บททั้งหมดของ Married To My Father's Rival: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 18

Clara Montgomery POVWe didn't talk until we were back inside the elevator, descending smoothly away from the top floor. The silence this time didn't feel heavy; it felt victorious, though my hands were still shaking slightly from the leftover adrenaline. I looked down at my fingers, pressing them together to make them stop.Alexander noticed. He reached over and lightly tapped the back of my hand. "Relax. You held your ground. Your father didn't expect you to speak up like that.""I’ve spent my whole life keeping my mouth shut to keep the peace," I said, watching the floor numbers count down on the digital screen. "It felt strange to finally say what I was thinking out loud.""Get used to it," Alexander replied, his face expressionless as always, though his tone wasn't unkind. "In this world, if you don't speak up, people assume you don't have a voice at all. Your father used your silence against you for years."When the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, Marco was already wa

Clara Montgomery POVThursday evening arrived with a heavy downpour that rattled against the glass windows of the penthouse. I stood in front of the vanity mirror in the guest suite, adjusting the thin strap of the midnight-blue silk gown. The fabric felt cool and heavy against my skin, pooling beautifully around my ankles. I had left my hair down this time, falling in soft waves over my shoulders, a stark contrast to the severe, tightly pinned bun I wore to the boardroom meeting.When I walked out into the foyer, Alexander was already waiting by the door. He was adjusting the cufflinks on his tailored tuxedo shirt. He stopped when he saw me, his dark eyes tracking my movement from the hallway to the center of the room. For a brief second, his hands went completely still."The dress works," he said, his voice deep and entirely level, though his eyes lingered on the asymmetrical neckline for a fraction of a second longer than usual. "The media will have a hard ti

Alexander Sterling POVThe drive back to the penthouse was completely silent. Clara sat across from me in the spacious cabin of the Maybach, her head resting against the glass window as she watched the city lights streak past through the heavy downpour. The midnight-blue dress shifted slightly with the movement of the car, the silk reflecting the dim interior lighting.She looked exhausted, but her jaw remained tightly set. She hadn't let her guard down once, not even when her stepsister confronted her in front of the entire gallery crowd.I looked back down at my tablet, but the financial figures on the screen didn't register. My mind kept looping back to the report Marco had delivered. Marcus Sterling. Just hearing that name made a bitter, familiar taste rise in the back of my throat. For fifteen years, my uncle had been a ghost, living off the millions he stole from my mother's estate while she spent her final years working two jobs to keep us afloat in a cramped Queens apartment.

Clara Montgomery POVThe boardroom went completely still, save for the heavy, ragged breathing coming through the speakerphone. I stared at the device on the glass table. For years, just hearing that specific tone in my father’s voice would have made me shrink back, trying to figure out how to smooth things over. Today, it didn't do anything to me."Clara?" my father’s voice came through again, the rage slightly replaced by a sudden, sharp confusion. "What is he talking about? What did you do?"I stepped closer to the table, looking down at the screen. "I didn't do anything behind your back, Dad. I just reinvested my mother’s money. Fifty-two percent of Astra Shipping belongs to me now. The transactions are cleared and fully registered with the exchange.""Are you insane?" he roared, slamming something heavy against his desk on the other end of the line. "Astra controls the entire docking grid for the eastern ports! I am in the middle of