Chapter 6 - chapter 5

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The morning light had barely begun to creep through the curtains when a sharp scream echoed through the room, jolting Jaden from his sleep.

Startled, he shot up, hair tousled and eyes half-lidded in confusion. His voice came out in a groggy grumble.

"Can't you let me sleep a little longer? What's with the shouting this early in the—"

He stopped.

Standing at the foot of the bed was Liya, trembling with emotion, eyes wide with disbelief, her face pale, lips quivering, and tears streaming freely down her cheeks. She was wrapped tightly in the bedsheet, clutching it over her chest with shaking hands.

Jaden blinked, still hazy, not fully understanding the situation.

But Liya's next words cut through the fog like a blade.

"You bastard!" she screamed, her voice breaking as she lunged at him, fists pounding against his chest. "How could you?!"

Caught off guard, Jaden instinctively raised his hands in defense. "Liya—! What happened?!"

Her hits weren't strong, but they carried the weight of betrayal and heartbreak. As she struck him, the sheet she'd been holding onto slipped loose, falling away. For a second, everything froze.

Jaden's eyes widened, and he quickly turned his face, shielding his eyes with one hand. "Are you crazy?!" he shouted, his voice now hoarse with panic and disbelief.

But Liya wasn't embarrassed—she was beyond that. Her rage eclipsed any shame. Without another word, she turned away from him, gathering her scattered clothes from the floor.

She was just about to leave when the door slammed open.

A flood of people poured into the room—reporters, photographers, camera crews, their flashes strobing across the room like a violent storm.

"Mr. Stone! Mr. Stone! Who's the woman in your bed?!"

"Is she your lover?!"

"Did you spend the night with her?"

"Miss! Are you having an affair with Jaden Stone?"

"Wait, isn't that his sister?" Another voice loudly exposed as if deliberately , leading to more commotion.

More questions flew like daggers.

Liya froze, stunned, her half-dressed figure exposed under the barrage of camera flashes. Panic washed over her as microphones were shoved in her face, their voices pressing down on her like a tidal wave of shame.

Jaden's face drained of color. In an instant, he threw himself in front of her, shielding her with his body. "Enough! Who the hell let you in here? Get out!"

"Mr. Stone, is this your fiancée?"

"Is she a gold digger?"

"Did you force her? Was this consensual?"

Jaden growled. "I said get out!"

Security finally stormed in, forcing the media back, but the damage was done. The flashes had captured everything. The intimacy. The tension. The vulnerability.

Liya stood behind Jaden, clutching the rumpled sheet to her body, tears running silently down her cheeks.

In that moment, the trust between them began to splinter.

Not just because of what had happened the night before.

But because neither of them knew what really happened… and the world had just witnessed it without context.

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Liya stormed out of the room without sparing Jaden a single glance, her eyes brimming with rage and humiliation. She didn't let him speak, didn't let him explain—not that he had any words ready to make sense of what had just happened.

By the time Jaden threw on some clothes and rushed downstairs, the mansion was silent. Empty.

He ran outside, calling her name. The guards stationed at the gate only shook their heads.

"She left on foot, sir. We tried to follow, but she disappeared into the streets."

Jaden clenched his fists. His heart pounded with confusion and dread, but he had no idea where she'd gone.

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Meanwhile, Liya had arrived at Judie's house in the early morning hours—drenched in tears, trembling, and silent. She didn't utter a single word as Judie took her in. She simply cried. And for days… she said nothing.

Judie tried to speak to her. She brought her food, ran warm baths, and stayed by her side every night. But Liya remained unreachable—her soul locked behind a wall of silent agony.

The media storm outside only made things worse. The leaked photos had gone viral within hours. What stung the most wasn't just the scandal—it was the narrative.

"Jaden Stone caught in bed with adopted sister—Incest? Scandal? Illicit affair?"

The questions reporters had screamed now echoed across headlines. And for Liya… it was a trauma too deep for words.

---

Days turned into weeks.

Jaden tried everything. He searched every place she could've gone, asked everyone—especially Judie—but she only shook her head each time.

"I don't know where she is," she would say. But she did. She had seen the pain in both of them, and she couldn't bring herself to reunite them—not like this.

In the meantime, the company suffered. Jaden was distracted, mentally absent, and publicly humiliated. On the day he was meant to officially take over as CEO, the board unanimously voted for Lewis instead. His uncle stood at the head of the company—smirking behind his polished speeches.

Jaden went home that night and drank. Alone.

He had nothing left. Not his reputation. Not his company. Not even Liya.

---

Elsewhere, Liya was not doing well either. She spent her days either sleeping in exhaustion or sitting blankly on the bed, eyes distant, fingers clenched into her palms as though holding onto invisible pain.

Judie grew worried. She tried everything to help her heal, but Liya wouldn't respond. She wouldn't speak, wouldn't cry anymore. Just silence. As though life had drained out of her.

Until a month later—when Liya collapsed.

Judie rushed her to the hospital, fearing the worst. But what the doctor said left them both stunned.

"Miss Tamien," the doctor began cautiously, "you're pregnant."

Liya blinked. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Then she fainted.

---

When she awoke, everything crashed into her at once. The scandal. The night she couldn't remember. The baby growing inside her.

She refused to accept it. She tried to ignore it. At one point, she even pushed herself too hard—recklessly, dangerously—and the doctor warned Judie that the child was at risk.

Judie lost her temper that day.

"Liya! Enough!" she screamed, tears welling in her eyes. "You want to throw your life away?! Do you want to lose everything because of what happened?! That child didn't choose to be born this way—you did! So take responsibility! If not for yourself, then for them!"

The words shattered something inside Liya.

That night, she sat alone in the dark, a hand resting lightly on her abdomen. For the first time, she felt it—a faint thrum of life beneath her palm.

She whispered, brokenly, "I'll protect you... I'll take care of you."

From that day forward, she changed. Slowly, painfully—but with resolve.

"I'll keep the baby," she told Judie. "But I can't raise it here… Not in this place. Not with these memories."

She looked out the window, her voice firm. "I want to leave the country. I want to start over.