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The Billionaire's Substitute Bride 80
MALTIDA “Mr. Williams, Mr. Carmichael, and Mr. Northwest,” I counted quietly as I carefully poured tea into delicate china cups. My hands trembled slightly, but I blamed it on the heat from the kettle.Three cups. Each with its own little ritual. I reached for the sugar cubes- three extra for Mr. Carmichael. He was such a sweet tooth. Always has been. I tucked the sugar in carefully, stirring just enough without clinking the spoon too loud.The tray was heavier than usual. Or maybe I was just tired. I held my breath and walked toward the sitting room where voices buzzed low and sharp like insects around blood.They barely looked up as I entered, but I felt their eyes on me when I bent to place the cups down.Mr. Carmichael took his cup before I even finished setting the tray down.“Perfect,” He said after a sip. I smiled—like I was supposed to. Like I didn’t know these men were monsters dressed in expensive suits. My eyes flicked to the untouched cup beside Mr. Williams. He was alwa
The Billionaire's Substitute Bride 79
SOPHIA “Sophia, open up!”The knocks grew louder. Sharper. More desperate.I didn’t flinch.I was already curled in the chair by the window, knees drawn to my chest, hands wrapped around a half-filled glass of water I hadn’t even sipped. It was warm now. Like everything in this apartment. Stale. Quiet. Grieving.My apartment was dim. Quiet, except for the old ceiling fan humming above me like a warning. The curtains were drawn, swallowing the sunlight. Half-packed boxes from when I thought I might run. A withered plant on the windowsill. The place smelled like stale coffee and yesterday’s fear. Dishes I never touched sat cold in the sink. A takeout bag wilted on the counter. I hadn’t eaten. Couldn’t.“What does he want now?” I whispered to no one. My voice was hoarse. Distant. Like it didn’t belong to me anymore.I was done.Done with the deal.Done exposing Ricci.The words echoed in my head, even as the ache in my chest laughed at me.“I know you’re in there, Sophia! I can hear the
The Billionaire's Substitute Bride 78
RICCI It had been a few days since my body stopped aching since the monitors were unplugged and the nurses stopped hovering. I was officially "recovered."But nothing felt whole.The rest of me? Shattered in places no X-ray could catch.My heart sank lower if that was even possible. Heavy. Constant. Like a bruise, you can't stop pressing.The officer stood near the door now, arms folded, tapping something into his phone like this was just another case. Another day. Another man going down. I almost laughed.Almost.The nurse finished adjusting my IV and gave me this look-one of those soft, pity-laced stares. I hated it. I didn't want pity. I wanted-Her.One more glance. One more word. One more thing. But she was gone.When they finally came back for me, it wasn't dramatic. No guns. No shouting. Just two officers with firm expressions and a paper for me to sign that I didn't even bother reading. I scribbled my name like it meant nothing.Because it didn't. Not anymore.Leo visited twi
The Billionaire's Substitute Bride 77
SOPHIA I didn’t get far.Not really.I told myself I was leaving, but I ended up in the hospital chapel, sitting on a bench that creaked every time I breathed too hard. The room was quiet in a way that hurt—too clean, too hollow, too full of ghosts I didn’t know how to pray to.I turned to my side and noticed a woman crying quietly a few seats down. She was rocking slightly, clutching something in her hands. I caught bits and pieces—something about her daughter, a prayer, maybe a name—but I didn’t really pay attention.My mind was too full. My chest is too heavy.There was a cross on the wall, below it were flickering candles and one of those little boxes where people wrote prayers on slips of paper and stuffed them in like wishes. I didn’t write anything. I wouldn’t even know where to start.Please forgive me? Please let him forget me? Please let this baby never know the mess I made? I didn't know what to fucking do….I ran a hand across my messy buns. And slowly my hands left my hai
The Billionaire's Substitute Bride 76
SOPHIA What's left for us?He woke up.He really woke up.I watched him blink up at me, slow and unsure like a man lost in a dream. His eyes were unfocused at first, and then they were n’t—they were on me.They were holding me.And I smiled.But something broke inside of me at the same time.Because he didn’t know.Not yet.Not about the baby. Not about what I did. Not about how the whole damn world fell apart around him because of me. Because I showed up. Because I stayed. Because I loved him.They came in right after. The nurses. The doctor. All those white coats with quick hands and calm voices, checking vitals and shining lights into his eyes. I stepped back, just a little, but I kept my hand in his. He tried to follow me with his eyes. I could see the panic in them, the way his brows drew in, like he thought I was leaving already.I wasn’t. Not yet.The doctor said he needed rest. He had a concussion, fractured ribs, and something about an infection they were watching. They spok
The Billionaire's Substitute Bride 75
SOPHIA The quiet between storms.The hospital smelled like bleach and old metal. The kind of cold that settled in your bones and stayed there, no matter how many sweaters or cups of burnt coffee you downed. I'd lost track of how long it'd been. Days blurred into nights and nights into that weird empty space hospitals have, where time doesn't move right.Ricci still hadn't woken up.Machines beeped steadily beside him, all those little screens glowing with colors I barely understood but memorized anyway. Heart rate. Oxygen. Blood pressure. They were the only thing keeping me from falling apart. As long as they beeped...He was still here.I sat beside him every day. My legs are stiff. My back sore from these damn chairs. My hand always wrapped around his.His fingers were cold sometimes. Other days, they were warm, and it made my chest ache in this sharp, awful way, because it reminded me of before.Before all the blood. Before Sara. Before I found out about all the things he kept hid
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