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Chapter 58

Penulis: Danielle
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-24 21:57:27

Silvia’s heart was in her throat, pounding so hard she could feel it like a tolling bell behind her ribs . The call of doom had come from a hospital nearly an hour away from the mansion, not even the one closest to him. That alone had sent a spike of dread through her chest, but what followed was worse.

Ralph had been in an accident. And she had been the last person he communicated with.

She barely remembered the ride over. Everything felt like it was moving too fast and too slow at once. The world outside the window had blurred by, all while time inside her seemed frozen.

Just this morning, they’d been together. Just this morning, he’d kissed her forehead and said he’d try to come back early. He’d promised.

Who knew he wouldn’t even get to the airport let alone, Chicago?

Fate was a fickle bitch.

The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air as she rushed through sliding glass doors, each step heavier than the last.

The doctor who met her didn’t sugarcoat the diagnosis, and it hit
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  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 59

    Silvia was assaulted like a slap in the face by the antiseptic smell of the hospital room, utterly contrasting to Ralph's warmth just hours previously. Warmth that was now nothing more than an illusion, an apparition only by way of memory of what was now gone in the screams of skidded tires and breaking glass.Rebecca's grin grew wide, like a snake uncoiling in triumph. Her words oozed syrupy sweetness, every line a planned stab in Silvia's belly: "I told you, sweetheart. He knows whose side is next to him."Silvia found her voice, though her voice shook. "Ralph, it's me. Your wife. Silvia." She took a step closer, her gaze locked with his vacant eyes, hoping for a flicker of recognition, a spark of her beloved husband.He furrowed his brow, a wrinkle of confusion tracing its way across his face. "Wife?" He used the term as though it was unfamiliar, his tone coarse. He looked at Rebecca with a silent questioning gaze. Her other hand gripped his more firmly. "Don't strain yourself, m

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 60

    The sun was setting.The opulent foyer of the mansion was uncomfortable for Silvia. Recently, she'd dusted these sparkling floors as Ralph's maid, not a wife now. The marble was cold on her knees now as she erased an evanescent stain from it, her nostrils flaring at the pungent cleaning agent. The odor was a harsh reminder of a life left behind: one of drudgery and suppressed resentment.Wearing one of the silk robes belonging to Silvia as an act of appropriation, Rebecca was in the doorway, her half glass of champagne in her hand. Her quick, calculating gaze passed over Silvia with unguarded amusement."Seriously, Silvia," Rebecca slurred, mixing her amber drink in its glass, "you're far too sloppy. Mr. Spade is a perfectionist. Don't you recall?"The jab hit close to home. Mr. Spade. The formality was a barrier between them, an obstinate erasing of their closeness. Her knuckles gripped the scrub brush tightly."Yes, Miss Wilson," she replied flatly, anger no longer flowing through

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 61

    The days folded into weeks, every one a dull routine of polishing, cleaning, and serving. Silvia glided through the great house like a ghost, her footsteps silent on the marble, her gaze down. Ralph's disinterest was a weight to her, a stifling shroud of sadness. Rebecca's insults, once razor-edged and cruel, were now an aching throb, a reminder of her diminished station.In reflective surfaces, she would see snippets of her past: a beautiful perfume bottle on a vanity she once shared with Ralph, a picture on a bookshelf showing them both laughing and untroubled on their wedding day. Every reflection was a splinter from a broken mirror, a painful reminder of her vibrant, happy life snatched away.Hope, obstinate emberlike, smoldered and went out. The unaccommodating impossibility of penetrating Ralph's amnesia, and Rebecca's remorseless coercion, appeared an insuperable obstacle. He often looked at her with polite insensitivity, a foreigner in his house, as Rebecca smiled at him, vi

