The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 196

Chapter 104-

Chapter 104-1

The bedroom is silent and still when I wake up.

The heavy, steel-grey clouds that choked the sky so early this morning have finally broken, leaving behind a pale, watery sunlight. I reach out across the mattress, my palm sweeping over the cool, empty space beside me. The sheets still hold the faint comforting scent of him, but Locke is already gone.

I pull the heavy duvet tight around my chest, rolling onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. My body feels soft, warm, and thoroughly used in the best possible way.

The lingering, dull ache between my thighs is a quiet, thrumming reminder of last night. Of the cool wooden table beneath my palms, against my n*****s; of his fingers on my clit, wrapped around my throat.

Of the raw confession hanging heavy in the dark, and the absolute, burning certainty in Locke’s eyes when he held me until I fell asleep.

I love you.

A slow, helpless smile spreads across my face, pressing my cheek deeper into his pillow. I take a deep breath, letting the words echo through my head. For the first time in months, waking up doesn’t feel like stepping onto a battlefield.

Eventually, the rich, dark aroma of fresh coffee drifting down the long hallway pulls me out of the warmth of the bed. I swing my legs over the edge of the mattress, my toes sinking into the plush rug.

I grab one of Locke’s oversized t-shirts off the back of a chair, slipping it over my head. It falls nearly to my knees, drowning me in his scent, and I pad barefoot out into the quiet corridor.

As I round the corner toward the main living area, the low murmur of a woman’s voice echoes from the kitchen, followed by a quiet laugh.

My body reacts before my brain can process it.

A sudden, violent spike of tension shoots straight down my spine, my bare feet freezing against the polished hardwood floor. In a split second, my memory yanks me backward in time, dropping me right back into a night I’ve tried desperately to forget.

I remember standing in this exact hallway, frozen in the shadows, watching Willow lounge against the kitchen counter with her top unbuttoned, leaning forward to swing her t**s in his face.

I remember the bottle of red wine open between them, the way her laughter carried a slow, practiced purr, and the sick, twisted knot in my stomach as she tried to sink her claws into Locke.

I remember standing right here in this exact fucking spot – feeling like a ghost in my own home.

My heart hammers hard against my ribs, my hands automatically balling into tight fists at my sides as I take a quiet, guarded step forward, ready to defend what’s mine.

“If you put three scoops into a single pot of dark roast, Locke, that isn’t coffee,” the woman’s voice says, crisp, dry, and thoroughly unimpressed. “That’s a cardiac event waiting to happen.”

The tension in my shoulders vanishes all at once, a quiet gasp of sheer relief leaving my lungs.

712 v

Chapter 103+

It’s Jade. Of course it is.

Clam

t let out a breathless, quiet laugh, my racing pulse smoothing out into a warm, easy rhythm. It isn’t Willow. It isn’t an intruder, a club groupie, or anoutsider trying to stake a claim. It’s Jade… my sister-in-law, my sister-in-spirit.

I step around the corner into the sunlit kitchen, leaning my shoulder against the dark wood of the doorframe.

Locke is standing by the espresso machine, wearing a pair of dark, faded jeans and a plain grey Henley that stretches tight across his broad chest and tattooed shoulders. He has a black ceramic mug in his hand, looking down at Jade, who’s sitting on a high barstool at the kitchen island. She’s wearing an oversized grey hoodie and skin-tight black leggings, her red hair pulled up in a messy bun, holding her own steaming mug like a shield.

“It gets the job done,” Locke rumbles in his deep morning voice, taking a slow sip without flinching. “It builds character.”

“It’s going to dissolve your stomach lining before lunch,” Jade says, raising an eyebrow at him. “Zara, please tell your man that his morning routine is going to turn his brain to mush.”

Gennifer Reid

Thank you so much for all your support, comments, and companionship throughout this journey! Seeing how much you enjoy the story has given me so much motivation~

So I decide I’ll be going into an update marathon for a week! I hope this gives you plenty to enjoy and makes the wait for each new chapter even more exciting. Let me know what you think so far~

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LUCK DRAW >