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Chapter 43
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MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 44
ZARA'S POVI stepped out of the hospital and inhaled deep as the cool breeze stroked my skin. Jacob walked beside me wordlessly but was there with me as we walked away from the sterilized confines. My head whirred on Is this real? Had we just given them a DNA sample? Was I finally going to see whether my dad isn't my real father?Not a single one of those emotions escaped onto my face. Jacob didn't see that the slightest bit of chaos was churning inside me."So." Jacob's voice cut through the silence. "How are you feeling?”I gave him a sideways look. "I'm good," I said a little too quickly. Thing was, I hadn't been feeling good for days. My belly had been tied up in knots since that old conversation in the park, but like heck was I about to let that on.We had stopped at the curb where his car was parked, and yet he didn't open my door. He turned to me instead; his eyes seemed an etching of concern. "Zara, the doctor said you haven't been eating well, and you're carrying a child. Yo
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 45
ZARA'S POV.Sobs wracked my body across the silent restaurant. God, I detested this feeling-the utter feeling of powerlessness. Everything that I knew was tumbling down at my feet. Jacob came and sat next to me, his big frame overshadowing mine as he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me. I wanted to push him away, scream at him to leave me alone, but I didn't. I let him be there holding me, since despite all that had gone down, I needed someone anchoring me.His voice was soft, almost broken, with the words: "I'm so sorry, Zara. I didn't mean for things to happen this way."I snuffled out, "Sorry? You are sorry?" as my fists pounded his chest in an attack full of heart. You come into my life and turn my world upside down, and all you can say is sorry? Why now? Why now that I am finally happy? When everything was going so smoothly with Kai? When I thought nothing could ever go wrong again, you show up and ruin it all!” He didn't flinch or budge as the blows fell. His arms were still
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 46
ZARA'S POVHovering outside his study door, my shaking hand toyed over the handle. My heart ran a mile a minute inside my chest and my palms clutched the voice recorders hard enough to leave bruises. Now, it all weighed upon me-the secrets, the lies, the truth. Yet I just have to find out.I took a deep breath, feeling my chest start to quake as I reached for the cold door handle and slipped silently inside Kai's study. It was empty, but the slightest hint of his cologne hung in the air. As it usually was, the room was neat, everything in its place, nothing out of order. I went right to his desk, not trying to feel one bit guilty, knelt down, and pushed the recorder underneath. My hands shook when trying to clip it in and I made sure that it was connected to my phone.I whirled and ran backward, with my heart pounding in my chest. This was wrong, yet necessary. I could still hear Jacob's voice in my head. ‘You deserve the truth.’I turned and exited the study as quickly as I entered,
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 47
ZARA'S POV"We got Jacob's location."The world seemed to tilt sideways beneath my feet. My heart fell to my stomach. Jacob. What did they want with him? I strained harder to hear more, holding onto the phone so tightly it hurt."Good," Kai's voice came through the recorder in his study. "We need to get rid of him before he causes any damage. He knows too much, and i know he won't keep stil.l""I agree," my father said. His voice was firm and clipped, colder than I'd ever heard it. "Jacob's release was bound to stir trouble. They should have let him rot in prison. Now he might try to expose the truth.""The truth about what?" I wondered as my brain did this frenzied relay, trying to put it all together.The next words out of my Kai's mouth, and everything in my world came crashing down."This is all your fault though,I didn't know how you were so careless to let him witness you killing her.”I let out a gasp, my hand flying up to slap over my mouth, hopelessly trying to stifle the so
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 48
ZARA'S P.O.V.The sunlight streaming through the large dining room windows was too warm, too bright. I sat across from Kai, my eyes fixed on the breakfast laid out before us, but unable to eat a single thing. My head still reeled from the conversation I'd overheard the night before, that dark and horrifying truth about the way my mother had been murdered. The man opposite me, my husband, the man I've grown to love, had been a part of her death. And Jacob was next.I took a deep, hard breath and fought hard to go numb, push all my anger, my sadness, my fear inside. Kai didn't know what I'd heard. Not yet. I wasn't ready for that kind of confrontation.“Zara," Kai's voice pulled me back to reality. He was smiling at me, that disarming smile he always seemed to hold up as his defense. My skin crawled now. How could he even look at me like that, as if he hasn't ripped my world in two?"Hm?" I muttered, barely able to lift my gaze to his."You've been going out quite frequently lately," he
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 49
ZARA'S POV"Zara," Jacob whispered, his voice low, serious, taking another step closer to me. "I knew it would come to this. I knew your dad along with Kai would do anything to get rid of me." His eyes bored into mine, serious, unblinking. "They covered their tracks for years. And they would do anything to keep it buried.”I blinked, still having a heart overbeating in my chest from the drive-terror of being caught. "I didn't want to believe it at first," I whispered, shaking my head. "But you were right. I overheard them last night… everything." My voice shook because the memory was still too fresh. "I heard them through the bug recorder you gave me."Jacob nodded, his jaws tight. "I thought maybe you might have found out by now. The pieces always fall into place together, sooner or later. You have been living in a cage of lies, Zara. Deceit, betrayal, monsters, all of them."The word monsters swirled in my mind. How was I ever so blinded for so long? I laid my hand on my chest in th