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 62

    The ensuing weeks descended into a stifling routine for Silvia. The mansion that had stood as a communal sanctuary now became a gilded cage. Ralph was still blind to everything, his gaze fixed on Rebecca with an unsettling blend of need and adoration.Buoyed by her unchallenged command, Rebecca began exercising her power with greater assertiveness. She would summon Silvia with a snap of her finger, ordering her with a flick of her wrist. The silk garments that once flowed over Silvia now fell over Rebecca's frame, a quiet, visual reminder of the life that was deceptively taken from her.She was meticulously polishing the great piano in the music room one afternoon, a job she used to delight in doing, often humming a little melody to herself as she cleaned when Rebecca and Ralph entered, speaking in soft, conspiratorial tones."The Duniq gala is this week, sweetheart," Rebecca told him, her possessive grip on Ralph's arm. "All has to be perfect. I want Silvia to coordinate all the de

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 63

    The silence of Burke's despair and inability weighed heavily on Silvia. Even his fleeting friendship had been a whispered acknowledgment of the truth Rebecca so tirelessly concealed. But beyond their quiet, the party continued, muffled in its glittering pretense. Each metallic laugh, each artificial compliment, was another ripple of despair flooding Silvia's beach, steadily eroding what little remained to her.At a later hour, flushed with triumph and several glasses of champagne, Rebecca nudged her way through a throng of people to Silvia, pilfering glasses from an empty side table. Her eyes flashed with mischievous delight."You know, Silvia," she slurred somewhat, her tone had lost its sharp bite behind its pretended jollity, "you almost look like you belong here—if one squints, and conveniently forgets you're on the payroll." She added a dry laugh at the end of her remark.The lively chatter around her faded into a dull hum, intensified by Rebecca’s probing questions."Maybe you

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 64

    The transformation in Ralph's personality bled over from within the bounds of their love relationship; it crossed over into his business as well. The forceful, resolute businessman Silvia had admired was now waffling, looking for Rebecca's opinion on even the most minor decisions. Rebecca, an opportunist to her core, exploited this flaw, inserting herself into every facet of his business.Boardroom conferences, previously Ralph's domain, now included Rebecca by his side, offering uninvited advice and inserting her opinion at will. The other executives, initially shocked by her ungraceful return and at her assertive nature, learned with little effort that going against her meant going against Ralph, who was still very much incapacitated. A chill of gray spread through the ranks of professionals, complaints regarding Ralph's use of Rebecca muttered behind closed doors.Silvia, relegated to the role of silent onlooker, would occasionally overhear fragments of conversation between Ralp

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 64

    The unease Julian Vance had caused lingered in Silvia's mind, a crack in the despondency wall that had begun to surround her. His words, vague but unsettling, implied an added degree of manipulation, one extending outside Ralph's personal domain and into the bedrock of his empire.The suspense at home reached its climax. Rebecca sensed Ralph's veiled shift in attitude – fleeting, confusing seconds of indecision, a flicker of old resolve struggling to take its rightful place – strengthened her grip all the more.Her commands became insistent, her control absolute. She stood over Ralph at every turn, her voice soft and commanding, protecting him ever more from every conceivable reminder of his history.Silvia was laying out dinner, her movements slow and precise in an attempt to hold on to her disorganized existence. Ralph entered the dining area, forehead furrowed, with a photo in his hands – a photo of Ralph and Silvia horsing around on their honeymoon. It was a photo Rebecca somehow

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25
  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 66

    The Spire letters in her palm weighed as much as lead. The harsh, unyielding reality of Rebecca's dupery, so clever and complicated a scheme, burned her with a desperate passion. She must locate some means of making Ralph see, shattering this fiction Rebecca had gone to such lengths to weave.Her first attempt was subtle. While having dinner that evening, as Ralph recounted Rebecca's sharp words at the most recent board meeting, Silvia tactfully interrupted.The Spire deal appears to be very complicated, Ralph," she told him in a very neutral tone. "Did you scrutinize all terms carefully?"Ralph frowned, glancing at Rebecca for verification. "Rebecca promises it is a safe investment. She has a keen financial mind."Rebecca gave her a tight smile. "Of course, darling. I always have your best interests at heart." Her eyes, though, sent Silvia a stern warning.Silvia pressed on softly. "But long-term forecasts, are they as favorable as they appear?"Ralph's brow furrowed deeper, a glint

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-25

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  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 67

