All Chapters of MARRIAGE PACT: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

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

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

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

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

ZARA'S POVI sat in the big living room of our mansion, checking my time. Under my skin, my antsy feeling hummed. Three years had passed since I'd last spoken to my father, Jacob. Since the night I vanished, there was complete silence between us, and reaching out at this point in time brought emotions racing that I hadn't thoroughly prepared for.I heard the sound of a car drawing up outside. Michael caught my eye and gave an encouraging nod, resting his hand over mine for a moment or two. "You're doing the right thing, Zara," he said softly.The door opened, and there he was: Jacob, my father. His face looked older, lined with furrows of care and years lost. But his eyes-those eyes that were reflections of my own-lit up when they fell on me."Zara." His voice shook, and guilt washed over me in a flood. I rose to greet him, embracing him tightly and briefly."Dad," I managed, all that time weighing in between us. "I'm so sorry I didn't call you sooner. I know you had to think the wors