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Chapter Sixty-Three

Penulis: Billie Summer
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-12 18:10:59
“Sometimes the past doesn’t knock. It kicks the damn door open.” By Unknown.

The noise of the auction faded as the four of them, Noah, April, Ryan, and Tally drifted out onto the veranda. The lighting was softer here. It was a rare moment of peace in a room otherwise humming with chatter and clinking glasses.

Tally eased into a cast iron chair, her hand resting on the top of her belly. Ryan hovered protectively beside her, his eyes flicking over the crowd through the doors leading back inside.

April reached for a canapé from a passing tray, her fingers trembling slightly before she pulled back.

“You know,” Ryan said, looking at her with a fond smile, “the girl I knew four years ago wouldn’t have handled what you just did back there.” His voice was quiet but admiring. “She would’ve hidden behind her father and not said anything.”

April raised an eyebrow. “Thanks?”

“It’s a compliment,” he added. “You’re not that girl anymore.”

She smiled, small but sincere. “No. I’m not.”

Noah wrapped an
Billie Summer

You go girl. One bitch dealt with. ;)

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goodnovel comment avatar
Shenetha
I think Noah did that to see how April would react! If she walked away…then he knew she wasn’t trying to trust him in the marriage, BUT since she stayed and Willow tried to insult her…Noah let April handle it and she did like a BOSS! That was sexy!!
goodnovel comment avatar
Shenetha
And….that’s how you fight a B….without fighting g a B….! Good for April!
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Kelley Causey
I'm loving it
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  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Sixty-Four

    The door clicked shut behind them, the echo of it falling heavily into the quiet of the brownstone. April leaned back against it, heels still on, lips slightly parted, her breath uneven.The public takedown of David. Willow’s touchy little display. The buzz of eyes watching her as she walked away like her father had taught her to.Noah turned the lock and looked at her, his jaw tight. His hands were shoved into his pockets like he was holding something back.“You didn’t push her away,” April said quietly.Noah exhaled, stepping in closer but not touching her yet. “I thought about it. Believe me, I wanted to. She makes my skin crawl. But if I’d made a scene after you’d already shut David down, it would’ve been chaos. Press was there. Your board was there. It would’ve made it look like you lost control of your personal life.”April’s eyes flicked up to meet his. “You were thinking about optics?”“I was thinking about you.” He paused, the heat between them sharpening. “And I’m sorry if it

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-13
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Sixty-Five

    “The longer you carry a secret, the heavier it becomes.” By Unknown.April sat in the small, warmly lit exam room, her fingers clasped tightly in her lap. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until the doctor gave her a gentle smile and set the clipboard aside.“Well,” the doctor said softly, “you’re definitely pregnant. Eight weeks along, based on your last cycle.”April exhaled slowly, her body tipping slightly forward as though the words physically pushed into her.Eight weeks.Which meant it had happened the third time Noah hadn’t used a condom. She should have known she couldn’t get lucky three times running.Her fingers moved to her stomach, flat still, but not for long.“Are you alright?” the doctor asked kindly.April nodded. “Yes. Just… processing.”She wasn’t surprised, not really. She’d known. Subtle but undeniable changes had occurred: morning sickness, tender breasts, and exhaustion that no amount of coffee could cure. She’d quit coffee the moment she suspecte

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-13
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Sixty-Six

    “You never really know how heavy a secret is until you try to let someone help you carry it.” By Unknown.April didn’t know how long she sat in the car before her breathing evened out. At some point, the trembling stopped. Her hands were still clamped tight around the steering wheel, but her mind had gone eerily quiet.Not numb. Just... still.The kind of stillness that came after the worst of the crying, when your body stopped trying to pretend it could hold everything together.Kayla’s voice was still there, though. A broken record scraping her insides.She had to get out of here.The drive back to Harrington HQ passed in a blur. April didn’t remember the turns, the lights, the people. She just... arrived.She walked toward her office, her body moving on autopilot. She kept her eyes low, hoping no one would stop her, praying she wouldn’t run into anyone…“Jesus, April.”April halted, startled at the voice.Poppy.She stood outside the copy room holding a takeaway salad, brow furrowi

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-13
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Sixty-Seven

