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His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride
Last Updated : 2026-07-31
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Althea Johnson did not walk blindly into darkness. Before the contracts, the demands of blood and legacy — Dominic Valtieri had loved her. It was fierce, dangerous, and real enough to make her believe she could stand beside a man the world feared. Behind his ruthless reputation, she had seen a man capable of choosing her. For a while, he did. Until the weight of his name consumed him. By the time they marry, Dominic is no longer the man who once held her like something precious. He is colder, controlled by a dynasty that demands an heir and sees love as weakness. Still, Althea clings to the ghost of what they once were, hoping the man she loved is still buried somewhere inside him. On their wedding night, that hope dies. There is no tenderness—only possession. No love—only purpose. She is not a wife to him, but a necessity. When she discovers she’s pregnant, the truth becomes unbearable. Dominic did not choose her again. He chose what she could give him. An heir. A legacy. A continuation of a name built on power and fear. To him, she is no longer the woman he loved. She became a vessel. But grief hardens into something far more dangerous than heartbreak. Because Althea remembers who he used to be — and that memory burns. If legacy has consumed Dominic Valtieri, then she will become the one thing his empire never accounted for: defiance. She will not allow her child to be raised as a pawn in a dynasty built on fear. She will not let love be twisted into ownership. And if she must burn his empire to the ground to set her child free— She will.
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CHAPTER 1
「ごめーん、小日向（こひなた）さん！ 急にデート入っちゃって！」
木曜日の19時過ぎ。 華やいだ空気が漂うオフィスに、甘ったるい声が響いた。
声の主は、営業部のマドンナ的存在である後輩女子。 彼女は合わせる手と申し訳なさそうな顔を作りながら、それでもデスクの上には既にブランド物のバッグが乗っている。「この入力、お願いできるかな？ 小日向さんって、ほんと『お母さん』みたいに頼りになるし！」
お母さん。 その四文字が、私――小日向紬（こひなた・つむぎ）に地味なダメージを与える。私はまだ24歳だ。そりゃあ24歳でちゃんと結婚して子供がいる人もいるけど、私は独身、彼氏もいない。それなのに、社内での扱いは完全に「熟練のオカン」になっている。
「分かりました。置いておいてください」
私は作り慣れた営業スマイルを貼り付ける。 口角を上げ、目は細め、相手に一切の罪悪感を抱かせないプロのモブの顔だ。
笑顔であっても華やかさのない、ごく地味な顔。「えっ、いいの！？ やったあ！ やっぱ小日向さん神！ ありがとう！」
「楽しんできてくださいね」
「うん！ 行ってきまーす！」
後輩はフローラル系の香水の匂いを撒き散らしながら、軽やかな足取りでオフィスを出て行った。自動ドアが閉まる音がして、オフィスに静寂が戻る。
はあ、と息を吐く。 ため息ではない。呼吸を整えただけだ。
私は4人きょうだいの長女だった。 共働きの両親に代わって、弟や妹の面倒を見るのは私の役目。
オムツを替え、離乳食を食べさせ、喧嘩の仲裁をし、宿題を見てやる。誰かの世話を焼くことは、私にとって呼吸と同じくらい当たり前の習性になっていた。「……さてと」
積み上げられた伝票の山を引き寄せる。人の世話が嫌いなわけじゃない。誰かの役に立つこと自体は、むしろ好きなほうだ。
ただ、たまに。ほんの少しだけ。自分が「便利な脇役」として消費されることに、心が乾いてひび割れる音がする。
「やるか」
私はキーボードに指を走らせた。カチャカチャという無機質な音だけが、誰もいないオフィスに虚しく響いた。
◇ 「お疲れ様でしたー……」誰に言うでもなく呟いて、タイムカードを切る。時刻は22時を回っていた。もちろん残業代は出る。それが唯一の救いだ。
駅前の大通りは、まだ金曜日の熱気に浮かれていた。 居酒屋のキャッチ、楽しそうに笑い合うカップル、千鳥足のサラリーマン。
私はそのどれとも関わりを持たない「背景の一部」として、コンビニの自動ドアをくぐった。Latest chapter
His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 350
Life continued to move forward as it always should.Seraphina eventually listened to the two people who loved her most.Dominic and Althea."You've spent your whole life saving everyone else, Mama. And sacrificing your own happiness." Althea had told her. She hugged Seraphina lovingly. "It's time someone makes you happy."Months later, Seraphina finally reunited with Esteban.The young man she had loved long before duty separated them. This time, neither family expectations nor old loyalties stood in their way.Dominic personally transferred ownership of the beautiful Valmont Estate to them."You deserve your own beginning, Mama." He informed when he gave her the deed and saw the surprised look on her face. “Besides, you and Esteban had a lot of things to catch up. I’m sure he wants that.”Seraphina accepted and Valmont quickly became famous for hosting family gatherings that somehow always ended with Dominic losing spectacularly at board games to Esteban.He maintained the games were
Last Updated : 2026-07-31His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 349
