Lahat ng Kabanata ng Barren? Honey, I'm Just Getting Started: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

- WILLOWCallum looked like he had just been hit by a freight train. He looked at my emerald dress, looked at Noah standing beside me, looked at Dexter watching him like a predator, and then looked back at my face."Willow..." Callum rasped, taking another desperate half-step toward the platform. "Please... talk to me. Just two minutes. I know things ended badly, but we can fix this. The pack needs you. I need...""Save it, Callum," I interrupted, taking a slow sip of my champagne. "You had three years to treat me like a human being, and you chose to ignore the fact that your mistress threw me down a flight of stairs instead."A collective gasp went around the surrounding crowd of nobles. Callum's face went completely pale, all the color draining out of his lips as the whispered rumors began spreading across the room."You're done, Callum," I said softly, looking him straight in his hollow, exhausted eyes. "Enjoy the summit."I turned my back on him, raising my glass to Advisor Vince.

- WILLOWThe summit after-party was a loud, chaotic mess.Over in the center of the main ballroom, Callum was surrounded by four elderly Ashbourne pack lords, his face red as he waved his hands around, arguing frantically about border tax allocations. Sherlyn was sitting alone near the bar, nursing a martini with a sour, miserable look on her face while the other pack wives completely ignored her.I leaned back against the high stone pillar near the side entrance, taking a long sip of chilled water."Enjoying the show, Princess?" Dexter's voice murmured right behind my shoulder.Before I could even turn my head, Dexter grabbed my hand, pulled me back through the velvet curtains, and shoved me gently into the dark stone alcove behind the main stairwell. My spine hit the cool wall, and before I could draw a breath, Dexter stepped closer, leaning his heavy forearms against the stone on either side of my head."Dex," I breathed out, my heart instantly leaping into my throat. "What the hel

- WILLOWRain was still drumming against the window pane when the side door of my private study clicked open.I was sitting behind the mahogany desk, rubbing my tired eyes, staring at a stack of boring financial ledgers that made my brain melt. The room was lit by a single brass desk lamp.Dexter walked in, water dripping off the shoulders of his dark leather jacket. Without saying a word, he pulled a thick, waterproof folder from under his coat and tossed it onto the wood right next to my cold teacup. It landed with a heavy thud.I flinched, looking up from my papers. "What's that?""Lucille’s bedtime reading," Dexter said, pulling up the leather chair across from me and slouching down with his long legs stretched out. "She pulled your full medical file from the royal hospital archives using a council bypass code. She was five minutes away from handing it to an Ashbourne tabloid courier at the east docks."My breath caught right in my throat. My hands froze over the desk. All the blo

- WILLOWThe morning coffee at the central office tasted like bitter mud, but at least it kept my eyes open.Four weeks of playing the humble, quiet logistics clerk aside from my caretaker job was officially driving me insane. I spent my days filing border passes, organizing grain supply manifests, and listening to snobby capital assistants talk shit about my simple cotton sweaters. Dexter wasn't making it any easier either. He spent most of his time slacking off near the service elevator, wearing his faded maintenance jacket and tossing rubber bands at my desk every time I tried to look busy."If you throw one more paperclip at my head, Dex, I'm filing a workplace harassment report with Noah," I muttered, not looking up from my ledger.Dexter swung his legs off the edge of the filing cabinet, popping a piece of peppermint gum into his mouth. "You can't file a report on me, Princess. I'm off the official payroll, remember? Technically, I don't exist.""Great," I grumbled, stamping a

- WILLOWThe rain had stopped around eleven, leaving the air outside the private pavilion smelling of damp pine and wet stone.I was sitting on the edge of my plush velvet armchair, wearing a faded gray hoodie and sweatpants, catching up on three days' worth of backlog shipping manifests. A small glass of peach iced tea was sweating on the side table next to my laptop, and the only sound in the room was the soft click-clack of my keyboard.CRASH.The heavy double glass doors leading out to the private balcony suddenly exploded inward.Shards of glass rained down over the hardwood floor, rattling against the coffee table and bouncing off my sneakers. I scrambled out of my chair, grabbing the heavy brass desk lamp off the table and holding it up as a weapon."Who the hell is that?!" I yelled, backing up toward the inner hallway.A tall, swaying figure stepped through the broken door frame, crushing glass under heavy leather boots.It was Callum.He looked completely unhinged. His exp