    “A real man can’t stand seeing his woman hurt.” By UnknownApril was asleep. Or pretending to be. Either way, she hadn’t moved from the couch in nearly an hour, her face turned into the cushion, her knees drawn up like she was trying to disappear.Poppy had covered her with a blanket, fetched her a glass of water, and then sat beside her, pretending to scroll on her phone while her mind reeled.Pregnant.April was pregnant.And she was falling apart over some batshit receptionist who had the nerve to lie to her face and twist the knife deep. Poppy didn’t need to meet Kayla to know exactly what kind of woman she was. They were a dime a dozen—pretty, venomous, and always sniffing around power like it was a perfume they could bottle for themselves.But Noah? Poppy didn’t know him that well, but she knew the way he looked at April. She’d seen it every time he was around her. Like he wanted to get her alone so he could strip her naked. No way in hell that man was screwing his receptionist

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-14
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Sixty-Eight

    “Sometimes the silence says more than the words we’re too afraid to speak.” By Unknown.Noah stared at his phone, thumb hovering over the screen for longer than he wanted to admit. The message he’d typed was simple:Hey Poppy, Can you send me your address? Please. I need to see her. — NoahIt took less than a minute for the three dots to appear.Poppy: She’s still asleep. I’ll meet you out front so you don’t wake her. 27 Grafton. Just come.Noah was already moving.Traffic blurred past his windows as he made the drive, but he couldn’t focus on any of it. He was too busy replaying the look on Kayla’s face when he’d fired her. Too busy wondering how much April had believed. How deep the damage ran.And whether he could repair it at all.When he pulled up in front of the modest townhouse, Poppy was already standing at the edge of the porch, arms crossed, eyes sharp.He parked, cut the engine, and stepped out quietly.“Hey,” he said as he approached.Poppy nodded, her voice low. “She’s ins

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-14
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Sixty-Nine

    “Some truths don’t hurt because they’re lies. They hurt because they were hidden.” By Unknown.Noah was still holding April’s hand when he heard the front door open.April stirred slightly, lifting her head from where it rested lightly against his shoulder. But she didn’t let go.Footsteps followed, along with the sound of a little girl’s voice giggling and asking for snacks.Noah glanced toward the door just as Poppy stepped into the living room, one hand gripping a reusable grocery bag, the other resting protectively on the head of a small girl with bright eyes and dark blonde curls that framed her face like a halo.Jade.He’d heard the name mentioned in passing before. But he hadn’t met her.Until now.The girl looked up, curious and cautious, her tiny hand still gripping Poppy’s fingers.She was maybe three, maybe four—he couldn’t quite tell—but there was something familiar about her. The shape of her chin. The slope of her nose.And then it hit him.Max.Jade’s little face was pra

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-15
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Seventy

    Noah drove them home after dinner. Poppy had made pasta, and the five of them. They sat around her small table like they were just a normal little family. Jade had insisted he help her grate the cheese. All the while, April had grinned at him.The kitchen had been warm and golden, smelling like garlic and home cooking.Now the brownstone was quiet, dimly lit with only a few lamps on. April had gone to change into pajamas. Noah waited downstairs, still half-stunned by everything that had unfolded over the last twelve hours. His body was heavy with exhaustion, but his mind was wide awake.She came down in one of his old t-shirts and a pair of soft sleep shorts, her hair loose around her shoulders. She looked young and tired and heartbreakingly beautiful.They didn’t speak at first. They just moved around each other with a new kind of understanding. She handed him a glass of water. He brushed his fingers against hers. Nothing loud. Nothing rushed. He knew he needed to talk and tell her ab

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-16
  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Seventy-One

    “Some things don’t destroy you right away. They wait—then hit you where you’re softest.” By Unknown.April woke to warmth.Not just the physical heat of the man beside her, but something deeper. Softer. Her head was tucked under Noah’s chin, his hand still resting gently over her belly. Protective. Anchoring.For a moment, she didn’t move. She just listened to the slow, even rhythm of his heart and let herself pretend the world outside didn’t exist.He stirred before she did, his arm tightening instinctively around her.“You awake?” he murmured, voice still sleep-rough and low.April nodded against his chest, nuzzling in slightly. “Mmhmm.”He kissed her hair. “I could lie here all day.”“We can’t.”“I know.” A beat. “But I want to.”They didn’t talk about the day or the night before. There was nothing left to say…not right now. They would have to work on what they had. The silence between them felt earned, like something sacred.When she finally stretched, limbs heavy and warm beneath

