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Chapter 25
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2024-09-20 23:26:42
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MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 26
Zara's POV"Kai, we can't do this," I whispered back, my breathlessness satiated with the depth of his kiss. The beating of my heart was a race for my mind to make out what was happening.Kai's arms jerked tighter around my waist as he pressed his forehead against mine. "Why not?" he growled, the voice so hoarse it was really raw emotion,and his eyes latched onto mine for answers to questions he hadn't asked yet.I swallowed hard against my throat as I said, "This...it wasn't supposed to happen like this."He leaned in a bit closer, his face against mine in a whisper. "And yet it did," he all but purred as his lips tickled down the side of my face. "You kissed me back, Zara. You wanted this.”It was one sentence, all that was needed, it seemed like the truth was catching in my breath a little too close to home, apparently. Well, I had kissed him back. In the intent of that one moment lay desperation and longing, or so it seemed. Or was it just a spark, or something deeper?Before I co
Last Updated : 2024-10-02MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 27
ZARA'S POV. I stood in front of the mirror, the gown Kai gave me pouring down my body like liquid gold. Hugging my body at just the right places, for a second, I felt like royalty. I ran a hand down the front of my body, smoothing over every inch of it. He had perfect taste; I'd have to admit that."Is it to your taste?" Kai's voice came from behind, even and smooth. I turned halfway, his eyes, meeting mine in the mirror."Perfect," I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "You always manage to surprise me."He leaned in, warm breath ghosting over my neck as he delicately drew a strand of hair around my ear. "You deserve nothing less."From the tone of his words, it sounded as though he tiptoed around so that one step in the wrong direction snapped the tentative peace we'd forged between us. I couldn't help it, I snorted at the imagery, Kai Anderson, heartless businessman, soft and snuggly. Strange as this change was in him, with each time with him, the onus of this protec
Last Updated : 2024-10-02MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 28
Zara's POV The phone rang again. I didn't need to check the screen because really, I knew exactly who it was. Liam had been calling more these last couple of days. His voice pulled on memories I've been trying to bury. Memories I had no business dwelling on now. Yet with each ring, that voice stirred something inside my body.I sat on the bed and watched as the phone vibrated its way along the nightstand until finally coming to rest, pinging a few seconds later just to let me know I had a message."Call me back, Zara. Please."I swallowed hard, shut my eyes, and took a deep breath. I had absolutely no business returning that call. That at least I knew. Still, the pull was undeniable. Before I knew what I was doing, my fingers were already dialing the number.Zara." The voice was soft, too intimate and tugged at my heart in ways really not expected."Liam," I whispered, answering for some reason, knowing full well I was playing with fire."What's going on,Zara?" he said, the lilt in h
Last Updated : 2024-10-02MARRIAGE PACT 29
Zara's POVI recovered from whatever daze I was and hastily pushed my phone beneath the pillow just as Kai entered, his features soft yet questioning. I forced a smile, commanded my heartbeat to steady. I couldn't tell him about Liam's call. Not now. Not when everything was looking up finally for us.Kai moved closer and sat beside me on the bed, tucking a strand of hair from my face. His fingers touching my skin sent shivers running down my spine, but this time it wasn't because I was afraid or jittery; it had grown inside, deeper than any doubts and confusion."You've been quiet," he said, his eyes scanning mine. "You okay?”I nodded, trying to swallow as my throat began to shrink in on itself. Really, I really couldn't not tell him everything anymore. But Liam? That part of my past needed to stay buried for now. I wasn't ready to open that door."I'm okay," I said in a whisper that was barely audible, not even convincing myself. "Just thinking."Kai lifted one brow-pretty obviously
Last Updated : 2024-10-04MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 30
Zara's POVSoft hums of laughter filled the dining room, clinking of silverware against plates that echoed in the background. I looked around the table, my heart pounding just a little too fast. Everybody was here, my father, Lena, Kai's mother. All the people who mattered and for once it seemed as if everything really was all right. A bit too right, maybe.Kai, I have to say," Mrs. Anderson said, patting her lips with her napkin, "This dinner is excellent. And Zara… you outdid yourself. The decor, the ambiance. So elegant."I saw Kai's smile across the table and returned one. His mother had always been standoffish, suspicious even, since everything had gone down. Tonight, though, there was a different tone in her voice, something warm, almost approving."Thank you, Mrs. Anderson, I'm glad you like it," I tried to say without my voice sounding like it was on an even keel, while my stomach was hosting a complete ecosystem of butterflies."Oh, call me Helen, dear, you're family now, af
Last Updated : 2024-10-04MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 31
