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last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-05-26 23:39:02

I stood stiff, one hand on the table, the other clenched at my side. “Say that again.”

Dennis didn’t flinch. He looked right at me. “Stella isn’t who she says she is. She’s Julie’s daughter. Her biological daughter.”

I stared at him, barely breathing. “What does that have to do with me?”

He took a slow step forward. “The crash. The one you remember. That wasn’t Stella’s family. That was yours.”

I blinked, fast. My jaw locked. “No. That’s not possible.”

“You were in the car, Bella. It was your parents. You were listed as dead. Julie made it look that way.”

I stepped back from the table, shaking my head. “No. No, I—she’s the one who was in the car. Stella—”

“She wasn’t,” he said. “Stella was never in the crash. Julie staged everything. She made it look like Stella was the child who survived so the Rathores would take her in. She used your tragedy, your trauma, and gave it to her own daughter.”

I felt my knees start to give out. I grabbed the back of the couch and leaned forward, trying
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  • The Billionaire’s Runaway Bride   125

    ⸻We didn’t say much on the way to Carla’s estate. The air in the car was too still, like even the engine was holding its breath. Leo sat stiffly beside me in the back seat, his arms folded tight across his chest, his shoulders rigid. He stared out the window like the streets held answers he hadn’t found yet. His jaw was locked, unmoving, and every few seconds I could see the muscle twitch near his temple when he clenched.I kept my hands in my lap, fingers twisting around each other. I wanted to say something. Anything. But every word I considered felt too small for what was coming. Too shallow. Too late.Dennis pulled up to the gates, and before he could even roll down the window, the guards stepped aside. No questions. No hesitation. They knew why we were here.The estate looked like it was unraveling at the seams. One of the housemaids came storming out the front door, eyes red, apron streaked with tears. A woman I didn’t recognize was crying on the porch steps, hugging herself li

  • The Billionaire’s Runaway Bride   124

    The next morning started early. Outside, the light was still a pale gray, and the air inside the kitchen felt heavy, like everyone was bracing for impact. Leo barely touched his breakfast. He pushed food around his plate with the side of his fork, eyes locked on his phone.I watched from across the kitchen island as he ran a hand through his hair. It was a restless, irritated motion. His jaw clenched, then unclenched, then locked again. He kept glancing at the screen, waiting for something. His whole body buzzed with tension, like he was keeping himself from exploding just by sitting still.Dennis showed up just before eight, damp from the morning rain. He walked in without knocking, a thick file clutched under one arm and a grim look in his eyes.“It’s time,” he said, dropping the file onto the counter with a solid thunk. “We have everything. The surveillance footage. The leaked emails. The messages between Vincent and the manager whose son he kidnapped. It’s airtight.”Leo nodded sl

  • The Billionaire’s Runaway Bride   123

    Dennis kept his eyes on the road, both hands gripping the wheel, but the tension in his jaw said enough. I sat curled in the passenger seat, my legs pulled up, one hand resting on Leo’s thigh. He hadn’t let go of my other hand since we got in the car.I leaned my head back, turned toward Dennis. "Did you know about this?"Dennis didn’t answer right away. His voice was calm when he finally spoke. "No. I didn’t. I got the call the same time you did. I’m still catching up."Leo glanced sideways at me, squeezing my hand."You should have told me you were alive," I said, quietly, mostly to him."I know," he murmured. "I wanted to."My fingers slid over his, tracing the lines of his knuckles. I couldn’t stop touching him. I needed the physical reminder. His thumb rubbed circles on the back of my hand.When we finally pulled up in front of the house, I didn’t move right away. Leo got out first and came around to open my door. I stepped out, looking at the front door."All my stuff is still a

  • The Billionaire’s Runaway Bride   122

    The boardroom was still, no one said a word.Leo didn’t look at them. He didn’t care, he was looking only at me.And then his hands were on my face, warm and real. My breath caught as he stepped in, close, too close, and before I could even say a word, he kissed me.I melted into it.It was hungry, messy, not soft or gentle, not after everything. My fingers clutched at his jacket, needing to hold on to something, needing to prove he was solid and not a dream I would wake up from again. He kissed me like he was afraid to stop. I didn’t stop him.We were both still shaking. I could feel it in the way his hands cupped my cheeks, in the way I couldn’t keep still. I didn’t care who was watching.Around us, the room shifted. Papers rustled. Footsteps echoed. Chairs scraped the floor as people got up, unsure of what to say or how to respond. I didn’t look at them. I kept kissing him. I didn’t care that this was supposed to be a professional space, didn’t care about the meeting, the betrayal,

  • The Billionaire’s Runaway Bride   121

    The room exploded.I couldn't even hear my own heartbeat over the chaos. People stood up, voices layered over one another, gasps turning into shouts, chairs scraping across the floor. Shareholders whispered frantically to each other, some of them backing away from the table, phones already out, recording. Someone dropped a pen, and it rolled along the glossy wood without anyone bothering to catch it.Leo didn’t flinch.He kept walking, one measured step after another. His face was unreadable, calm in a way that almost scared me more than if he'd been angry or broken. He walked like he hadn't just returned from the dead. Like he hadn't been missing for weeks while everyone speculated and grieved and planned behind his back.I stood there frozen, watching him come closer. My legs were locked in place, my mouth slightly open, but no sound came out. I blinked once, then again, trying to confirm he was real.He looked directly at Carla first.She stepped back instinctively. Her eyes were w

  • The Billionaire’s Runaway Bride   120

    The morning came faster than I wanted.I barely slept the night before. I kept checking my phone for any updates from Dennis, nothing and no sign of Leo, there was no lead on Julie, just silence, I sat at the edge of the bed long before the sun came up, staring at the floor, holding my phone in both hands. Eventually, I stood and went to the bathroom. I turned on the light, squinting at the mirror, my face looked tired, my eyes were dull, and the dark circles under them didn’t go away even after splashing water on my face.I brushed my hair out slowly, piece by piece, then pulled it back into a sleek, low bun. I wanted to look sharp, focused. I reached for the navy blazer I’d picked out last night and slid it on over a white blouse. I buttoned the front and adjusted the collar. I stepped back and stared at my reflection.“I wish you were here,” I whispered. “I wish you were walking in with me.”The silence in the mirror didn’t answer.I grabbed my small leather case and walked downs

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