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 50
ZARA'S POV I sat on the bed and stared into the report that I just received from the hospital. It was it. Jacob was my biological father. Not that this was news to me anymore, for everything that I had heard over the past two weeks had pointed in that direction. Yet, I had spent the better part of my life in a lie amalgamating with those very people I was supposed to trust. Now, I know the truth.I had recordings, evidence of every whispered conversation, every shady deal between Kai and my so-called father, Mr. Klein, even Mrs. Adler, Kai's mother; they were all involved, deeper than I could have ever imagined. My mother's murder, the illegal operations running beneath Kai's company, it all connected. And I was right in the middle of it.Kai, though. Kai had been sweet. Too sweet. More presents, more cuddles. Each touch of his hand, each kiss only seemed to pull that knot in my stomach tighter. He was trying to make me feel secure, trying to make me to believe nothing was wrong. I
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 51
ZARA'S POV.I pulled up to my father's mansion, the mansion that once seemed so much like home, but now was the heart of everything dark and twisted in my life. Stepping from the car, my pulse quickened. I wasn't ready for what was about to go down, but at this point, I had no other choice. The sleek cars lined up against the driveway, soft murmurs of music bleeding from the house, it just felt all so wrong.I grasped the door handle, fighting for my head to clear from these racing thoughts. Why would Lena lie to me? And Liam… why was his voice mixed with hers? But only for a minute, because the questions in my head were drowned by the scene that greeted me upon entering through the front door.A lavish party.It wasn't a "little gathering" as Lena had so innocently put it. No, this was big-grandiose-something of a celebration of sorts. Heavy, expensive perfume wafted through the air, together with laughter and chinking glasses high to toast champagne. I swallowed hard and moved throu
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MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 68
ZARA'S POV. FLASHBACK.The pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils as I blinked into consciousness, the fluorescent lights above my head a brutal brightness to the eyes. Blinking a few times, I turned my head slowly around me. That was when I saw him sitting next to my hospital bed, concern etched deep in his features."I am so sorry," he said in that low, firm voice of his. "I didn't see you. I thought.."Stop," I whispered, my throat dry and raw. "You saved my life. You brought me here.""I had to," he pressed on, leaning further in. "You were… I hit you. I was terrified."In a few moments, the nurse came in, took my vitals, and peripherally I had forgotten all the agony that had lanced through my body. Finally finding my voice, I asked in a whisper, "What about my baby?”She reassured me that my baby was all right and that I really was lucky, not to have been hurt so seriously in the accident. The relief that flowed in then was displaced by the weight of my situation. My
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 67
LENA'S POV.I gripped the edge of the vanity, staring at my pale reflection. Zara. Her name clung to my tongue like poison, filling me with a rush of anger and fear. I'd hoped she would just stay gone after everything-after she found out about Liam and me. She had been so broken, so devastated. I'd hoped that would be the end of it.There she was, back from the past, standing beside no less a figure than Michael Hartmann. Of course, who did not know him: the billionaire whose influence cut across Berlin and beyond. Papa had been dying for a business partnership with his company; he said that was what would take ours to the next level. But if Zara swayed him against us…My bedroom door burst open, and Father stormed in, his face twisted with exasperation. "Lena, do you understand what this means?" his voice came sharp, tinged with anger so barely controlled. "This isn't some girl with a grudge. She's come back with Michael Hartmann. Do you know what that means for us?”"I know, Father,
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 66
KAI'S POV The room was din around me, the raw shock pounding through my veins, or that moment of clarity when it fell into place, but it just crashed upon me like a freight train. Michael Hartmann-the name which I had heard three years ago in that hospital when they told me she'd been taken out of the country. A man with that last name had been with her. Then, divorce papers. I was off and running. Michael Hartmann was the reason she'd left.I caught her alone just as she slipped away from the crowd. I moved fast, catching her arm and yanking her onto the balcony. Cold air slapped both of us when she whirled, eyes narrowing."What the hell do you think you're doing, Kai?" she snapped, jerking her arm free of my grasp."What am I doing?" I spat, voice shrill, trebly loud with the weight of years in unasked questions. "Zara, what am I doing? You vanished into thin air. You left me with nothing. And then you show up now, pretending… this?" My hand gestured to the door, to everything in
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 65
