บททั้งหมดของ THE CONTRACT OF MARRIAGE: TWO YEARS: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Aria remained silent. The silence gripping the room suddenly felt ice-cold and suffocating, eroding what little warmth had lingered from their passionate encounter throughout the night. From behind the press of the blanket shielding her bare chest, Aria’s clear eyes stared intently at the drastic transformation on Lucas’s face. The look in his eyes no longer radiated the passion or tender longing of a few hours ago, but was filled with deep tension and sheer shock. Aria felt a sharp ache twist in her heart. Burning curiosity raged within her chest; she longed to ask who was on the other end of the line and what terrible news could make a cold CEO like Lucas tremble so violently. Yet her tongue felt tied. Aria chose to keep her lips tightly sealed, holding onto her shattered pride. She was well aware of her position—she was merely an ex-wife who had been touched again simply because of a chemical toxin and an impulsive explosion of desire. She no longer had any right to meddle in his

Chloe clenched her fingers tightly around the white hospital sheets. The thin walls of the VIP room had held a precious piece of information. From a faint report whispered by her confidant just moments before Lucas had entered earlier, a bitter reality struck her chest without mercy: Lucas had touched Aria last night. The man who had kept his distance and held back from her for so long had surrendered his entire passion and body to that woman. Chloe’s chest heaved, holding back a rage that was on the verge of exploding. Pretending to have amnesia was no longer just a way to escape legal consequences for her failed chemical poison plot, but a lethal weapon to tear Lucas and Aria’s relationship apart. Rejection burned her sanity to ash. The aphrodisiac scheme she had devised that night was supposed to trap Lucas into falling to his knees before her, yet fate had brought Aria in to enjoy the warmth of his uncontrolled desire instead. She would not let Aria have even a sliver of that ma

Chloe’s sly smile vanished the moment she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving behind a trail of pain that burned ever hotter in Aria’s chest. In that dimly lit, cold corner of the parking garage, Aria stood frozen for a long moment. Her hand trembled violently as she gripped her wrist, still red from Chloe’s harsh hold. The woman’s words spun through her mind like a broken record of torture: *a vessel to vent his wild lust... get ready to be destroyed.* Aria’s chest heaved in measured gasps as she fought to overcome the numbness slowly creeping through her body. She knelt down, picking up the scattered sheets of her architectural blueprints from the dusty concrete floor one by one. Her fingers trembled as she straightened the thick papers. She could not break. She would not allow those two people from her past to ruin what remained of her dignity and professional life. After gathering her files, Aria walked swiftly to her car, stepped on the gas, and left the megastructure

A suffocating silence instantly crept into every corner of the dimly lit living room. Lucas’s gaze, burning with passion and desperation, locked tightly onto Aria’s eyes, which were clouded with pain. Deep within the clear pupils of the man before her, Aria saw a raw, unadulterated honesty—a naked confession stripped of the arrogant mask that usually shielded the powerful CEO. The touch of Lucas’s fingers on her jaw felt warm and trembling, channeling a very real terror of losing her. Yet, just as Aria’s emotional defenses came close to crumbling under his vulnerability, her cold logic ruthlessly reclaimed control. Bitter memories from the past and the events of earlier that day flashed through her mind like a sudden bolt of lightning. The warmth of Lucas’s touch evaporated in an instant, replaced by an icy sensation that froze her blood. The vision of Lucas standing frozen—remaining silent and unresisting as Chloe wrapped her arms around him in his private office—was etched vividl

The thick silence enveloping the house shattered when a rapid succession of knocks echoed from outside. The hasty, impatient pounding bounced along the living room walls, forcefully cutting off Aria’s half-subsiding sobs. Aria caught her breath instantly. Her body, previously curled up against the door, snapped rigid. Her fingers moved swiftly to wipe away the remaining tears dampening her cheeks, erasing the trace of vulnerability that had just held sway over her soul. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, taking a deep breath to summon the mask of ice she usually wore. In a matter of seconds, her fragile expression transformed into a flat, emotionless countenance. No one could be allowed to see how broken she was behind this door. With slightly trembling fingers, Aria took a long breath and turned the doorknob. In her mind, she had prepared herself to face Lucas, who might have returned because he forgot his car keys or simply wanted to continue their heated argument. Yet as