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Chapter 17

Author: Krissy Writ3s
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-22 20:24:24

𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝘼

His question has my heart missing a beat.

It's such a simple question. One I should answer without bating an eye.

But I'm left started, like I'd just heard glass hit the floor and shatter. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. My throat is dry. My brain scrambles, short-circuiting ik the process but it still can’t come up with a single word that doesn’t sound like a lie.

Tell him the truth.

No.

He could decline even further. Maybe he'll just have a heart attack that'll take him from me.

I can't risk that.

My palms go clammy, and I’m pretty sure the blood drains from my face because my father’s brow furrows in concern. The room feels suffocating now. The beeping monitor beside him becomes impossibly loud, and my heartbeat tries to sync with it in a rapid, panicked rhythm.

Think, Alera. Think.

A knock cuts through the tension. The door creaks open, and a nurse steps inside. Not one I recognize. She’s tall, browned skinned and young looking. Probably my age? Her hair is ado
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  • The Bride He Bought    Chapter 53

    𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 My knuckles tap softly against the door. I instantly begin to rethink my rational for doing the this. He’s sick and probably asleep. I should have waited a bit instead of letting my impatience drive me here. I hesitate, then knock again, more firmly this time. I catch footsteps shuffling on the other side. Then, the door opens and a woman peers out. She’s the same one I remember from the day he came to my office. Same cheerful face and curly black hair. “Hello?” she asks her voice dripping in suspicion. I straighten. “Hi there. I’m Dante. Uhm...Mr. Vance... sorry." I give her a smile. "You came with Mr. Glover to my office the other day.” Her gaze lifts in recognition, but then it narrows. “Oh… you must be Miss Alera’s husband. Is she here?” She cranes her neck slightly, as if expecting Alera to appear behind me. “No. I came alone.” I respond. “I’d like to have a word with him, please.” She hesitates, her eyes dart past me toward the hallway. “He’s never

  • The Bride He Bought    Chapter 52

    𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 The elevator doors slide shut, sealing her away from me. “Cazzo.” My fist slams against the panel, the metallic clang echs down the hall. I jab the button over and over, willing it to open again. My pulse hammers as I calculate, if I take the stairs, I’ll miss her. If I wait, there's a better chance. The numbers crawl maddeningly slow on the display. Then finally, the doors part, I lunge inside and hit the button for the ground floor with too much force. I press my palms to the cool metal and wrestle with the urge to rip the damn doors open with my bare hands. The second the elevator lands, I bolt out. For a moment I halt, as my eyes sweep the lobby it's empty. I push through the glass doors and out into the night air, then scan the parking lot. There's not a single trace of her. “Dio santo.” My panic raises. Then I catch sight of her across the street as she slips between headlights, in an angry stride. Relief punches into me so violently my knees nearly giv

  • The Bride He Bought    Chapter 51

    𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝘼 I feel a prickle on the back of my neck and I snap awake. Blinking, feeling disoriented, I look around until the shadows of my room take shape. That’s when I register eyes on me. My heart jumps. I sit up fast and fumble for the lamp. Light floods the room. Dante is standing in the corner. A startled yelp escapes me. “Oh my God!” I press a hand to my chest, breathing heavily. “What are you doing in here? You almost gave me a heart attack.” He doesn’t move. And even though I can't see the entirety of his face, I can tell it's unreadable. “I’m sorry,” he finally says. “Go back to sleep. I’ll leave.” “Wait...what? No.” I swing my legs off the bed. “It can’t be nothing. You look… weird. Did you just get back?” He gives a short nod. I study him, feeling even more confused. Then what is he doing here? He's hasn't been here since...well, since then. “W…what’s wrong?” He responds with an intense stare, where his icy eyes are locked on me like he’s reading my

  • The Bride He Bought    Chapter 50

    𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 I spend the next three days setting the stage. Kingsley thinks his company is stable, but I’ve worked with many men like him before, men who build empires on paper and lies. They balance on webs so thin it only takes the right weight to collapse everything. First, I send in auditors through a subsidiary no one can trace back to me. Within forty eight hours, they deliver a feast of evidence, which include, falsified vendor contracts, inflated invoices and shell companies siphoning cash offshore. Classic fraud. Just I've been suspecting. The timing is just perfect. Kingsley has been bragging about a pending partnership with a French logistics group. He believes this alliance will restore investor confidence. I decide it will be the perfect stage for his downfall. During those days, I barely exchange a handful of words with Alera. We move through the penthouse like strangers, as if I hadn't had my tounge plunged in her warmness nights ago. We just pass each other, but

  • The Bride He Bought    Chapter 49

    𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 Moments later, the door is pushed to the side and Kacie steps in. She moves aside and holds the frame as though reluctant to invite what waits in the hall. Right after her, walks in Glover Vance. He leans heavily on a walker, and a woman with wavy black hair, braces an elbow to guide him forward. His body is bent. Once, I remember, how he carried himself like he was untouchable with his shoulders straight and constantly locked jaw. Now he looks like a shell of that man, with sallow skin and lips tight with effort as he makes his way into my office. The only thing that's reminiscent of the man I knew, is his steel grey eyes, eeringly similar to Alera's. For a flicker of a second, I feel pity for him. His illness has really done a number on him. But the pity dies as quickly as it sparks. He wanted this audience. And judging by the fury already simmering in his eyes, he didn’t come here for sympathy. I dismiss the woman by his side with a nod. She hesitates but obe

  • The Bride He Bought    Chapter 48

    𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 Before I can register what's happening, her trembling lips press against mine. For a moment, I just sit still, completely flabbergasted. That Alera Vance, this stubborn, guarded, sharp tongued woman is kissing me. On her own free will. She pulls back almost instantly, her eyes darting to mine and I can see the moment she starts regretting her actions. Her next statement proves me just right. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. "I shouldn't have..." Sorry? That word does something violent to me. She doesn't get to start something and back off, and before I can stop myself, my hand slides to the back of her neck. I tug her forward, and this time I take her mouth fully. Her soft lips move urgently against mine. They drag and press like she can’t get enough. I kiss her harder, our mouths sliding together in quick, hungry pulls until I force her open with my tongue. She's faintly sweet and salty from her tears. It's an intoxicating combination. She doesn’t just let me in, s

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