Lahat ng Kabanata ng Married Twice, Loved Once : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

Three days later, the conference room of Carter Holdings looked like a crime scene for human patience. Papers everywhere. Coffee cups abandoned like casualties. Perfume in the air heavy enough to choke the ancestors.Vivienne Carter stood in the center of the chaos tall, flawless, and dramatic as always, wearing a silk blouse so white it could blind a bishop. Her heels clicked like gunshots on the marble floor as she paced back and forth.Her previous PA, Melissa, hovered nervously with a clipboard.“Madam, these are the shortlisted candidates. Should we—”Vivienne raised a manicured hand.“Melissa, sweetheart, I don’t need commentary. Just send in the first victim— I mean, candidate.”Melissa swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”A lanky man in an oversized suit walked in as though he’d been chased from the house.“Good morning, Miss Carter,” he said, voice shaky.Vivienne stared. “Why do you sound like someone squeezed your throat?”He coughed. “Nervous, ma’am.”“And why,” she gestured at his ti

It was 11:28 PM and Selene still wasn’t back.Damian finally shut his laptop with a sigh. She’s doing too much, he thought. He headed downstairs, spotting one of the house staff.“Where is my girlfriend?” he asked quietly.“Sir… I saw her enter the guest room,” the servant replied.Damian’s brows tightened. He walked there, pushed the door open—Selene snapped upright immediately, hand on her chest as if startled.“Damian what are you doing here?” she asked, voice trembling in that too perfect way.“I should be asking you that,” he replied, stepping inside.“I came here to think, Damian,” she said, letting out a fake shaky breath. “I needed peace of mind. I’m… stressed out.”Damian sat beside her, looping an arm around her shoulders. “Baby, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been out of line. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”She sniffed dramatically. “I have something to tell you.”“I’m listening, my angel,” he said softly.She hesitated, eyes flickering with calculation. “When I went to London las

Selene paced the room like a restless cat, phone in hand, nails tapping furiously against the screen.Ring… ring… ring…Voicemail. Again.“Damian, pick up your phone!” she snapped at the device.She sent the tenth message. And the eleventh. And the twelfth.By the fifteenth attempt, she was breathing hard.“Where could he be by this time?” she muttered, hugging herself. “What kind of man ignores his pregnant fiancée at 2 a.m.?”Half an hour later, the front door clicked open.Damian stumbled in drunk, messy, smelling like whiskey and the night.Selene marched toward him.“Where have you been? I called. I texted. You didn’t reply! Damian, did you not see my calls?!”He blinked at her slowly, eyes unfocused.“Woman… do not disturb me.”He brushed past her and headed upstairs.“Oh, no. No, no, no. You are not lying down on that bed smelling like a brewery!” she yelled, grabbing his arm.Damian yanked away clumsily.“This is my house. You have no right to tell me what to do, Selene…”He c

Selene barely slept. By morning, her nerves were frayed so thin they could snap. She dabbed extra concealer under her eyes, squared her shoulders, and marched into Damian’s office with a smile that looked like it had been glued on by a rookie makeup artist.“Good morning, babe,” she said, voice soft, almost sweet.Damian didn’t even look up immediately. He finished signing a document, placed his pen down with clinical precision, then lifted his gaze to her. Those cold grey eyes never missed a thing.“You’re late,” he said flatly.She laughed nervously. “Traffic! you know how it is.”He raised one brow. “You live five minutes away.”She swallowed. Strike one.Right. Time to lie like her livelihood depended on it—because it literally did.“Damian… about the doctor’s appointment today…” she began, twisting her fingers in a way she hoped looked dainty and not guilty.“Yes?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. He wasn’t annoyed. He wasn’t angry. Which made it ten times worse. He was obser

Damian pushed open the door to his office, phone still in his hand, sunlight cutting across his desk. He looked tired, emotionally drained from Selene and somehow excited at the same time from the hospital visit.But the moment he saw Daniel standing, waiting confidently in a black suit, Damian straightened immediately.“Mr. Daniel,” Damian said with a polite nod. “My apologies for keeping you waiting.”Daniel smiled sharply. “Not a problem at all, Mr. Cross. I appreciate your time. And I got your email — I must say, I’m genuinely excited to work with Cross Empire.”Damian gestured for him to sit, switching fully into his CEO mode.“Likewise. Your proposal was solid. Let’s discuss the next phase.”Daniel leaned forward, clasping his hands together.“Well, Mr. Cross, I’ll get straight to it. I’m ready to invest forty million dollars as a starting commitment.”Damian blinked. Even he wasn’t expecting that number.“Forty… million?” he repeated, surprised but composed.“Yes,” Daniel said