Share

125 Why Did You Need Proof?

Author: Anney GW
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-18 10:29:56

(Serena)

My breath doesn’t catch, it just stops altogether.

James stands up and waits for me to speak.

He saw footage? But that area was supposed to be free of cameras. We agreed. He promised.

That’s why Margot chose there to say it all. I know it.

“How?” I ask, slowly, cautiously. “Where from?”

He rubs a hand over his face. “Theo. He left a hidden camera in that corner garden. He never looks at the footage. It’s just there in case he ever needed it.”

“Jesus,” I echo. My voice sounds far away. “So… even where I thought I wasn’t being watched, I was.”

“I’m sorry,” he says immediately, stepping forward. “I didn’t know it was there either. But Theo says he will never leave me vulnerable and outside the mansion, I am.”

“I get it. But it’s just… it’s creepy.”

“You know we can trust Theo. No one else gets access and won’t look at anything unless needed.”

I do trust Theo. I know he is loyal to James, always. I trust that.

“And what did it show?” I whisper, already knowing. But does this mean
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me   253 Periods Don’t Lie… Right?

    (Serena)The pregnancy test is still sealed.Like it’s a grenade, and if I pull the pin, everything I’ve been pretending not to feel will explode all over my bathroom tiles.I stand there with it in my hand anyway, staring at the stupid pastel packaging while my pulse goes feral.Haylee leans on the vanity beside me, arms folded, eyes sharp but soft at the edges.“Okay,” she says gently. “You’ve been holding the packet for ten minutes.”“I know.”“Do you want me to go out of the bathroom?”“No.”I look at her in the mirror.“I want…” I start, then stop, because if I say what I want out loud, it becomes real.Haylee waits. She doesn’t push. She just watches me like she’s ready to catch me if my knees decide to quit.I swallow hard and finally say it.“I want James here. If I’m pregnant, it’s his. I want to do this with him.”Silence drops like a curtain.Haylee’s brows lift slightly, not surprised. “Okay.”“I hate that I want him here,” I add quickly, because I feel exposed now. Raw. “

  • The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me   252 Distraction Protocol

    (James)Theo and Ezra are at the main table in the boardroom, going over overnight logs.That’s standard practice each morning. I’m usually here before this. They straighten when I approach… my authority subtle, automatic, ingrained.“Morning,” I say.Theo nods in greeting.Ezra lifts his chin in a quick hello. “Hi Boss.”I put my jacket on the back of my chair and open the central console. “Updates.”I scroll through the data. Or try to.Numbers and statistics are usually my thing, but today they look like someone dipped a spider in ink and let it walk across the page.My attention keeps drifting, like I’m reading underwater.I blink, scroll again, and realize too late that I wasn’t listening to what either of them just said.“James?” Theo asks.“What?”He lowers his tablet slightly. “You didn’t answer.”“I’m reviewing,” I say.Ezra leans back in his chair. “You’re staring at page one like it killed your dog.”“I don’t have a dog,” I tell him. “Let’s stay on task.”“We are on task. Y

  • The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me   251 A Question I Can’t Ask

    (Serena)James stands in the doorway of my bathroom.His expression is a knot of worry and frustration, dark eyes fixed on me with too much intensity as I rinse my mouth and steady myself against the counter.“I’m fine. It’s probably a virus. I’m not pregnant, you know that.”“Serena,” he says quietly, “that wasn’t normal.”“It was probably low blood pressure,” I reply, keeping my tone as even as I can manage. “Or stress. It happens.”He steps closer but stops, hands flexing at his sides. “You’re sure?”“Yes. You can leave now.”“I’m happy to stay a little longer.”“And thank you for that,” I reply, steady but firm. “But actually, I need space.”His expression twists. “From me.”“Yes. From you.”He stares at me, searching my face for something I’m not going to give him.“You’re pushing me out again,” he says.“I’m not. There’s nothing to push you out from. James, we aren’t anything.”He goes still. “Okay.”“We’re exes. We aren’t besties. Thanks for being here but I can run my own life

  • The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me   250 The Things We Survive

    (Serena)His cheek is burning red from where I slapped him.It must have hurt. I put all my strength into it. Maybe I should care.The other part of me… the part that lived through the time at Hale Manor… wants to hit him again.I lean back against the kitchen counter, trying to breathe evenly, trying not to look like I’m about to fall apart.My whole body feels hot, restless, trapped inside itself. I’m exhausted, emotional, nauseous in a way I can’t explain.Maybe I’m just tired. Maybe it’s stress.Maybe it’s him.James stands in the center of my kitchen. He touches his cheek and his eyes burn with anger.We glare at each other.“You make it impossible to love you,” he shouts, shaking his head like I’m the unreasonable one.The words hit harder than the kiss. Harder than the slap. Harder than anything.I straighten. “Good. Because I’m done wanting you to love me. I’m done with you.”His eyes close for a second, like he’s praying for patience. “You don’t mean that,” he says.“Yes,” I

  • The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me   249 You Love Me

    (James)The second Nico hangs up, I’m already grabbing my keys.Damon Cross. Dead.No one here is going to miss him, but Nico is right. If they think someone killed him they are going to look right at us.I don’t need an alibi. I never killed him. I doubt Serena did. I mean he was painful, but she’s been through worse publicity.Mostly because of me and Mother. And Savannah.No wonder Serena thinks she hates me right now.I earned it. I need to change it. And this news on Damon gives me the perfect excuse to go see her.And she deserves someone who shows up for her, even if she never wants to see me again.***Her security detail nod me through and I ring her doorbell and wait.This is probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but she came looking for me when I was dying in the snow. I can be here for her even if she thinks she never wants to see me again.She loves me. I know she does.Her door opens and she takes one look at me and slams it shut again.“No. Go away.”“Serena,

  • The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me   248 The Devil’s Exit

    (Nico)The phone buzzes across my bedside table just as the sky starts to get light.Ramos.Not a man who calls unless something’s gone sideways.I answer. “Detective.”“You up?” he asks.“I am now,” I say. “But go ahead.”“It’s Cross.”A pause. Damon Cross is a real thorn in my side. I need to shut him down.“Damon Cross is dead.”I sit upright. Okay, that will work. “How.”“His hotel bathroom. Alone. Looks like an overdose, but— there was a huge party. A lot of people coming and going on the security cameras in the hallway. Most of them wearing black hoodies.”“Okay, so an overdose. That’s not unexpected with he lifestyle he lived.”“But his recent tox screens showed him as clean. He professed to be reformed and medical reports back that up.”“What, exactly, are you saying?”“That it’s too early to rule out foul play.”“And there are a lot of people who wanted him gone. Including my client.”“Correct. This a courtesy heads-up.”“Wait, you mean you are human?”He chuckles. “Wouldn’t

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status