2026-05-08 23:39:07
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CHAPTER 229
The man beside her nodded slowly, folding his arms across his chest."The Vinda name is not small," he added. "Even damaged, it is not something you throw into the garbage overnight. If people find out what happened in that villa, if they find out what Tom Vinda decided about you, the kind of stories that will follow you out of this city will be impossible to outrun."He exhaled. "Reputations like yours do not recover from that kind of exposure. Not easily. Not quickly."The female official leaned slightly closer to the glass, lowering her voice another degree."So here is my advice," she said. "Free of charge. Think very carefully about this marriage registration. Think about whether signing that document today is worth what comes next. Because whoever is on the other side of your secret already knows you are here. They already know what you are trying to do."Her painted nail tapped once on the glass panel. "Reconsider. Go back. Fix things with your family. Marry the man they chose
CHAPTER 228
The color drained from Mia's face slowly, the way ink bleeds into water.She had woken up that morning and done the one thing she always did when things felt uncertain. She checked her phone. She scrolled through every major news platform she knew, every gossip page, every social media channel where information about families like hers moved fastest. There had been nothing. Not a single headline. Not even a whisper about the Vinda family or what had happened at the villa the night before.She had convinced herself that meant she had time. That meant the walls had not cracked yet.But these three officials behind a government counter in a civil affairs bureau knew. They had said it plainly. They had said it with the confidence of people who had been briefed, not people who had stumbled onto rumor.Her mind moved quickly, pulling at every thread. Who could have told them? How fast had Tom moved? And why here, why this office, why now?Her lips pressed together and then parted slightly w
CHAPTER 227
The other male official leaned forward on his elbows, shaking his head with exaggerated disappointment."I have to be honest," he said, voice loud enough that it carried across the whole waiting area. "Every time a woman like her walks in here with someone decent, I think, good for her. Then she walks in with something like this." He waved a hand toward Alex as though presenting a failed exhibit. "A worm in a pressed shirt. What a waste.""It is always the beautiful ones," the female official agreed, clicking her tongue. "No sense. Absolutely no sense. She could have anyone and she drags in this slug and asks us to stamp it official."The man with the cup set it down and looked directly at Alex with something between pity and disgust."No offense to you personally," he said, in a tone that made it clear he meant every offense possible. "But what exactly are you bringing to this woman? You look like the type that cannot afford the bus fare home. Men like you should not even be allowed
CHAPTER 226
The female official behind the counter had been quiet through most of it. She was the youngest of the three, with sharp painted nails and the sort of bored expression that comes from a person who has decided the world owes her something. She had been observing Mia the whole time with the look of someone waiting for the right moment to open her mouth.That moment had arrived.She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and looked at Mia with a slow smile spreading across her face."Oh, look at that," she said to her colleagues. "The rose has finally decided to speak up."The two men beside her burst out laughing. One of them slapped the desk lightly, shaking his head as though this was the funniest thing to happen all week. The other covered his mouth with a fist, shoulders shaking.Mia's expression did not change. Her eyes stayed on the female official without blinking."I asked you a question," Mia said. "I expect an answer."The female official tilted her head and looked at Mia
CHAPTER 225
He turned and walked back to where Mia was sitting.Mia had been watching the whole exchange from a distance. The moment Alex sat down, she turned to him, her brow pulled low."What did they say?""They told me to sit and wait.""That is all?"Alex tilted his head slightly. "They also compared me to a cockroach. And a bug. With some enthusiasm."Mia's eyes went flat. The pleasant patience that had been sitting on her face dissolved into something much colder. She straightened in her seat."They said what?""I have the general idea," Alex said. "Someone told them to delay us. They are not moving those files for a reason."Mia looked toward the counter. The three officials had already gone back to their idle routines as though nothing had happened. The one with the cup was now yawning.Her fingers pressed flat against her thigh. She was quiet for exactly three seconds."Someone paid them," she said softly. It was not a question."That is my guess.""And they think they can sit there and
CHAPTER 224
The waiting area of the civil affairs bureau was quiet enough to hear a clock ticking. Most of the seats were empty. Only two or three other couples sat scattered across the room, and they had all been attended to within minutes of arriving.Mia glanced at her wristwatch and exhaled slowly. An hour had crawled by since she and Alex had submitted their forms. The staff behind the counter had not so much as looked their way since."Something is not right," she murmured, more to herself than to Alex.Alex leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He had been watching the counter for the past twenty minutes. Every official behind the glass panel moved freely. They stamped documents, called names, cracked jokes among themselves. But not once had any of them called out for Alex or Mia.He stood up and straightened his shirt. "Wait here. I will go check."Mia looked up at him. "Alex—""I will be back in a minute."He walked toward the counter steadily, without rush. There were thr
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