All Chapters of MARRIAGE PACT: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

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

KAI'S POVI was not supposed to be in that mansion anymore. The party was just another formality for the sake of making an appearance, after which silently I could leave. I did not want her to know where I was, knowing full well that once she found out about Lena's marriage arrangement with Liam and my involvement in it, she was going to hate me for it. It was already raining heavily. As I finally turned toward my car to make my exit, My eyes caught something and I couldn't move. Zara's car stood in the driveway.My heart hit the floor. What in the world was her car doing here?That was most definitely not supposed to happen. I hadn't told her anything about this party, much less that I would attend it.I was already getting drenched but I didn't care; I ran up to the car and knocked on the driver's window. He rolled down the window immediately "Why are you here?" I insisted, "Where is Zara?"The driver got down from the car looking startled; he was dumbfounded by my sudden appearan

KAI'S POV It had barely stopped raining since nighttime. The droplets lashed against the panes of this mansion, mirroring the storm inside me. I couldn't breathe properly. My hands shook as I dialed Zara's number for the twentieth time, same lifeless, hollow ring Voicemail again.I slumped back against the couch, my eyes pinned on that door, hoping, praying, she'd walk through it. But the house was dead and silent. I'd been sitting here for hours, just waiting. Waiting for some kind of sign that she was okay.Where in the hell was she?It's all my fault.I massaged my hands through my hair, pulling on it as the frustration pulsed a little harder in my veins. God, I shouldn't have lied to her about that party, let alone agree to be part of Lena's damned marriage arrangement. At the time, I'd thought that was saving our relationship, keeping Liam away from her, and keeping her away from it all. Now though, I saw how wrong it had been. She finds everything out from them and it's what

KAI'S POVI stared at the divorce paper in my hands, every word seeming to punch me. The ink was stark, unyielding, as if it didn't care about the innumerable hours, sleepless nights, or shattered pieces of myself I'd given up just to find her. Zara had signed it, her name there right next to mine. And yet she was still unreachable, still hiding.“Why, Zara? Why do this without a word, without an opportunity for me to mend this?”There was dead silence in the study. I ran a hand over my face, trying to steady the storm inside me. Not on my watch was she going to just walk away like that, not without an explanation."This isn't over," I whispered to the empty room.The court house would be the first place I'll head to tomorrow. If she had been in there, then someone should know where she is. And if they refused to give me what I wanted… well, I wouldn't take no for an answer.************The following morning, I went to the registry with the weight of Zara's signature in my jacket poc

KAI'S POVI glanced down at the address hastily jotted down on a piece of paper as a small spark lit in my chest. Mark's words still echoed in my head.*This is the best lead we've got, Mr. Adler. I did manage to trace her request for divorce papers back to this location. I suggest you check it out straightaway.*And then, after weeks of dead ends and unanswered questions, there was finally a possibility, one small but possible chance, that I would see her again. The thought brought equal measures of relief and trepidation. I needed answers and explanation on why she decided to give up on us just like that, when we could just talk it out. But what if she didn't want to see me? What if she was genuinely done with us?I shook my head, willing myself not to travel that path; I had to see her, needed her to hear me out.My phone whirred, and Liam's name danced across the screen. My jaw clenched. Liam wasn't exactly my favorite person in the world, and I knew the feeling was mutual. But