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Chapter 20
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2025-05-14 00:24:40
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The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 21
Adrian's PovThe moment I opened my door, I closed it hard and gripped the wheel, struggling to breathe.He was hiding something. Maybe he wasn't responsible for the messages. But he was holding something back. I saw it in his eyes, the spark of guilt, the flash of anger when I mentioned Val's name. This wasn't all about me.He wanted her too. Not for love, but for control. The attention. He wanted her as a bait to get to me and I would not let her be used as a pawn in his game.I drew out my phone again and sent a text to Jules.Double the efforts to break through. Dig deeper, trace the traceables. I want the source. I don't care if it's behind fifty walls of encryption, find it.My thumb hovered over the send button for a moment before I typed another line:And trace Damian's devices too.Then I hit send. The game was on. This wasn't about who was sending the texts anymore. It was about who was willing to hurt her to get to me. And that? That was a boundary they should have never cr
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 20
Adrian's PovThe sun through the half drawn curtains heated nothing except my skin.I hadn't slept. Not exactly. My eyes had closed, but my mind wouldn't relent. It couldn't stop spinning in circles around the number. They are just digits but somehow, it figured out a way to undo everything.I wiped a hand across my face and breathed out hard. My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Without hesitating, I snatched it up."Talk to me," I barked into the receiver."Sir," the voice on the other end of the line replied, professional and smooth. I recognized it immediately, Jules, one of my best analysts and the guy from yesternight. The man could follow a rat's heartbeat through a wall if you provided time and the proper equipment."Well?" I prompted.There was a hesitation before he replied. "The number came back empty, sir."I stopped cold. "Empty?""Yes, sir. It's been cleared. No call register records, no owner information, not even a provider origin. It's ghosted.""GHOSTED?" I repeated,
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 19
Adrian's PovI couldn't get the image off my mind, it was like it had burned its way into the depths of my mind like a plague. The numbers burned in my memory. Ten figures that held so much badluck.Val and I were just starting to get along, I don't know how but I had began to feel some warmth towards her and then she does something this stupid and irresponsible?I glared down at the paper on my desk, the numbers hastily written across it, the imprint of my pen visible in the next page. I couldn't remain seated after reading that message—heck, I could barely hold the phone, my anger was shaking my hands.She didn't tell me, but why? How do you keep something like that from someone?I hunched over, elbows on the desk, I had an urge to push my fingers into my temples hard enough to relieve the pressure that was splitting my skull in two.I could taste the disappointment I felt, all thick and smoky in my chest. Was she usually so careless? Or did she believe I was capable of something li
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 18
Valentine's PovI put the flip phone back in the small pouch and closed the box shut once more, my heart still pounding in my chest. My hands shook slightly as I pushed it back beneath the bed, covering it over as though it had never existed. That old corner of my life, the one I had hidden so well, was now burning once more. I could feel it in my bones, like the first tremor before an earthquake.I stood up, straightening the squeezed part of my pajama bottoms, and stepped out into the hall. The corridor was quiet, the light easing down from the kitchen in a gentle hum. It smelled of freshly brewed coffee, maybe a hint of cinnamon toast. My belly rumbled, but I wasn't really hungry, only tireed and dehydrated. I walked downstairs in my bare feet, each step sounding a little too loudly in my ears.Adrian leaned against the kitchen counter, his back turned away from me, sleeves rolled up, mug in his hand. He looked normal. Calm. Like nothing had happened last night. He didn't look like
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 17
