The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 256

Chapter 129-1

Zara

For the first time in months, my body feels like it actually belongs to me again.

My appetite is back, the soft pink color has returned to my lips and cheeks, and the absolute, crushing exhaustion that used to trap me beneath a mountain of lead blankets has finally released its hold.

Claim

I’m standing by the massive windows in the living room, holding a steaming mug of peppermint tea between both hands. Outside, the blizzard from yesterday has died down into a soft, steady dust of fine white snow, glittering under the late afternoon light. The mountains in the distance look carved from silver and moonlight.

Behind me, the penthouse is quiet, filled only with the soft, steady warmth of the fireplace crackling in the

corner.

Locke comes up quietly behind me. He moves with a silent, graceful power that belies his massive size, his bare feet making no sound against the polished floorboards. Before I can even turn my head, his broad, heavy arms wrap around my waist, pulling my back flush against his chest.

I let out a soft, contented sigh, leaning my head back against his shoulder, letting the solid, immovable heat of his body anchor me.

He presses a slow, lingering kiss to the side of my neck, his stubble raspy against my sensitive skin, sending a delicious shiver straight down my spine.

“How are you feeling, baby?” he asks, his deep voice fanning warm air against my collarbone. His hands rest heavy and protective over my stomach, his fingers lacing through mine over the warm ceramic mug.

“I feel… good,” I say, and for the first time in a very long time, I mean it with every fiber of my being. “I feel strong, Locke. Really strong.”

“Good,” he says, his grip tightening just a fraction, holding me like I’m the most precious thing in the entire world. “That’s all I care about.”

A profound, weightless peace settles over me. Knowing what he told me yesterday about Evelyn – knowing the sheer, harrowing depth of what he gave up to stand against cruelty and protect an innocent woman – has removed the very last invisible wall between us.

I don’t just love Locke; I respect him with a fierce, quiet intensity that burns in my throat. He isn’t a man who makes promises lightly, and he isn’t a man who walks away when things get dark. He’s my rock, my shield, and my home.

And then, my phone vibrates on the glass coffee table behind us.

The sharp, buzzing sound cuts through the quiet like a tiny, vibrating blade. A sudden, subtle cold prickle touches the nape of my neck, for no reason that I can explain.

Locke feels the tiny shift in my posture immediately. His muscles tighten, his eyes shifting toward the coffee table before I even move.

“I’ll get it,” I say softly. He lets his hands slide down my arms, his fingers brushing mine reassuringly as I

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Chapter 129+..

step over to the table and pick up the phone.

Itap the screen, expecting a text from Jade or a check-in from Dad.

Charm

Instead, a name flashes across the top of the screen that makes my stomach do a slow, uncomfortable flip.

Willow.

My thumb hovers over the display, a sharp tightening hard in my throat. It’s been almost a month since she was booted out of the penthouse. Three weeks since she stood in this very living room, hysterical, insisting that the tarot cards or the universe or fate had decreed she and Locke were cosmic soulmates.

I still shudder remembering how sick I felt while she rambled on about the universe “clearing space” for them.

“Who is it?” Locke’s voice breaks through my thoughts. He’s standing right behind me again, his eyes fixed on the illuminated screen in my hand.

‘It’s Willow,” I say, looking up at him.

Locke’s jaw sets into a hard, unforgiving line, his eyes darkening into cold steel. “Block the number, Zara. She’s toxic, she’s unstable, and I don’t want her anywhere near you.”

‘Locke, wait…” I say softly, unlocking the phone to read the text.

Zara, I know the energy between us got deeply clouded and fractured, but the universe keeps showing me your face in my morning readings.

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