Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Husband I Once Loved: Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 103

**Chapter 104: Paris Calling**The penthouse felt different now. Not colder, exactly—Khalid still paid the bills, and the staff still moved through the marble halls like silent ghosts—but emptier. Like someone had come in while I slept and removed all the color I’d once painted into these walls.I stood in my studio on the east side of the apartment, the one room that had always been mine. Late afternoon light spilled across the wide oak floors, catching on fabric swatches and mood boards pinned to the far wall. My fingers traced the edge of a watercolor rendering I’d done for the Tribeca townhouse. The client had loved it. The photos from the near-complete renovation had been trending on design blogs all morning. Yet the satisfaction I once craved felt muted, like applause heard through thick glass.My phone buzzed on the drafting table. Marcus.I hesitated before answering. His voice always carried that calm confidence, the kind that made compli

**Chapter 106: Parallel Healing**The discovery of Khalid’s secret therapy sessions lingered like a bruise I couldn’t stop pressing. By morning light, the penthouse felt suspended between truths—his vulnerability from the night before and the new layer of walls he’d built without me. I moved through the kitchen on autopilot, brewing coffee in the sleek Italian machine that had cost more than my first design commission. The aroma filled the space, rich and grounding, but it did little to settle the storm in my chest.Khalid emerged from the bedroom shortly after, dressed in a crisp white shirt and navy trousers, his usual armor already half in place. His eyes found mine immediately, wary but determined.“You saw the emails,” he said, skipping any preamble. His voice was steady, but the shame from last night still shadowed his features.“I did.” I slid a mug toward him across the marble island. Black, two sugars—the way he liked it before the empire