Lahat ng Kabanata ng HIS FORBIDDEN REJECTION : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Maya’s POV"Did you really do it?"The question cut through the heavy silence between us.I could barely meet Lana's gaze, my heart hammering in my chest. Her voice was soft but laced with disbelief, and it only made the knot in my stomach tighten further.I could feel the weight of her stare, but I couldn’t speak. The memory of last night flashed across my mind again, and the tears I’d been holding back spilled over.Lana stood there, watching me with wide, searching eyes. Her hand hovered over my shoulder, as though unsure whether to comfort me or pull away.“Maya,” she whispered, stepping closer, her voice lowering. “What happened?”I took a deep breath, struggling to steady my shaking hands. The bathroom felt like the only place I could breathe, but even here, with the door locked, I could barely calm my racing thoughts.“I—I don’t know, Lana,” I stammered, my voice cracking with each word. "I don’t know what to say. It was... it was a mistake. A huge mistake."I wiped my eyes fur

Maya’s POV“You’re back so soon?”Lana’s voice pierced through the stillness of the dormitory as I walked through the door. My heart was still hammering from the rush, but I forced a smile, hoping she wouldn’t notice.“Mr. Cole called,” I explained, my voice strained. “Had to go back to the office.”I watched Lana’s eyes narrow. “Called you back in the middle of your day off? That’s... kind of ridiculous.”I didn’t have the energy to argue. I dropped my purse onto the kitchen counter, then headed straight for the small bedroom to change. Lana’s voice followed me, laced with concern.“Doesn’t he care you’ve been working nonstop?” she pressed.I didn’t answer immediately. I didn’t have an answer.I was still reeling from the events of the past month. The pressure was becoming unbearable, and now, with the memory of Ray’s disapproving glance still fresh in my mind, I couldn’t even enjoy the rare moments when I was supposed to be off duty.In the bathroom, I quickly changed into a busines

Maya’s POV“Do you have something to say?”The words hit me like a slap. I could feel Ray’s gaze burning into the back of my skull, and I had no idea what to do. I had barely opened the door when his eyes locked onto mine, piercing and unforgiving. The silence between us was thick with tension.I took a breath, trying to steady myself, but my hands were shaking, and the cold sweat on my palms made it worse. Ray stood there, motionless, as if waiting for me to confess something. Anything. His eyes never left me, and the pressure mounted with every second that passed.I wanted to say something, anything to make the atmosphere less suffocating, but I could barely think straight. The words refused to leave my throat.I glanced down at the floor, my mind racing. I knew this moment had come—the moment where the truth had to come out.Finally, Ray broke the silence, his voice cutting through the air like a razor. “What’s your side job?”I swallowed hard. My side job. The one I’d kept hidden

Maya’s POV“What did you see?”The question came out of nowhere, slashing through the air like a blade. My breath hitched in my chest, and I froze, not knowing how to respond. The weight of Zane’s gaze was almost unbearable, as if he could see straight through me. My fingers trembled, the file I was holding slipping slightly in my grasp.“I—I was just doing my job,” I stammered, my voice a little too shaky for my liking.Zane’s eyes remained cold and unblinking. He wasn’t going to let this go. I could feel it, the intensity of his gaze, the way he was watching me like a hawk waiting for its prey to slip up.“I asked if you watched the video,” Zane repeated, his voice unyielding.I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. “Yes,” I replied, my throat dry. “Mr. Cole asked me to look at the footage from the Ice Hotel. He wants to find the woman in the video.”I tried to sound confident, but the words felt hollow, as if I were just going through the motions, too afraid of what would com

Maya’s POVThe next morning, I woke with a pounding in my chest before the alarm even went off. My sleep had been broken, scattered with flashes of Zane’s voice whispering threats and Ray’s sharp eyes watching me. I sat up in bed, staring at the dim light spilling through the blinds, and for a moment, I wished I could disappear. But reality doesn’t wait for you to breathe.By the time I got to the office, my palms were already damp. Every sound felt louder — the clack of heels in the hallway, the faint hum of the coffee machine, the low murmur of voices from cubicles. It was all too sharp, too real.I tried to keep my head down as I passed Zane’s office, pretending not to see the faint trace of cigarette smoke curling under his door. But his voice followed me anyway — not in words, but in memory. “You’ll do exactly what I say.”I swallowed hard and reached my desk. My computer screen glowed pale blue as I logged in, trying to focus. But the moment I opened my email, my breath caught.