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-17

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  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter One Hundred-One

    The Harrington estate looked every bit its celebrated grandeur, the perfect location for Noelle’s second birthday. Hydrangeas bloomed like inverted fireworks along the gravel driveway, and the long white portico, where April had played hide-and-seek as a child. They came here as often as possible.April stood at the threshold of the great hall, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear and surveying the guests milled between lawn games and picnic blankets, champagne flutes balanced like trophies in their hands. The kids had clowns and fairies for entertainment. There was just something creepy about clowns, so April didn’t get too close.Noah emerged from the house behind her, hands full of Noelle’s birthday presents—stacks of pastel-wrapped boxes that threatened to tumble tied with silk ribbons. He met April’s eyes, offering a tired but triumphant grin. “Ready?”She took one of the parcels. “Born ready.”He tousled her hair, then turned to navigate a rogue bubble floating across th

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter One-Hundred

    Birth DayThe moment April’s water broke, it sounded like someone somewhere had popped a champagne cork in slow motion. One second she was leaning over the kitchen island, peering under the sink for the misplaced tea towels; the next, a warm rush spattered onto her sweats and the tile floor.Noah was standing behind her, refolding April’s neatly laundered burp cloths into an ever-dwindling stack of hospital-bag items, and jumped so hard he knocked the cloths—and his coffee—off the counter. The mug shattered at their feet.“April?” he barked, eyes wide as saucers.“Yep,” she said, voice calm but edged with adrenaline, “that was my water.” It explained the back pain she had been getting all day.Noah blinked at the puddle. “Your… what?”She bit back a laugh. “My water, Noah. That water.”He tossed the hospital tote onto the island, sent half the contents spilling to the floor. “So… do we panic? Is that what we do?”She shoved aside her panic and reached for his face. “No, Chef, we don’t

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Ninety-Nine

    For the night‑shift nurse, the arrangement was unacceptable. She pushed the door open for the fourth time, shoes squeaking on linoleum, her clipboard braced like a shield. Noah woke up the minute the door started opening.“Mr. Crawford, you’re going to have to use the visitor’s chair. It’s policy. Patients need room to turn safely.”Noah’s gruff whisper carried a quiet threat. “She is turning safely around me.”April stirred, IV line rustling, voice sleep‑rough. “It’s fine… we’ll both fit.”“It’s really not,” the nurse insisted, but her resolve faltered under Noah’s unblinking stare. He looked like a wolf someone had tried to leash overnight—hair a mess, dress shirt wrinkled, jaw covered in stubble—and sexy as hell.Finally, the nurse scribbled an irritated note, muttered something about lawsuits, and retreated. Noah exhaled only when the door clicked shut.“Sorry,” April murmured.He kissed her temple. “Let her file whatever report she wants. I’m not parking my ass in a plastic bucket

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Ninety-Eight

    “Move! Hugo, you’re driving.”Noah’s roar bounced off the alley walls as he scooped April into his arms—trembling limbs and all—and bolted for the car. He wasn’t waiting for the EMTs; they’d look after Kayla first. While he understood Kayla had been shot, the bitch had kidnapped his pregnant wife. If anything happened to April or the baby because of today, he’d kill that fucking crazy bitch himself… no police protection would stop him.Brody jogged after him, radio crackling in one fist. “Crawford, I still need a statement before you go anywhere. This was a shooting.”“Statements can fucking wait.” Noah slid into the back seat, April cradled sideways on his lap, her belly shielded by his forearm. “My wife comes first. I’m taking her to the hospital to be checked over, and unless you’re arresting me, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”Brody planted a hand on the door. “We have protocols—”Noah slammed the door with his free hand, not replying. Hugo gunned the engine the second it l

