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Chapter 87

Author: Naj
last update publish date: 2026-04-30 19:57:23

ISABELLA’S POV

"We should get a room," Ethan said.

I looked up from the hospital chair. "What?"

"There's A hotel Across the street. You haven't slept in a real bed in days. Neither have I."

"I can't leave the hospital. What if something happens?"

"The nurses have our numbers. The hotel is a three-minute walk. We can be back in five minutes if they need us."

I wanted to argue. But I was exhausted.

"Okay," I said. "Just somewhere to shower and sleep for a few hours."

Ethan pulled out his phone.
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  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 88

    ISABELLA’S POVI knew exactly when it shifted.Ethan was telling me about his childhood. About his mother who died when he was twelve. About how he learned to cook because his father couldn't.And he says something that makes me laugh. Actually laugh. Not polite acknowledgment. Real laughter.He looks surprised. Like he'd forgotten I could laugh.And that's when it changes. When the air in the room becomes different. Heavier.We both feel it. I can see it in his eyes. The way they linger on my face. The way his voice drops slightly.I should stand up. Go to my bed. End the conversation.I don't.Instead, I asked another question. Something innocuous about his work. About the gallery.But my voice is different too. Softer. More intimate.He answers. Moves from his bed to sit on the edge of mine. Not touching. But close enough.I don't move away.We keep talking. About nothing important. About everything.And then there's a moment. A specific moment. Where his hand is near mine on the b

  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 87

    ISABELLA’S POV "We should get a room," Ethan said.I looked up from the hospital chair. "What?""There's A hotel Across the street. You haven't slept in a real bed in days. Neither have I.""I can't leave the hospital. What if something happens?""The nurses have our numbers. The hotel is a three-minute walk. We can be back in five minutes if they need us."I wanted to argue. But I was exhausted. "Okay," I said. "Just somewhere to shower and sleep for a few hours."Ethan pulled out his phone. Made a call. "Done," he said. "They're holding a room for us."We told the nurses where we'd be. Left numbers. Confirmed they'd call if anything changed with Brahms.Then we walked across the street.The hotel was small. Clean. The kind of place business travelers used when they needed to be near the hospital.Ethan checked us in. The clerk handed him one key card."Just one room available," Ethan explained. "Everything else is booked. Medical conference in the city."I didn't argue. Didn't ha

  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 86

    ETHAN’S POV The coffee machine was down the hall. Past the nurses' station. Past two empty waiting rooms.I'd walked this route three times already tonight. Learned which buttons to press. Which ones stuck.The machine made a grinding noise. Spit out something that barely qualified as coffee.I got two cups. Black. No sugar.I didn't know how Isabella took her coffee. Realized I should know that. Realized there were a thousand things I should know about her and didn't.When I got back to the corridor, she was exactly where I'd left her. Standing outside Brahms's room. Staring through the window.She'd been standing there for hours. Hadn't moved except when the nurses made her."Here," I said. Held out one of the cups.She looked at it. Then at me.Took it without comment.I watched her take a sip. Her face didn't change. No grimace. No reaction.It had to taste terrible. But she drank it anyway. One slow sip after another.Through the window, I could see Brahms. Still unconscious. St

  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 85

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  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 83

    ETHAN’s POVI believe that you think you did. I hadn't planned to say the next part.“There's something else I need to tell you," I said."Another apology?""No. A truth. One I haven't told anyone.""What truth?"I stared at my hands for a moment.Not to avoid her.To steady myself.“I don’t remember that night either,” I said. “Not clearly. Not the way I should.”She went still.Completely.“What do you mean?”“I remember the event. The gala. Conversations. Faces.” I paused briefly, keeping my breathing even. “Then I remember a drink. Something about it felt… off.”Fragments came easier than full sentences.“After that, it’s not linear. It doesn’t connect properly. Pieces without order.”I swallowed.“I woke up the same way you did. In that room. Disoriented. Missing time I couldn’t account for. Then I saw you sleeping next to me.”I watched her absorb that.The way her shoulders changed position.The small shift in her jaw.She was recalculating.Everything.Her voice was quieter

  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 61

    ISABELLA’S POV Two weeks passed after the ISMARA launch.In those two weeks, I kept my routine steady and careful. Meetings. Production calls. Interviews. Planning the next stage of the collaboration.But there was one thing I had changed.Brahms.I limited our communication.It has not been easy.

  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 59

    ISABELLA’S POVI walked up the stairs to my office, ensuring my back was turned to Ethan. I didn't want him to see my face.The door closed behind me, and I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.I slumped into my chair.My heels came off immediately. I placed them beside the chair and le

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  • The CEO’s Contract Bride   Chapter 56

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