gaze to the drafting pen on his desk. "It was called 'When the Contrac

The distance from the district entrance to the corner of Section C was barely a third of a mile, but Silas had never run that fast in his life.The freezing breeze tore down his throat until his lungs burned and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. He didn't even stop to catch his breath. His legs kept pounding against the asphalt as the stench of burning paint, chemicals, and wood grew stronger with every step.When he finally rounded the last corner, his knees nearly gave out. Momentum carried him forward several stumbling steps before he caught himself, barely avoiding a fall.Then he saw Sil Studio.The timber sign he had personally chosen, the one Avery had supervised while the craftsman carved every letter by hand, was being swallowed by a wall of violent crimson flame. Scraps from the grand-opening arrangements hadn't even been completely cleared away yet.The reinforced glass across the first floor had already shattered under the heat. Flames raced over the solid-w

The next morning, Bellmere lay beneath pale, wintry sunlight. The fire had blackened the red-brick loft in Section C of the Meliere Art District, and the air still reeked of smoke and scorched materials.Moisture from the fire hoses hung in the air, making every breath feel cold and damp.The investigators had finished their initial inspection, and half the police barricades had been removed. After signing in, Silas and Avery put on masks and picked their way through mud and dirty standing water into what was left of the studio.Under the searchlights last night, the damage hadn't looked quite so extensive. Now, exposed beneath the unforgiving morning light, the full brutality of the fire was impossible to miss.Nearly every inch of the two-story, 2,000-square-foot loft had been scorched black.The solid timber workbench Silas had personally selected at the lumberyard and paid a premium to have custom-built had burned through the middle and collapsed.The surfaces of two high-end