Valentine's PovSleep eluded me that night.Every time I closed my eyes, he was there, lurking behind my eyelids like a shadow carved into my mind.The man in the parking lot. The way he'd looked at me. The way he walked. The way something deep inside me screamed that if Adrian hadn't left the mall when he did, I wouldn't be here, all snuggled up in this bed, these blankets, safe.Safe.Was I really? What did it even mean?I suppose I must have dozed off because I was in the car again.But this time, I was at night.The windows were fogged, the outside world sinking into deep shadows. My own breath was icy, tracing small streaks on the glass. I swung around and he was there. Not out there, in here. He was sitting beside me on the front, his hoodie wet and his eyes sharp, like marbles pulled from a corpse.I opened my mouth and tried to scream, but nothing emerged. He reached into his cardigan pocket and pulled out something.I thought it was a phone at first, but as he moved, a strip
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 16
Adrian hadn't come to my room in days.Infact, ever since that afternoon by the river, when he shut down and brushed off my question with a vague answer as if I'd asked him something I should never have asked, we'd barely spoken more than a few words to each other.The silence between us had become a fortress, one that I had vowed not to be the first to breach.So when I heard the soft knock on my door, I almost didn't answer. I thought it was Margret so I decided to be quiet and just let her leave. But then I heard his voice."Val? Are you decent?"I muttered something that could possibly have been heard as yes, although I wasn't sure it was audible. The door creaked open, and Adrian came in slowly, eyes darting around the room as if he expected it to be different. Well, I was audible after all.I stayed curled up on the bed, arms around my knees, eyes dry from too much thinking.He looked tired. He always looked tired lately. His brows drawn low, his shoulders tense like he carried
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 15
The silence in the car was too overwhelming. Adrian's grip on the steering wheel was too hard, and I felt the tension shift. Something was amiss.I glanced out the window and my heart missed a beat and my stomach dropped like a stone.“Adrian,” I said, keeping my voice leveled, “that’s not the way back.”He didn’t answer.His eyes stayed locked on the road ahead, jaw tight, hands gripping the wheel like they were the only things keeping him grounded.“Where are we going?” I asked again, sharper now.Silence.My heart beat faster. The hospital was far behind us. And Adrian… Adrian had an expression I couldn’t read.Panic set in. I shifted in my seat. “Adrian, can you please just tell me…”The tires hissed over gravel as he veered off the main road. The car jerked as he pulled hard onto a narrow dirt path, dust curling behind us in the side mirrors. A second later, he slammed the brakes and shoved the gear into park.I sat frozen, fingers wrapped tightly around my seatbelt. He walked ar
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 14
The sunlight morning streamed in through the tall windows, golden and untroubled by the secrets it betrayed. I was in the doorway of the dining room, hair tousled, heart still tender from the previous night, and halted when my eyes came to rest on Adrian.He sat at the head of the table, scrolling through something on his tablet. A crisp white shirt hugged his shoulders, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He did not look up immediately, but when he did, a slow, almost suspicious smile spread across his lips."Good morning," he said."Morning," I whispered. I settled into the seat beside him. The silence lingered there a moment, two, comfortable but heavy, as though we were both still figuring out the transition between us.Then he asked, "How was your night?""I want to see Oliver. "Adrian blinked, then set down his mug. "You want to go to the hospital?"I nodded. "Yes. I need to see him. I haven't seen him since after the operation. "He didn't say anything for a moment. Intently look
The Billionaire’s Contract Bride Chapter 13
I lingered in the hall longer than necessary. The air outside her door was too still, like the eye of the storm. My fingers fluttered just inches from the doorframe, as it clenched and unclenched in slow tempo. I hated this feeling, this tight, coiled anxiety crawling through my gut. I was a man who planned well, and when those plans failed, I improvised. I always had it together. But I wasn't holding it together tonight, I was breaking down.She looked so small in that bed; too frail yet too brave. Even when her eyes were wide and pleading, she hadn't screamed. She had looked at me as if I was the villain of her story. Well, maybe I was.I moved away from the door, forcing myself to walk slowly down the hall, but every goddam instinct was screaming at me to break into a sprint and disappear into the night. Not that I was afraid of her. No, I was afraid of what I had seen in her eyes.Fear. Distrust.. and something else. She looked at me as if I had betrayed her. That was the part
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