Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Runaway Bride’s Revenge: Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

The Guest No One InvitedThe invitation list was a curated maze of power, scandal, and whispered legacy.Claire stood beside Adrian as final preparations were made for the upcoming charity gala—a night designed to lure a ghost from the past out of hiding. The ballroom at the Blackwood Grand Hotel glittered with chandeliers and gleaming marble floors, its elegance belying the tension bubbling underneath.“I still don’t understand why we couldn’t do this more discreetly,” Claire muttered, watching the staff polish the cutlery for the fifth time.Adrian smirked without humor. “Because discreet doesn’t work on men like Gavin Thorn. He feeds on exposure. This... spectacle will tempt him. We give him a stage. And when he steps onto it, we pull the curtain.”Claire exhaled shakily, turning toward the windows. The city skyline stretched beyond the glass, indifferent to the storm brewing in her life. “And what if he doesn’t come?”“He will,” Adrian said, his voice certain. “This isn’t about bu

Pieces on the BoardThe morning after the media storm was eerily quiet.Claire sat by the window, legs curled under her, watching the rain streak down the glass like delicate veins. The city buzzed beneath them, but it was a muffled hum, distant and removed. A calm before another inevitable storm.The takedown of Gavin’s ploy had been a success—at least for now. The news cycles were ablaze with headlines like “Corporate Sabotage Exposed: Blackwood Empire Fights Back” and “Claire Donovan-Blackwood: The Woman Who Wouldn’t Be Broken.”But she didn’t feel triumphant.Not yet.Adrian entered the room, phone in hand, suit impeccable despite the long night. He looked tired, though—shadows under his eyes, tension lining his jaw. “Gavin’s radio silent,” he said, tossing the phone on the table. “Too silent.”Claire looked up. “Licking his wounds?”“Or sharpening his blade.”She sighed. “What now?”“We solidify our position. Rebuild trust. If he wants to turn allies against us, we remind them wh

Hidden Cards, Dangerous GamesThe morning after the gala arrived shrouded in mist, but the Blackwood estate had not yet settled. The night’s glamour had faded, replaced by a charged stillness that hung in the air like a held breath.Claire stood on the balcony, arms folded tightly around herself. Her emerald gown from the previous evening had been replaced by a simple cream blouse and tailored black trousers, but she still looked every bit the woman who had stood against a room full of enemies. Still, the weight of the previous night clung to her shoulders.Gavin’s presence at the gala hadn’t just unsettled her—it had confirmed something she feared: he wasn’t done. His words echoed in her mind like poison soaked in silk."You’re making enemies you don’t understand."Claire turned as she heard footsteps behind her. Adrian emerged from their bedroom, shirt half-buttoned, his expression taut with unreadable tension. He’d been up most of the night speaking with Daniel and the estate’s sec

Threads of the PastThe rain began just as Claire stepped onto the balcony of Blackwood Estate, drizzling like whispers from the sky. The storm hadn’t rolled in yet—but it was coming. Thick clouds loomed over the city, casting everything in a dull gray hue that made the skyline look like a ghost of itself.Below her, Adrian’s security team ran final checks on the perimeter. Ever since the envelope and the revelation about Douglas Raines, the estate had transformed from a sanctuary into a war room.Claire gripped the railing, letting the cold iron anchor her thoughts.She wasn’t the same woman she was a year ago—naive, hopeful, desperate for love and validation. That woman had been destroyed the day of her ruined wedding, and again the day she walked out of prison. What stood in her place now was someone forged in betrayal, tempered in loss, and sharpened by truth.She was done playing defense.“Claire.”She turned to see Adrian approaching, rain dotting the shoulders of his black coat

The Poison BeneathCassandra’s intelligence was sharper than either Claire or Adrian wanted to admit.Over the course of the next few days, she laid out a map that had taken her years to build—hidden bank accounts, dead-end shell corporations, and off-grid facilities funded through proxies. Everything linked back to Gavin’s empire like a web, sticky and suffocating.“I only scratched the surface before,” Cassandra admitted, sliding another folder across the table to Adrian. “But now I don’t care who burns with him. I want out. And I want him ruined.”Claire flipped through the documents. Photos of senators, CEOs, and medical directors at private parties. One snapshot showed Gavin with a syringe in hand, laughing as a bound man was injected with something.“Jesus,” Claire whispered. “This was never just about money.”“No,” Adrian said darkly. “It was always about control. And Gavin’s always wanted to be king.”Cassandra gave a grim nod. “He never cared who bled to make that happen.”Cl