    As Rebecca’s threat hung in the air like smoke, acrid and choking, Julian’s grip tightened.His hold was brutal on Silvia's arm, his fingers sinking into her flesh. He began dragging her towards the door. Rebecca's eyes flashed with a victorious cruelty, Silvia worse than what she had ever witnessed. The room, previously filled with the melancholic notes of their melody, now hummed with threat."Where do you imagine you're taking me?" she asked, trying to maintain a defiant tone despite her quavering voice.He didn't say a word, his expression a mask of chilly impassiveness as he dragged her through the empty mansion. Rebecca followed behind him, her smile a ravenous one.Down the grand staircase, they descended, rich ambiance colliding with the raw terror that gripped Silvia. A fleeting catch at seeing herself in one of several gilded mirrors – a pale, disheveled woman dragged down her hallway – soured her tongue with injustice.Down they descended, into cold, moist air. Julian led

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 66

    The Spire letters in her palm weighed as much as lead. The harsh, unyielding reality of Rebecca's dupery, so clever and complicated a scheme, burned her with a desperate passion. She must locate some means of making Ralph see, shattering this fiction Rebecca had gone to such lengths to weave.Her first attempt was subtle. While having dinner that evening, as Ralph recounted Rebecca's sharp words at the most recent board meeting, Silvia tactfully interrupted.The Spire deal appears to be very complicated, Ralph," she told him in a very neutral tone. "Did you scrutinize all terms carefully?"Ralph frowned, glancing at Rebecca for verification. "Rebecca promises it is a safe investment. She has a keen financial mind."Rebecca gave her a tight smile. "Of course, darling. I always have your best interests at heart." Her eyes, though, sent Silvia a stern warning.Silvia pressed on softly. "But long-term forecasts, are they as favorable as they appear?"Ralph's brow furrowed deeper, a glint

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 64

    The unease Julian Vance had caused lingered in Silvia's mind, a crack in the despondency wall that had begun to surround her. His words, vague but unsettling, implied an added degree of manipulation, one extending outside Ralph's personal domain and into the bedrock of his empire.The suspense at home reached its climax. Rebecca sensed Ralph's veiled shift in attitude – fleeting, confusing seconds of indecision, a flicker of old resolve struggling to take its rightful place – strengthened her grip all the more.Her commands became insistent, her control absolute. She stood over Ralph at every turn, her voice soft and commanding, protecting him ever more from every conceivable reminder of his history.Silvia was laying out dinner, her movements slow and precise in an attempt to hold on to her disorganized existence. Ralph entered the dining area, forehead furrowed, with a photo in his hands – a photo of Ralph and Silvia horsing around on their honeymoon. It was a photo Rebecca somehow

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 64

    The transformation in Ralph's personality bled over from within the bounds of their love relationship; it crossed over into his business as well. The forceful, resolute businessman Silvia had admired was now waffling, looking for Rebecca's opinion on even the most minor decisions. Rebecca, an opportunist to her core, exploited this flaw, inserting herself into every facet of his business.Boardroom conferences, previously Ralph's domain, now included Rebecca by his side, offering uninvited advice and inserting her opinion at will. The other executives, initially shocked by her ungraceful return and at her assertive nature, learned with little effort that going against her meant going against Ralph, who was still very much incapacitated. A chill of gray spread through the ranks of professionals, complaints regarding Ralph's use of Rebecca muttered behind closed doors.Silvia, relegated to the role of silent onlooker, would occasionally overhear fragments of conversation between Ralp

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 63

    The silence of Burke's despair and inability weighed heavily on Silvia. Even his fleeting friendship had been a whispered acknowledgment of the truth Rebecca so tirelessly concealed. But beyond their quiet, the party continued, muffled in its glittering pretense. Each metallic laugh, each artificial compliment, was another ripple of despair flooding Silvia's beach, steadily eroding what little remained to her.At a later hour, flushed with triumph and several glasses of champagne, Rebecca nudged her way through a throng of people to Silvia, pilfering glasses from an empty side table. Her eyes flashed with mischievous delight."You know, Silvia," she slurred somewhat, her tone had lost its sharp bite behind its pretended jollity, "you almost look like you belong here—if one squints, and conveniently forgets you're on the payroll." She added a dry laugh at the end of her remark.The lively chatter around her faded into a dull hum, intensified by Rebecca’s probing questions."Maybe you