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter-Ninety-Seven

    Traffic and streets blurred around her. April’s grip hurt on the wheel. Kayla sat rigid beside her, pistol hidden below dash level, arm braced on the door like she was part of the upholstery now.“Take the next exit,” Kayla rasped.April’s mouth was desert‑dry. “That dumps us into Tribeca. Foot traffic’s heavy—”“I said exit.”She obeyed, the SUV shuddering across the chevrons onto Harrison Street.Think. She needed to think. She knew Noah would save her.But maybe Noah was still at his desk at the office and wouldn’t be coming to save her. Maybe she was on her own.For the first time, she felt butterflies in her stomach—the baby. “Hang in there, little one,” she whispered under her breath, too quiet for Kayla to catch.“Keep your eyes ahead,” Kayla snapped, her voice fraying, raw around the edges. “No sudden moves.”April swallowed. “Are we just going to keep driving circles until we run out of gas?”Kayla’s gaze flicked to her belly, then away, jaw working. “We’ll stop when I’m ready

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Ninety-Six

    Neil didn’t even hear the car at first—his mind was on the reports he’d left in the back seat of his SUV. He stepped out of the elevator onto Level B of the underground carpark, digging in his pocket for his key fob, when the low hum of an engine caught his attention.A black Audi rolled by, slow. Too slow. He might not have looked twice. But it reminded him of April’s car. The thing that made him go on high alert was the way the driver’s face looked—white. Like a sheet of paper. There was a woman in the car with her in the passenger seat.His blood went cold. Something wasn’t right.April. It was April driving. He didn’t recognize the woman sitting beside her. Disheveled, pale, eyes too wide—wild. He barely caught a flash of something metallic before it was gone. But his instincts screamed.Gun.Neil lunged forward, waving an arm—but the car didn’t stop. He was sure by the time he reacted, they hadn’t even seen him. The car pulled into traffic, vanishing with terrifying calm.He didn’

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Ninety-Five

    April pulled her car into the underground parking garage beneath Harringtons, the soft rumble of the engine echoing against the stark concrete walls. She glanced at the dashboard clock. 8:12 a.m. Early, but she liked it that way. Quiet, still, no one around to pull her into impromptu meetings before she had a chance to settle. If Noah had his way this morning, she would have been late.Grinning, she slipped the gear into park and killed the engine. The silence that followed was oddly sharp, too complete. She reached over for her handbag, slinging it over her shoulder, and opened the door, her heels clicking against the floor as she stepped out. The sound echoed off the concrete walls.The moment she shut her door and hit the lock, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.She paused.It was instinct. A tightening in her chest. A shift in the atmosphere that had nothing to do with the cold. She wasn’t alone. Usually, she wouldn’t have minded. It was common for her staff to come and go

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Ninety-Four

    Six weeks later.The soft Saturday morning light poured in through the bedroom windows, casting a warm glow over the sheets tangled around April’s legs. She lay on her side, one hand resting over her slowly growing belly, the other curled under her pillow. Beside her, Noah was already awake, propped up on one elbow, just watching her.“You’re staring,” she mumbled, not even opening her eyes.“I’m allowed to,” he said, brushing her hair back from her cheek. “I’m admiring my girls.”She cracked one eye open, giving him a sleepy smile. “You don’t know it’s a girl yet.”He leaned down and kissed her belly. “I have a feeling.”An hour later, they were in the car, heading to the clinic for her second-trimester appointment. April watched the city pass by outside her window, but she was only half paying attention. Her nerves were fraying. It wasn’t that she thought something would be wrong, but pregnancy had a way of stirring up worry even when everything seemed fine.Noah reached over, thread

  • CEO Wants His Wife Back In His Bed   Chapter Ninety-Three

    The front door clicked shut behind them with a soft thud, the sound swallowed by the quiet stillness of the Harrington estate.April’s heels echoed faintly in the empty hall, her fingers still laced through Noah’s. The place smelled like memory, old cedar and roses, polished wood, her childhood. She had loved it here. She was so glad they had renewed their vows in the garden she loved so much.For a moment, the silence felt too big. Too final. Like stepping out of one life and into another. Her dad was gone, but she held him in her heart and this place would always be here.Noah, in his usual effortless way, broke the weight with a grin.“Well, Mrs. Crawford,” he murmured, his voice low, teasing, “you have exactly fifteen seconds to tell me which room we’re sleeping in before I throw you down right here on the marble floor.”April raised a brow, smoothing her fingers up his lapel. “Not the master-suite.”Noah blinked. “Why not?”“It was my father’s room, and I still feel guilty moving

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