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Chapter 31
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2024-10-04 11:53:33
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MARRIAGE 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 : 2024-10-05MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 34
LIAM'S POVI didn't turn my gaze away from her until she vanished out of sight. Long after the outline of her figure dissolved outside my sphere of vision, that ache in my chest refused to let go. She was gone; again. I fisted my hands deeper into my pockets to keep myself from running after her. But what good would that have done? She'd already made up her mind."Liam," Lena's voice cut into my reflections, soft tentative. "Are you ok?"I exhaled hard, turning to her belatedly. "What do you think?"One step closer; soft steps, yet resolute. I could feel her gaze on me, but I couldn't turn to her. My head was too full of Zara, her face, her words, her damn loyalty to Kai. Twisting inside me, that knot of frustration refused to loosen."I know it's hard," Lena whispered; she sounded a lot surer now. "But maybe this is for the best. Zara's… she's with Kai now. You need to move on."‘Move on.’ I could have laughed. Like that was so easy. How was I supposed to move on when every single t
Last Updated : 2024-10-05MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 35
ZARA'S POVI stood in the nursery, a sea of pastel colors all around me. The room was almost ready for the baby, but that mix of excitement and anxiety still had me folding and arranging the tiny clothes in the drawers. Every little piece made it all a little fresher. This wasn't just a dream anymore, I was going to be a mom."Zara!" Kai yelled from the other room, breaking my concentration.I checked the time. Just mid-morning, he was home from work already. I couldn't help the curve upwards in a smile. "Yeah? I'm in the nursery!"He stepped inside, leaning against the doorframe with that too-wide-to-ignore grin. "Need any help?”"No, I'm good, just trying to make everything perfect." Then I turned to him, and for a second, something glittered in his eyes, the excitement or mischief. "And you…what's got you so happy."He shrugged, looking around the room. "Just thinking how much I love it here, and how lucky I am."I snorted softly, the warmth of his words wrapping themselves around
Last Updated : 2024-10-06MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 36
ZARA'S POV"Just make sure you eat on time, okay?" Kai returned casually, though his eyes were dead serious. Since the minute I had asked him about his hushed conversation with Madam Tess in the kitchen, he had dismissed me. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss upon my forehead, and the smell of his cologne enveloped me, a smell that made me feel so safe, so secure."Of course! I'll just get some fruits first" I replied coolly, trying hopefully to show in my eyes just how concerned I was."Good. I'll catch you later." He grinned at me and slipped out the door, leaving me with a swirl of thoughts and questions.Later that afternoon, knowing the rest of it was going to be ultra-quiet, Lena phoned me and asked me whether I wanted to dine with her and my father. "Just a simple dinner," she said, "just family." And my first reactions were rather apprehensive, my mind still faced so much uncertainty, but it crossed my mind that I would just go with the flow; at least that would do some go
Last Updated : 2024-10-06MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 37
LENA'S POV.I frowned across the room at how Kai threw an arm across Zara's shoulders as they laughed together. In the radiant lights, sparkling like stars, her face was like one standing out, it reached in and yanked my heart down. She could be this happy lapping up the glow of everybody's admiration. Did she even know what she had?"Lena!" My father's voice cut into my thoughts, dragging me back to the reality of the party. "Are you all right? You look a bit pale.""Yeah, just… enjoying the atmosphere." I forced a smile, though my eyes did stay around Zara. "It's quite a party, right?"He nodded, none wiser over my inner turmoil. "Your sister deserves this after everything she has been through."Everything she has been through? It was like I was the only one who didn't matter,"Of course," I said, not showing how it really felt.In an instant, I spotted Liam was across the room off near the drinks table, eyes glued on Zara. And me? Wasn't anyone supposed to care that I, too, had been
Last Updated : 2024-10-06MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 38
Zara's POVThe sun was just about setting, sending golden rays on the horizon. I fell back against the plush seat of the convertible and immediately, the wind began playing with my hair. On one side lay the endless ocean; on the other side of the road, hills were clothed in lush greenery. It could only get better because Kai had really gone all out to make my birthday unforgettable and now this trip.“You're quiet," Kai said, his voice low, his hand lying atop mine. "Too much sun? Or just enjoying the view?"I smiled, twisting my head to meet his gaze. "Just… taking it all in. You've really outdone yourself, Kai. The party, the car, it's overwhelming."He gave a small, satisfied grin. "Nothing is too much for you, Zara.”The husky voice saying my name wrung emotion into my chest. I flipped my hand over and laced our fingers together. This felt right. For the first time in a very long time, I wasn't thinking about anything else but this moment. All tensions and complications between us
Last Updated : 2024-10-07MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 39
Kai's POV“Sir. Mr Klein and Ms Lena are here to see you.” Dean, my assistant said, through the intercom."Let them in," I replied, laying down the pen in my hand.Mr Klein walked in with Lena at his heels. I could sense something brewing, the minute they stepped inside. Mr. Klein's expression was unreadable, and there was something cold about the way he scanned the space before he set his gaze on mine. Lena then flashed one of those well-practiced smiles, though it never really reached her eyes."Kai," Mr. Klein said; his voice deep, formal as it always was. "I hope we are not disturbing you.""Not at all," I said, rising to shake his hand. "It is a surprise. I wasn't expecting a visit."Lena flashed me a smile; something danced in her eyes that I couldn't quite place. "We thought we'd drop by.”I waved my hand toward the chairs in front of my desk. "Please, have a seat."They sat down, Mr. Klein smoothing his suit jacket before easing back in the chair, with his hands folded neatl
Last Updated : 2024-10-07
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
