Semua Bab Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love: Bab 31 - Bab 40

“Absolutely not”.Rebecca's jaw dropped in disbelief as if it might just unhinge and fall.“What did you just say?” she asked, voice eerily calm.On the other end of the phone, Ralph barely sounded interested. “I said absolutely not.”Rebecca’s mind struggled to process this information. “Not?”“Not.”Her ears rang. “I—”“And before you ask again,” Ralph continued, clearly exhausted, “you are not moving in. In fact, I don’t want you stepping foot in this house for at least a week.”Silence.A week?A week?!She gripped her phone tighter as if sheer force could squeeze some sense into Ralph’s head. “Ralph, darling,” she tried, keeping her voice syrupy sweet, “be serious. This isn’t a joke baby.”“I am.”“No, you’re being ridiculous.”“Rebecca—”“I am the love of your life.”“Debatable.”“I am—” She sucked in a sharp breath and stuttered. How dare he say that to her?! “Ralph. You need me there.”“I really don’t. You’re extremely useless here, you make my staff more incompetent than they

Ralph leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms as he held up the DNA test kit. She turned to him, brows raised in curiosity. His voice was clipped all business. “I need a sample of your DNA.”The pan slipped from her fingers, clattering into the sink.Ralph froze.She stared at the DNA test like it was a live grenade.She hesitantly stepped forward, remaining silent as she stared at the kit in his hands. Her expression was unreadable, showing no surprise but clear confusion.Of course, she wouldn’t be. She never seemed surprised by anything. Like some quiet little idiot who had already resigned herself to whatever nonsense the world threw her way.He hated that.Ralph took a measured breath, shoving that irritation down. “Swab your cheek,” he ordered, holding out one of the sterile cotton swabs.She obeyed without a word, taking the swab and running it along the inside of her cheek before handing it back. She was as meek as ever, her movements small and precise like she was

Silvia stood by and watched everything that was unfolding before her. It was so unusual for Ralph to treat Rebecca this way. His voice was sharp and merciless. This was a storm locked inside a human being.What had gotten over him?She just didn't understand. Ralph's eyes met hers, as cold as steel, and she found herself stepping back instinctively. Her breath caught. She wasn’t strong enough to hold that stare. No one was.Rebecca noticed. And like a viper, she turned.She looked as though she was about to rip her head off her neck.Silvia could literally feel the steam emanating from Rebecca's nostrils and just didn't want to have to deal with it. "You," she spat, venom dripping from the single word. It was a threat wrapped in rage.The tension was so thick, a knife could cut through it. It was suffocating."Get back to work, Silvia," Ralph demanded while Rebecca couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief."You can't be serious," she said, her eyes wide as saucers, her body tremb

Silvia adjusted the strap of her handbag nervously as she glanced at him.She hesitated for a moment before pushing back all her anxiety then asked the question that had been clawing at her chest. “Wh....where exactly are you taking me?” she stammered. Ralph glanced over at her, brow arched like she’d just asked something ridiculous. But something about her cautious tone made him answer.“To the hospital.""The hospital?" she repeated with a gasp. She was confused and her heart sank. All the blood drained from her face. What had happened to her mother again?Seeing her distraught, he took a moment before explaining the situation to her."Your mother’s still recovering, isn’t she? Yes, she was at home when you left her but had to be readmitted a few weeks later. She had a slightly unrelated episode. The hospital decided to keep her longer so she would make a full recovery. A heart surgery and stress are not best of friends.”Ralph had asked one of his men to keep an eye on Theresa an

The dawn filtered softly through the curtains, printing shiny patterns across the bedchamber floor. It filled the room with a warm, dreamlike light, gliding over the ornate furniture, the golden moldings, and the pair entwined in the vast bed.Silvia stirred, blinking against the unfamiliar richness around her. This wasn’t her cramped little room tucked away in the servants' wing at the back of the mansion. A place she'd occupied from the beginning. The sheets beneath her were unrealistically comfortable, bedding opulent in a way her bed never was. Silk sheets clung like a whisper, pillows like clouds. Comfort this profound felt almost illicit.Then she realized someone was behind her. The weight of his arm around her waist and the rhythm of his breath against her nape worked to remind her of everything they did last night. Last night hadn’t been a dream.Her breath caught as heat rushed to her cheeks. She dared not move, as if any motion might shatter the fragile reality. Behind her