Kai's POVThe announcer's voice sliced through the hushed mass of people inside, nothing compared to the increase in tension inside that room, taking my brain away from the Michael Hartmann mystery. That look of wonder, how he stared straight into my eyes as though to know me, some hidden secret which only he can uncover with his eyes-just left something chilling upon my veins.His voice, with the microphone, boomed again, "Tonight, I am delighted to introduce you to a lady who is not only my fiancée but also my bright and supportive partner in this new venture. "The words were like a train that slapped and flung me back into reality. Fiancée? Partner? My gaze sliced to him; my heart was running amok."Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Zara! "My heart stopped. Of all names, Zara.She walked out towards the stage, and for this one moment, in surreal fashion, the whole world did this weird flip around her. It was her, Zara; my Zara, this woman whom I had looked
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 64
Kai's POVThe host strode up the stage, his voice sonorously resounding in the luxurious ballroom and pulling me out of my conversation with Alina and Lena. I had been waiting for a reason, any reason, to tune out of their chit-chat, and it seemed I finally had one.“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer spoke dramatically. “We are really privileged to introduce to you the CEO of Hartmann Enterprises: a man of vision, of legacy, who brings with him not just an empire but the promise of a new future.”I covered a yawn; the interest was just about nil. Each night was one and the same: a platform of cash and prestige filled with people dying to show off their influence. But as he went on further, I really did wrap myself up in one phrase that said: "A man of legacy." It resonated, though I couldn't quite place why."Tonight, please welcome… Michael Hartmann!”I straightened; my eyes narrowed. Hartmann. The name sounded to reverberate in my brain, tugging from a memory buried deep. I could
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 63
Lena's POVThe crystal chandeliers above cast soft golden glows on the finest of Berlin. I snapped the diamond bracelet onto my wrist and then turned to Liam standing beside me; his expression was set in that mask of disinterest so characteristic. He hadn't said a word all evening, but that didn't matter. Tonight was not about him-it was about appearances. And I needed ours to be impeccable."Can you believe this?" I said beaming, taking in the passing guests. "This CEO that everyone's talking about-he's already causing such a stir and he hasn't even arrived yet. Apparently he's young, from New Zealand and his family's legacy is-what's the word I'm looking for? Legendary.”Liam nodded shortly, his gaze already roving to the exits. I clench my teeth, hoping he would just bloody well fake interest in this. My voice didn't quiver as I plunged on, "Father is talking about a partnership, and if we play our cards right, it's going to be a translation of more influence inside Berlin business
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 62
Kai's POVI stared blankly at the woman across from me as my brain went numb, listening to her list all that she had accomplished, all of those high-end fashion events she had attended, and all those awards she had won. More than full-fledged into the fifth minute of elaboration about her high-end fashion career, her voice rose with each sentence ringing with pride.".and last year, I received the European Fashion Innovator award," she concluded, her chin just that fraction higher. "Honestly, it felt like a walkover without stress. I was kind of disappointed, all the others were just no competition at all. You understand how that goes, Kai-mediocrity has no standing against true talent.”I didn't change expression, only nodded a little to forward the encouragement. It was a trick I'd gotten pretty good at: the supportive nod and the accompanying hum that let people know I was really, really paying attention. She didn't catch on that I hadn't said a word in the last ten minutes. Or may
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 61
Kai's POVI stared blankly at the paper works in front of me, my mind was far from it. Three years…. Three years of searching, of questions that had gone unanswered, of nights that had gone with sleeplessness. Three years of wondering if Zara even remembered me, if she still thought of me-or if she was already lost in a world with someone else. And if she was… Is she raising our child with him? At the thought, my chest tightened with churning anger in my tummy, like a bitter edge.A knock on my door yanked me out of the spiral my thoughts had taken."Come in," I said, gruffer than I intended.My mother stepped in, the lines of her face set in that soft look of concern she had been wearing of late. "Kai," she said softly, seating herself across from me. "It's late. You should be home, rather than burying your nose in work.”"Work's all I have left, Mother," I replied flatly, without emotion, uncaring if the honesty hurt. The concern swirled in her eyes, but after years of her hinting a
MARRIAGE PACT Chapter 60
KAI'S POVI pulled up to the address Mark had given me, eyes narrowing as I took in the tall gray façade of the building. A hospital. My chest clenched as anxiety crept up my throat. Why would Zara be here? Has she been hurt? And what about the baby? My baby. But no sooner was I inside, the sliding of automated doors, the sterile smell of antiseptic hitting my nostrils, did little to improve my disposition. My eyes did a quick sweep of the waiting room before they settled upon the receptionist, a girl, probably in her early twenties, fidgeting over a stack of files.I approached her; urgency practically dripped from my pores. "Excuse me," I said, stammering and fighting to keep the shakiness out of my voice. "I'm trying to find someone, a patient named Zara Adler. She was just recently admitted here this month."She looked up at me, with a courteous expression, voice detached. "Let me check," she said, fingers already racing across her keyboard. "Zara Adler, you said?""Yes, Zara Ad
