جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Malhart stood at the head of the conference table with a posture that betrayed nothing, yet his eyes carried the weight of every decision he had been forced to make in the last few weeks. The room was still, but not calm. It was the kind of stillness that came right before a storm broke loose, the kind that made even the confident shift in their seats without realizing it.He had already announced it. Lumi would be given the chance to lead the project.He had seen the reaction before anyone even spoke. The tightening of jaws, the faint scoffs that were quickly hidden, the disbelief that flickered across more than one face. And yet he had not flinched. The decision was not emotional, even if some assumed it was. It was calculated. Measured. Backed by results that none of them could deny.Internally, Malhart acknowledged what no one else was saying aloud. This was Aaron’s doing in a way only Aaron would manage. A silent intervention disguised as corporate structure. A way of correcting

The dining hall of the Vanders estate carried its usual elegance that evening, but beneath the polished surface of fine cutlery and warm lighting, something colder lingered. Lumi felt it the moment she stepped inside. It was not something visible, not something anyone could point to, but it existed all the same, like a tension stretched too tightly across a room that only needed one wrong word to snap.Her eyes moved quickly across the table.Everyone important was already seated.Grandpa Elias sat at the head with his usual composed authority, his presence grounding the room in tradition and expectation. Aaron was seated to his right, calm in that unreadable way that always made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. And then there was Mia.The sight of her made Lumi’s thoughts tighten instantly.Mia was smiling.Not the polite kind of smile people used at dinners, but something softer, almost sweet, almost innocent. It was the kind of expression that should have been reassuri

The next morning did not come with clarity.It came with weight.Lumi woke up earlier than usual, not because she had slept well, but because her thoughts had refused to stay quiet long enough for rest to feel complete. The events of the previous night lingered in her mind, replaying themselves in fragments she could not fully piece together without feeling that same tightness settle in her chest again.She did not wait for Aaron.It was deliberate.Normally, their schedules aligned enough that leaving together had become an unspoken routine, something subtle and unnoticed by others. But today, she moved ahead on purpose. There was no discussion, no announcement, no acknowledgment of the shift.Just distance.As she stepped out of the estate and into the car, she muttered quietly under her breath, “I need space.”The words were not loud, but they carried enough intention to steady her.When she arrived at the office, something felt off almost immediately.It was not obvious at first

Several days had passed since the project officially began, and to Lumi’s quiet surprise, the storm she had expected never truly arrived.After the confrontation with Sophia, she had braced herself for backlash. She had expected tension to rise in meetings, whispers to grow louder, or even subtle retaliation from colleagues who felt she had crossed a line. Instead, what followed was something far more unsettling.Silence.There had been a formal query issued regarding her behavior, but it had carried no real weight. It was written in the usual corporate tone, polite yet firm, outlining expectations of professionalism. However, nothing came after it. No meeting was scheduled, no reprimand followed, and no further action was taken. It was as though the matter had been acknowledged only to be quietly buried.Lumi found herself thinking about it more than she wanted to admit.“This is strange,” she murmured one afternoon under her breath, her eyes fixed on her screen while her thoughts

Lumi did not wake up gently the next morning. Her eyes opened to a dull, persistent ache that settled deep in her head, the kind of pain that made even simple awareness feel like a burden. For a few seconds, she lay still, staring blankly at the ceiling as if waiting for the discomfort to fade on its own. It did not.A low groan escaped her lips as she pressed her palm against her forehead. “This is horrible,” she muttered, her voice dry and irritated. The pounding sensation seemed to respond to her movement, intensifying just enough to make her wince.Memories from the previous night began to return slowly, arriving in fragments rather than a complete picture. She remembered the bar, the loud music, Victoria insisting that she needed to relax, and the drinks she had foolishly agreed to. Then she remembered getting into a taxi, leaning against the window, and arriving at the estate. After that, everything became unclear, as though her mind had simply decided to stop recording.Her