ZARA'S POV.It's all one big blur tonight, me, the hall, racing heartbeats, spinning head, and Lena's words are still caught inside my head, thick fog in there. I swear to God, I heard the sound of her voice, it was as jealous as hell, asking if indeed I was happy with Kai, and that got me doubting it all in the first place. Whether I believe this, life with Kai, if this is really what I want?I leaned my back against the cool wall and took a deep, controlling breath. The house had plunged into an eerie silence after dinner. Kai was working in his study, but I knew what was to come. He'd asked me this morning, before all the craziness of tonight's dinner, if I would finally share a room with him. I'd heard him say that before, but tonight, after all that had happened, it was weighted. Like I was crossing some threshold with which I wasn't sure I was ready.I heard the soft pad of feet down the hall. Kai."Zara?" His voice was low, tinged with concern. "You've been standing here a whil
Last Updated : 2024-10-04MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 32
ZARA'S POVThe next morning I woke up in Kai's bed, my decision weighing inside my mind like a shadow. I'd chosen this, I'd chosen him, this life. Yet lying here staring at the ceiling, Liam's message still haunted me. ‘Let's talk this out. I love you.’ It was still echoing inside my head; it took everything not to respond. I'd chosen. For now.He was already up by the time I left the bedroom. Kai sipped his coffee in the kitchen, donning an easy smile. "Morning," he said, and the softness of his eyes when they hit mine yanked something inside my body."Morning," I replied, trying to sound light, but it didn't leave my chest.Kai set his coffee cup on the counter and nodded toward a small box on the counter. "I got something for you."I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"He reached for the box and flipped it open, revealing a sleek, black credit card. The sheen of it gleamed under the kitchen lights, taunting me. "It's yours," he said. "I want you to have whatever you need, Zara. Anythi
Last Updated : 2024-10-05MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 33
ZARA'S POVI passed under the entrance of this high class department store and my stomach was still twisted as if it was still heavy from that unlimited credit card in my bag. I turned to Lena beside me and her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she looked around."You serious, Zara? Unlimited card?" she shrieked, trying to bite a smile back and doing a very bad job. "Kai's spoiling you, sis. This is insane!"I nodded, still clearly not natural to spend so freely. "He told me to get anything I wanted. It's supposed to make me feel… supported."Lena grinned. "Girl, if this is his way of supporting you, I'd say he's doing a pretty damn good job. I'm so happy for you Zara. I was worried sick about you, I thought it was all a charade that he put you up to. But this is real."Teasingly enough, but my mind ran to something far more serious, and I didn't know whether the card had said something about Kai's care for me or something transactional. I shook the thought away and forced a smi
Last Updated : 2024-10-05
Latest chapter
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 98
ZARA'S POV I sit beside Liam's bed; the smell of the hospital is sterile. Machines beep steadily, their monotony no longer a reassuring sound. The sallowness of Liam's skin has sucked that vital spark from his face. With every breath, his chest rose and fell weakly. I could never have believed it would turn this way, the ending part with him. First, he came into my life as that confident, charming friend, one who would even make me laugh when I wouldn't want to smile. But here we are; the fact that one moment of his bravery sealed it for all of us changes everything.The creaking door opens, and in comes Michael, quietly, his gaze working its way around the space before finally resting on me. A faint trace of a smile bursts across that worn face, housing so much of the love held for me. He closes in before laying a reassuring hand on my shoulder in silent support."How is he?" Michael said softly, his voice barely audible over a whisper.I shake my head. "He's hanging on, but not fo
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 97
ZARA'S POV I'm not quite sure how long has passed, even, since I sat here fisting the recording in my hand, every word uttered on that recording was mere evidence to substantiate this dreadful truth I had existed with all these years, couldn't change, prove, or even escape. Everything stands so different now, however-Kai is dead and, with my future at last within reach, so it is time for my father's name to be cleansed of the stains attached.I glance down at the file full of all evidence against him in front of me to bring Mr. Klein into the courtroom. It was finally over: the man who killed my mother and, the man who framed my father for a crime that he did not commit, was finally going to pay for his misdeeds.Behind me, footsteps echo, and turning, I see Michael standing in the doorway. His eyes are fatigued yet full of determination. He had been at each turn with me through my journey and now was down to the final move he and I would make."How are you holding up?" he asks softl
MARRIAGE PACT 96
MICHAEL'S POVMy veins surge with adrenaline as I approach the mansion. It's what I have been planning for weeks-each move, each little thing calculated. Tonight is the night everything changes. Tonight, I take Zara home, which means everything I have sacrificed will pay off.Liam's inside now, on the path we rehearsed. I can hear Liam's voice in my ear, slow and steady, soothing even. He's good.What I need to do now is distract Kai with something.I step onto the property, my footsteps silent yet heavy with intent. I head for the main door at which Kai will already be waiting; timing will play a very big role here. Should anything go wrong, this whole thing goes up in smoke.I push the door open and step inside the dimly lit hall. The slight creak of the door does not send a jitter down my bones. One shot at this, and I am not going to back down now."Kai," I call out, hearing my voice echo in empty corridors.He sits behind his desk, that cold, calculated expression carved into his
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 95
