Lahat ng Kabanata ng Forbidden By Her Sister's Husband : Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 130

The fluorescent lights in the sub-basement archives buzzed their familiar drone. Aria sat at her metal desk, sorting through merger documentation that seemed to multiply every time she looked away. Her mind kept drifting back to yesterday’s brunch—Cassandra’s cruelty, the bruises hidden under her sleeves, the weight of silence.The internal line rang, cutting through her thoughts.“Aria Hale,” she answered.“Aria, it’s Sarah.” Damian’s assistant sounded brisk, efficient. “Mr. Cross needs you to handle a pickup.”Aria’s pulse jumped at the mention of his name, even though he was hundreds of miles away in Chicago. “A pickup?”“Yes. He has a client meeting at Sapphire Heights—Mrs. Helena Smith . She’s reviewing the merger contracts and has some original land deeds that need to be retrieved and brought back to the legal bay by three o’clock sharp.”“Can’t a courier—”“Mr. Cross was specific. He wants you to handle it personally. Chain of custody for the deeds. You know how he is about the

The thought made her want to scream, to claw at her own skin. She was in love with her sister’s husband, and she had no right to feel this horror at seeing Cassandra with another man.Her hand slipped on the door frame. Her shoulder bumped against the heavy mahogany, and the door creaked—a loud, prolonged sound that seemed to echo in the pressurized silence of the suite like a gunshot.Cassandra froze.Every muscle in her body went rigid, her eyes snapping open. For a single, terrible second, her gaze swept toward the door, and her eyes locked directly with Aria’s through the gap.Aria saw the terror. Saw the absolute, raw panic that flooded her sister’s face. Saw the moment Cassandra realized she’d been caught, that the one thing that could never be undone had just happened.The man behind her stepped back, his expression shifting from pleasure to predatory alarm.“Aria?” Cassandra’s voice was a jagged, horrified whisper that cut through the air like broken glass.Aria didn’t think. S

The relief that flooded Cassandra’s face was overwhelming, transformative. She let out a shuddering breath and pulled Aria into a fierce embrace, clutching her like a drowning woman clutching a life raft.“Thank you,” Cassandra gasped against Aria’s shoulder, her whole body shaking. “Thank you, thank you. You’re saving him. You’re doing the right thing. You’re being the daughter Mom would be proud of.”Aria stood rigid in her sister’s arms, feeling the promise settle around her throat like a noose. She had just sworn on her mother’s grave. There was no taking that back. No walking away from it.She was protecting a lie. She was shielding Cassandra’s betrayal from the man Aria loved, from the man who had shown her she mattered.Cassandra pulled back, wiping frantically at her eyes, trying to compose herself. “I need to go clean myself up before anyone sees me like this,” she said, her voice still shaking but gaining back some of its usual steadiness.Aria nodded numbly, unable to form w

Aria sits on the edge of her bed in Unit 40B, staring at her hands. Three days have passed since the hotel. Three days since she swore on her mother’s grave. Three days of carrying a secret that feels like it’s eating her alive from the inside out. She hasn’t heard from Damian since he left for Chicago—just a few brief texts about work, nothing personal. She doesn’t know when he’s coming back, and part of her is grateful for the distance. She’s been dreading the moment she has to look him in the eye while this secret festers inside her. She stands and walks to the bathroom, checking her reflection.She looks terrible. Her face is pale, hollow. Dark circles shadow her eyes from three nights of barely sleeping. She’s lost weight—she hasn’t been able to eat without feeling sick, without thinking about Cassandra pressed against that sofa, about the lies she told, about the promise Aria made.The door to Unit 40B opens without warning. No knock. No announcement.Damian walks in like he owns

One week after the hotel, Cassandra invites Aria to the penthouse for lunch.The text comes at noon: Come up. I made us lunch. Just us.Aria stares at the message, her stomach knotting. She hasn’t been alone with Cassandra since the stairwell, since the tears and the promise and the kiss on her forehead that felt like their mother’s ghost.She takes the elevator up, her hands trembling.The penthouse is quiet. No staff. No Damian—he’s at the office for back-to-back meetings all day.Cassandra is in the kitchen, setting out plates of salad and sandwiches. She’s wearing casual clothes—jeans and a soft sweater—and her hair is pulled back in a simple ponytail. She looks… normal. Almost approachable.“There you are,” Cassandra says, and her voice is warm. Not cold. Not cutting. Just… warm. “Come sit. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I made a few options.”Aria sits slowly at the island, watching her sister move around the kitchen like this is normal. Like they do this all the time.“I’ve be