Briana sat gracefully on the edge of the king-sized bed, her loungewear perfectly pressed, her posture so poised that she looked more like a refined guest than the lady of the house.The familiar whirring sound of a drill echoed faintly from the adjoining room: the future nursery, still under renovation.She held her phone close to her ear, voice sharp with indignation. “Did you really think you could keep that news from your wife?”On the other end of the line, Mark’s voice came smooth, velvety, almost disarmingly calm. “Darling, please. You know I don’t want to stress you.”“You talk as if this were somehow your fault,” she countered, her irritation softening slightly.“I just don’t want you thinking I might not be around to take care of our child,” he said gently.Her free hand drifted instinctively to her belly, caressing it in slow, protective circles. “I know, Mark. But not knowing what’s going on… that’s worse for me.”“Regis and Everton are handling everything,” he assured her

Mark leaned back in his chair, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. “It seems the Young Master Vasconcelos is keeping his promise not to wage war against Briana and her parents anymore, doesn’t it?”Elise, ever composed, tilted her head slightly. “What do you think will happen, Lord Ferro?”“What always happens to good people,” Mark replied, confidence radiating from his tone. “The show assigned to my mother-in-law will thrive, while the one under Katrina’s direction will crash and burn.”“I’ll keep you informed, Lord Ferro,” Elise said, her voice professional, measured.Just as Mark sensed the conversation drawing to a close, he added, almost abruptly, “One more thing, Elise… I know I didn’t assign you to this, and I don’t want you keeping tabs on my ex-wife…”She didn’t need him to finish. Elise was too sharp, too well-trained not to grasp what her superior was asking without words.Maintaining her perfectly neutral demeanor, she replied, “She’s been disappearing several time

Moments later, Mark was sprinting across the bus terminal, his jacket slung over one arm, the printed itinerary fluttering in his other hand.The bus he needed was already idling at the platform, the last passenger stepping aboard.“Wait for me!” he called out.The ticket collector grinned at the sight: a man in a pressed shirt running like any overworked commuter.Mark handed him the ticket, and the collector nodded with a friendly slap on the shoulder before stepping aside to let him in.Just as he was about to follow, a tall man in a gray suit appeared, his expression stern.He flashed an open wallet displaying an official-looking badge.The collector straightened immediately, his smile fading. Whatever credentials the stranger carried, they were convincing.He gave a quick nod and stepped aside again.The man in gray climbed aboard without paying, taking a seat near the middle of the bus.Seconds later, the doors closed, and the engine roared to life, pulling away toward the upsca

Julian stopped slicing the potatoes, the knife hovering in midair as his phone began to vibrate against the counter. One glance at the screen made him smirk with disdain. He wiped his hands on a towel and answered.“Relax,” he said dryly. “I’m alive.”On the other end, Adalberto stood in the middle of his brand-new loft: an open space gleaming with fresh porcelain tiles and spotless white walls that smelled of new paint and ambition.The place was empty, echoing his voice as he spoke, but it was clearly high-end, the kind of place meant to impress.“Man, how could you?” he demanded, his voice filled with indignation.“How could I what?” Julian replied, unimpressed.“You seriously chose to get yourself stuck naked in a bouncy castle full of other guys instead of getting naked with your lady?”Julian’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Well, I panicked at the last minute. She took forever to show up.”“I’ve never seen a real man run from a bed before!” Adalberto barked.“A REAL man,” Julian c

Katrina exclaimed with of alarm and disbelief at the same time, “Darling, what happened to you?!”Patricio acted as the master of deception, drawing in a shaky breath and replying with theatrical frailty, “I… I was mugged in the underground parking lot.”Katrina’s brow furrowed. “Why on earth would you park down there?”“It was… hot this afternoon. The sun was unbearable,” he muttered, improvising poorly.She glanced at her watch, confused. “It’s past five, darling. That means…” Her eyes widened in sympathy. “They must’ve knocked you out!”Patricio almost smiled. His fiancée was, unknowingly, helping him build his own lie.“Seems I just woke up now,” he said, feigning dizziness.At that moment, irony itself strutted down the hallway in the form of Celia, who passed by them with infuriating composure. She looked fresh, radiant, not the slightest bit sore or tired.She could’ve skipped rope or danced a tango without showing the faintest trace of strain.“Oh,” she said with theatrical co