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60.
Ress AmahAnother short chapter after promisisng less of that. I didn't want to drag out what happened in this scene so once again, forgive me.
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A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 61
Luca sat in his office with a frown on his face. He had decided to make the call and inform Stephen, Iris’s stepfather of his decision. He knew he should have discussed this with Iris but she would probably dissuade him.Iris had dealt with Helen so well, he was still amazed at what she could do. He never thought he would see his beautiful wife put someone in her place and his chest tightened with pride whenever he thought of the fire in her eyes as she handled Helen. Luca needed to do more though. He had allowed Helen and Jace enough grace that made them think they could do whatever they liked without consequences. Luca had not yet thought of an appropriate punishment to deal with Jace. He didn't want to take it to his parents, that would be too light. He didn't need someone to point out that Jace and Helen had worked together. The event added up too perfectly to be a coincidence and Jace had not set foot in the company since then, proving his suspicions.Luca picked up his phone
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 62
Iris settled comfortably on the bed. She was drained even though it was noon but thankfully it was a weekend and she didn’t have work so she was going to spend the day sleeping. As she wanted to close her eyes and fall into a beautiful slumber, she noticed her phone blinking from where she had placed it on the bedside drawer. The call disconnected just as she grabbed a hold of the phone. “How did I miss these?” She gasped when she saw the four missed calls from her mother in law. She dragged her notification bar down and slapped her forehead lightly when she saw she had put the phone on do not disturb mode earlier and forgotten. Just as she made to call Evelyn back, the phone began to ring again and she quickly picked up the call. “Hey, Mom. I’m sorry I missed you calls” Iris apologized quickly, hoping Evelyn was not angry with her but her laughter glided through the speakers soothing her nerves “Not at all, dear. I was calling to check up on you. Are you okay, my dear? Luca told m
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 63
Do you have a place in mind? It doesn’t matter how far or expensive it is, I will make it possible for you” Luca said to Iris. His hands had found its way into her hair, and he caressed it lightly. “No. Surprise me. I want to know just how capable you are in planning a date” she said with a smile. Luca studied her for some time as he tried to see if there were some hidden emotions behind her answer before he broke into a smile. “Okay, then,” he said, getting up on his feet and extending his hands out for her to take. “Let's go” he told her, pulling her to her feet as well. "Alright, let me tidy up and change into a better dress." Iris told him with a smile. “Okay. I’ll change as well” Luca gave her a peck and disappeared into the closet while Iris went to the bathroom to take a quick bath. “A hint of what I should wear?” Iris asked as she joined Luca in the closet. He was yet to wear his outfit which Iris found hilarious. She knew she spent quite some time in there. “Something
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 64
Something was off and that was why Iris’s eyes flew open at 3 am. She lay in bed a bit disoriented, trying to figure out why she was forced awake. She turned to her side where Luca should be fast asleep, but it was empty, and she was lying on what should have been half of his side of the bed. She reached out to touch the empty bed and it was cold. He had been up for a while. She couldn’t go back to sleep knowing that Luca was somewhere awake, and it bothered her that he had been gone for a while and didn’t tell her. Her mind began to wander against her will and she began to pick up on his weird behavior these last few days. There was something odd about the way he seemed cautious like he was hiding something, and she didn’t know if she felt good or bad about it. She shook her head to clear the thoughts that wanted to make her suspicious. She couldn’t doubt Luca and she didn’t want to.“Maybe he went downstairs to work. He complained earlier he had a lot to do” She muttered to he
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 65
“I don’t like it, Ally. My guts tell me that something is wrong, but he won’t tell me anything.” Iris complained to her friend.Alanna had called Iris through face time, and she could not help but confess her worries to her when she pointed out how distant she looked and felt. “I’ve told her she’s worrying too much but you know Iris. She tends to overthink things a lot” Hailey argued from where she sat beside Iris as the both of them peered into the phone to look at Alanna.“I don’t overthink things. You know I barely worry…”“But you do” Alanna teased, and Iris glared at her. This was not the time to joke. She was serious but they kept underplaying her worries and it was starting to piss her off.“He has been acting suspiciously. He leaves the house without telling me at odd hours and wouldn’t talk to me when he gets back home. He’s become defensive whenever I ask him where he keeps disappearing off to.” Iris insisted.Iris was frustrated. Her friends didn’t understand her worries.
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 66
Iris felt the colour drain from her face as soon as she heard those words. She saw the regret in his eyes immediately the words slipped but it didn’t matter. Didn’t they say one said things they truly meant in the heat of the moment? Was this how Luca thought of her? As nothing more than a pretender? Everything she thought had been a lie?“You are hurting me” She whispered instead of voicing out the numerous things she wanted to say. “Luca, let go of me.”Her voice came out stronger and more demanding, enough to get him to loosen his grip and she stumbled out of his reach.Her lashes fluttered to stop the tears were quickly flooding her eyes, but she couldn’t stop them.“Iris” Luca called with a strained voice and tried to walk towards her, but she held out her hand to stop him before he could approach her.“It’s fine. I understand my place now” She choked out, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.“No, Princess. That’s not what I wanted to say. I was angry and you kept pushing me.
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 67
Iris was stuck. She didn’t know what to do and all efforts to draw a connection between the letter and the bank statements were futile. She couldn’t go to Luca to ask him because then she would be admitting to going through his things without permission and it would only increase the rift between them.It's been one long and excruciating week since she found the letter and also one week since Luca left the house in the middle of the night. Iris didn’t know what to make of it. She didn’t know if to be happy or more worried. Luca halting his night visits didn’t mean the problem had automatically disappeared. “Are you okay?” Luca asked and she looked up to see him with a frown on his face as he stared at her. “Yes. Why?” She asked, looking around the room and wondering if she had missed something he said while she was buried in her head.“You’ve been quiet and keep poking at your plate. Do you not like your food?” He asked her and she hated how formal he sounded. Since their argument
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 68
“Mrs Rutherford” Josy called, pulling Iris out of her head again for the seventh time in the last ten minutes. “I’m sorry. Tell Mr Henry that I’ll see him next week to discuss the progress for the new book in the series” she told the young employee who gave her a curious stare before she left the office. Iris let out a shaky breath and sat back in her chair before she placed her hands over her eyes. Since that day when she had followed Luca, she had grown more curious about the topic of his discussion with that stranger. Not just curious, but a sort of fear had also taken over and it was messing with not only her head but her daily life. She would spend the day lost in her head because she was trying to put the half pieces together so they would make sense. She got so lost in her thoughts that she would forget where she was or even end up not doing things she was supposed to be doing and her employees were starting to notice. There was no amount of critical thinking that could
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