Five years later...The Valtieri Estate no longer carried the weight of ghosts. Where fear had once lingered in every corridor, laughter now echoed through its halls.The underground chambers remained exactly where they had always been, hidden beneath centuries of stone, but no longer representing secrets that divided a family. They had become history, remembered, respected, and protected.Dominic had made one promise the day they returned to the estate."No child of mine will ever fear this house." He vowed solemnly.He kept it.The music room was once again simply a music room.Children raced through its polished floors without knowing what lay beneath.Nicholas had long since learned the truth of the Seat, but only because one day it would become part of his inheritance and not as a throne of power. A covenant of service.Until then, he remained exactly what Dominic and Althea wanted him to be.A little boy growing up surrounded by love.The Estate itself had changed even if old
Last Updated : 2026-07-31His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 348
One month later life had begun to resemble something wonderfully ordinary.The nightmares came less often despite the scars still remaining. However, that no longer defined each day.The bullet wounds had faded into thin silver lines across Althea's chest and abdomen.She still tired more quickly than she cared to admit, though Helena continued to monitor her recovery with unwavering vigilance.Her strength had returned enough that she no longer needed frequent rests, yet her father and mother still often reminded her that healing from such profound blood loss was measured in months, not weeks.For once, Althea listened.Mostly.Blackstone, however, was unusually lively before sunrise."Nico." Dominic called from downstairs. "We leave in ten minutes.""I'm almost ready!" Came Nicholas’ excited voice from upstairs.Another minute passed and then another but Nico has still not appeared from above.Dominic looked toward Althea."What do you think he's doing?""Checking his backpack for t
Last Updated : 2026-07-31His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 347
The silence beyond the Hall of Keepers was unlike anything Dominic had ever experienced.It wasn't merely the absence of sound, as if the walls are listening.No distant echoes.Only stillness.The ancient stone door at the end of the Hall stood nearly four meters high, carved from a single slab of obsidian-black granite veined with silver that shimmered beneath the lantern light.Unlike every passage before it, there were no handles, hinges and locks. The way it looked from their point of view, nothing suggested that it could even be opened.Lorenzo stopped several paces away."This..." He said quietly. “Is where my duty ends."Dominic frowned."What do you mean?" He asked.The old Keeper smiled sadly. "Dominic, for forty years I have guarded this Hall." He started to explained gently. "I have walked every step you have walked. I have read every name and preserved every record."He looked toward the immense stone door."But no Keeper has ever crossed beyond this threshold." He finall
Last Updated : 2026-07-31His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 256
The Axis Core chamber burned with smoke, blood, and gunfire.Ancient stone trembled beneath the violence while echoes of battle rolled endlessly through the massive underground structure.Bodies littered the spiral descent paths, some belonging to Luca, a few from the Custodians and some from Domin
His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 221
The decision moved quickly after Althea and August went out of the library and proceeded to the medical wing to talk with Helena.But there was no time left for hesitation anymore.Althea found herself standing inside one of Helena’s secured communication rooms build within the medical wing togethe
His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 218
The silence inside the library lingered after Nicholas returned to drawing.It was the kind of silence that came when several intelligent people arrived at the same terrifying conclusion at the exact same time.Althea remained near her parents’ table, arms folded tightly as she watched her son drag
His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride CHAPTER 214
Morning arrived too quietly for the kind of fear Althea and Dominic had carried into the night.The curtains shifted gently from the soft wind slipping through the slightly opened balcony doors, pale sunlight stretching slowly across the room from the gaps on the boarded windows. It touched the tan
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