Zara's POV I peer into the mirror, and the image staring back shows only an empty shell of the girl that once used to be. Michael's dead, and here I am in this mansion, caught by that very man who ruined my life. Every thought about him, Kai, grasps my heart with a fit of anger. But still, he presses on: he wants me to forget Michael, learn to cope with this kind of life-the twisted reality-to be his wife every waking day."Zara," his voice floats into the room deep and insistent. "Come out here. We need to talk."I didn't move. Not an inch. His commands mean absolutely nothing to me. Not anymore.The sound of his footsteps drew closer and I shrink further into the corner, knowing well how pathetic it sounded but quite beyond my control. A man who had taken away everything that mattered from me was master over this house. Well, today was different; at least he wasn't getting that satisfaction. The door creaked open."You can hide in here all you want, but you're never going to escape
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 94
ZARA'S POVI sat on my bed by the window, and the raindrops falling against the panes coursed down in rivulets without sound-a reflection of the void inside my soul. There lay my son, sleeping still peacefully on the bed, curled up into a small bundle, his steady breathing the only sound in my room. For an instant, at the sight of him, all was well again, but pretty soon my reality confronted me.A knock shattered the fragile silence."Ms Zara," Madam Tess's voice was indistinct from the other side. There was something odd in her tone, like hesitation, even fear.Slowly, I rose, quickening at the pulse. Opening the door, I found her standing there, clutching a folded piece of paper in her shaking hands."What is it?" I asked, a knot already forming in my stomach.It's. It's a message," she breathed over her shoulder, eyes wide in that wild, frantic way. "From jacob."I plucked the paper from her shaking fingers, mine shaking too as I unrolled it. The words were a real kick in the guts
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 93
ZARA'S POV For the past three years, I'd been telling myself-lying to myself, actually-I would never pass through those doors. Well, here I was at Kai's mansion gate with one heart in the rib, walking like gazelles all full and weighing in this huge over-reined guilt.The smell of polished wood and a touch of cologne wafted in as the heavy door now groaned open, while Madam Tess stood in the hall, her face alight with so much welcome just like always. "Madam Zara, you have returned!" she exclaimed in a voice that shook.I gave her no thought, strode right past her, as if she had never been, never broke my stride, my headset with one thing on my mind and one only, my son.Where is he?" I demanded ice with growing venom while whirling back a few feet to see Kai with dancing dark eyes and relishing the success.“Sleeping," growled gruff and small with curving lips ending into a smirk. "Welcome home, Zara.""It is not my home," I snapped.Kai's smirk grew. "Oh, but it is. Legally, nothi
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 92
Zara's POVThe shrill buzz of my ringing phone pulled me from my reverie. I had sat in my office, staring rather blankly at the papers on my desk, unable to focus on anything. When I glanced at the screen, the headline flashing across it stole the breath from my lungs: Jacob Donovan Arrested for Attempted Murder of Mr. Klein.I shook my head, hardly able to say the word. "No," I whispered, shaking it now as if that somehow was going to make this vanish. My hands had some kind of tremor when I unfolded the article to read it. And damned if the accusations weren't-wild, depicting Jacob as an avenging business that finally snapped under all those pressures.A wave of nausea rolled over me. It wasn't a Jacob attack; it was personal.I banged my phone down and leaned back in my chair, racing my mind. One didn't have to be a genius to know behind whom this was-Kai. It had his fingerprints all over it. Jacob had been my rock, my ally in this war against him, and sat now behind bars for somet
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 91
ZARA'S POVI sat at Hartmann's Enterprise, in my office, staring aimlessly at the screen of my computer. The numbers all seemed blurred together, the reports dim and far away. The only thing my mind replayed was the sound of the judge's ruling, the image of Kai walking out of the courtroom-smug-with my son in his arms. With every passing moment, the weight in my chest crushed me from the inside out.A soft rap at the door sliced through my fog. "Ms. White, you have a new message," my assistant Lily said in a faltering voice and laid an envelope on my desk before wheeling around to beat a swift retreat.I frowned at the plain white envelope. There was something about it that was … not quite right. I opened it, shaking, and pulled out a single sheet of paper.*Come home, Zara. You have to be with me and our son. Don't compel me to do something we'll both regret later on. Tell Michael to leave the matter alone- or he may not live any longer.*Those words sent a shiver down my spine. The
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 90
ZARA'S POVThat was one heavy courtroom; I could feel it, a weight palpable upon the air. Seated beside the plaintiff's table, clutching the photo of my son tightly between my clasped hands, every beat of my heart seemed to feel this invisible vice squeezing tight. Across the room, Kai sat oozing smug confidence: the expensive suit, cool, calm demeanor molding him into every inch of the untouchable mogul he wanted the world to think he was."Ready?" Michael whispered beside me, his hand light on my arm.I nodded, but by now my stomach had started to do its wildest churning ever. "I have to be," I whispered low, "for my son."In strode the judge, and to his presence as one single body rose the courtroom. "All rise," cut through the silence of the voice of the bailiff.We sat in a chair as the trial began and stood up to address the court with that gloss of refinement only money can provide."My client, Mr. Kai Adler, is here for safety and welfare for his son," he began, "He has testif