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 62

    The ensuing weeks descended into a stifling routine for Silvia. The mansion that had stood as a communal sanctuary now became a gilded cage. Ralph was still blind to everything, his gaze fixed on Rebecca with an unsettling blend of need and adoration.Buoyed by her unchallenged command, Rebecca began exercising her power with greater assertiveness. She would summon Silvia with a snap of her finger, ordering her with a flick of her wrist. The silk garments that once flowed over Silvia now fell over Rebecca's frame, a quiet, visual reminder of the life that was deceptively taken from her.She was meticulously polishing the great piano in the music room one afternoon, a job she used to delight in doing, often humming a little melody to herself as she cleaned when Rebecca and Ralph entered, speaking in soft, conspiratorial tones."The Duniq gala is this week, sweetheart," Rebecca told him, her possessive grip on Ralph's arm. "All has to be perfect. I want Silvia to coordinate all the de

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 61

    The days folded into weeks, every one a dull routine of polishing, cleaning, and serving. Silvia glided through the great house like a ghost, her footsteps silent on the marble, her gaze down. Ralph's disinterest was a weight to her, a stifling shroud of sadness. Rebecca's insults, once razor-edged and cruel, were now an aching throb, a reminder of her diminished station.In reflective surfaces, she would see snippets of her past: a beautiful perfume bottle on a vanity she once shared with Ralph, a picture on a bookshelf showing them both laughing and untroubled on their wedding day. Every reflection was a splinter from a broken mirror, a painful reminder of her vibrant, happy life snatched away.Hope, obstinate emberlike, smoldered and went out. The unaccommodating impossibility of penetrating Ralph's amnesia, and Rebecca's remorseless coercion, appeared an insuperable obstacle. He often looked at her with polite insensitivity, a foreigner in his house, as Rebecca smiled at him, vi

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 60

    The sun was setting.The opulent foyer of the mansion was uncomfortable for Silvia. Recently, she'd dusted these sparkling floors as Ralph's maid, not a wife now. The marble was cold on her knees now as she erased an evanescent stain from it, her nostrils flaring at the pungent cleaning agent. The odor was a harsh reminder of a life left behind: one of drudgery and suppressed resentment.Wearing one of the silk robes belonging to Silvia as an act of appropriation, Rebecca was in the doorway, her half glass of champagne in her hand. Her quick, calculating gaze passed over Silvia with unguarded amusement."Seriously, Silvia," Rebecca slurred, mixing her amber drink in its glass, "you're far too sloppy. Mr. Spade is a perfectionist. Don't you recall?"The jab hit close to home. Mr. Spade. The formality was a barrier between them, an obstinate erasing of their closeness. Her knuckles gripped the scrub brush tightly."Yes, Miss Wilson," she replied flatly, anger no longer flowing through

  • Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love   Chapter 59

    Silvia was assaulted like a slap in the face by the antiseptic smell of the hospital room, utterly contrasting to Ralph's warmth just hours previously. Warmth that was now nothing more than an illusion, an apparition only by way of memory of what was now gone in the screams of skidded tires and breaking glass.Rebecca's grin grew wide, like a snake uncoiling in triumph. Her words oozed syrupy sweetness, every line a planned stab in Silvia's belly: "I told you, sweetheart. He knows whose side is next to him."Silvia found her voice, though her voice shook. "Ralph, it's me. Your wife. Silvia." She took a step closer, her gaze locked with his vacant eyes, hoping for a flicker of recognition, a spark of her beloved husband.He furrowed his brow, a wrinkle of confusion tracing its way across his face. "Wife?" He used the term as though it was unfamiliar, his tone coarse. He looked at Rebecca with a silent questioning gaze. Her other hand gripped his more firmly. "Don't strain yourself, m

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