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Chapter 32: We Had Twelve Nights Left
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-08-19 18:25:02
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The Billionaire’s Wife Does Not Exist Chapter 44: My Husband Met the Life I Built Without Him
I answered the call with Adrian still standing in my doorway, wine and files in hand, and the contrast on my screen was almost funny. Roman stood in the polished noise of his own installation reception, dressed as the new Chairman of Ashbourne Holdings, while I stood barefoot in a half-unpacked apartment with another man at my door."Adrian brought over some files from the collection," I said, turning the phone so Roman could see.Adrian leaned in slightly. "Congratulations, Mr. Ashbourne.""Thank you." Roman's voice was perfectly civil, so civil that I knew exactly what was underneath it.Adrian set the wine and files on my counter, said goodnight, and let himself out. The second the door closed, I looked back at the screen."Are you jealous?""I'm standing at my own installation wondering why Adrian Cole is holding wine outside my wife's apartment. I'm trying to be evolved about it."I laughed, but he didn't look entirely amused, and after a moment he admitted the real thing underne
The Billionaire’s Wife Does Not Exist Chapter 43: The Night We Both Needed Each Other
For one embarrassing second, I wanted Roman to tell the board no. Not because I wanted him to lose the Chair, and not because I believed my first night in a new apartment mattered more than the position he'd spent years working toward. I simply wanted my husband beside me, and after everything his mother had said that afternoon, I was tired of pretending the unreasonable parts of love weren't real simply because I'd learned how to communicate better.He was already searching for ways to change the date when I caught myself."I want you to come," I told him.He looked at me."I know what the ceremony means to you. I still want you there.""I want to be there," he said. Then, just as honestly, "I want the Chair too."No villain in it. No manipulation. Just two important things happening on the same night."Do you want me to turn it down?" he asked.I thought about it before answering. "No." Then, "But I'm still allowed to be disappointed.""Very."Something almost relieving passed betwe
The Billionaire’s Wife Does Not Exist Chapter 42: My Mother-in-Law Remembered the Wife I Used to Be
The last time Roman's mother asked to speak with me privately, I had spent twenty minutes deciding what to wear and another ten wondering whether she'd approve of it. This time I chose the café myself, arrived exactly when I meant to, and didn't think once about whether she would like the woman waiting for her.Roman didn't press me about what I intended to say. He kissed me goodbye and told me, "Come home when you're done."I noticed the word. It stayed with me the whole drive over.His mother got straight to the point once I sat down. She said she knew I believed Roman's biggest failure had been making decisions for me."It was.""I agree." That surprised me. Then she added, "But Roman wasn't the only person in that marriage who stopped saying what they wanted."I felt myself go defensive immediately, because it sounded dangerously close to blaming me for what he'd done.She clarified quickly. The ballroom had been his decision. The secrecy had been his decision. Her point was about
The Billionaire’s Wife Does Not Exist Chapter 41: My Mother-in-Law Wanted Her Son Without His Wife
For a few seconds, I couldn't understand why Roman's mother would care where he slept while I was away. Then the shape of it became obvious. She wasn't trying to keep her son from becoming Chairman. She was offering him everything he'd once wanted, provided being my husband never inconvenienced Ashbourne again.Roman was already reaching for his phone, jaw set, ready to call her."Don't.""Tessa, she—""I know what she did. I'm asking you not to fight your mother for me."He argued that this was different, that she'd deliberately shaped the terms of his Chairmanship to force a choice he'd already made clear he didn't want to make."If she hadn't done this," I asked, "what would you want?"That stopped him. Not what his mother wanted. Not what Ashbourne expected. Not what would prove his love to me. What did he actually want his life to look like."I want the Chair," he said slowly. "And I want to spend part of the year living with my wife.""Then negotiate for that. Don't reject it ju
The Billionaire’s Wife Does Not Exist Chapter 40: I Refused To Let My Husband Choose Me
Tessa had expected the Chairman offer to frighten her. Instead, what unsettled her was the way Roman stood there, looking as though wanting something for himself had suddenly become evidence against the husband he was trying to be."Say it properly," I said.He gave me a careful, qualified answer, the kind designed to sound honest without actually committing to anything."Don't tell me what you think a good husband is supposed to want," I told him. "Tell me what you want."He was quiet for a moment, and then he finally admitted it. Yes. Part of him still wanted to become Chairman. Not because his father expected it, not because the family needed another Ashbourne at the top, not to prove anything to anyone. There were things about Ashbourne he genuinely wanted the authority to change.That distinction mattered more than I expected it to. He'd changed, but his ambition hadn't disappeared, and some relieved part of me was glad of that. I didn't want rehabilitation to turn him into a man
The Billionaire’s Wife Does Not Exist Chapter 39: My Husband Asked If He Could Come With Me
I assumed at first that Roman was asking whether I still thought of Hartwell House as home, some quiet reassurance he needed before I left. But that wasn't what he meant."Why does your life there have to be temporary while mine here gets to be called home?"That stopped me completely. For seven years, this house, his schedule, his responsibilities had formed the fixed center of our marriage, and I had always been the one whose life bent around it."What exactly are you suggesting?""I'm asking whether I can come with you."Not permanently. Not abandoning Ashbourne entirely. But actually living there with me for part of the year, instead of flying in for the occasional romantic weekend like a guest in his own marriage.My first reaction wasn't relief. It was suspicion. "Are you about to reorganize Ashbourne, buy an apartment, move staff, and construct an entire second life before I've even packed a suitcase?""I was thinking one toothbrush to start."I almost laughed, but I held onto
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