The Hot Billionaire's Substitute Bride

Valerie's POV “Are you fucking crazy?!” Penelope groans as she snatches the velvety box of a customized diamond ring from my hand. She reads the receipt in disbelief and oddly spins into laughter. I duck, embarrassed about the little drama in front of my domestic staff.“50k dollars for a damn ring? Wait…” She gasps. “You didn't use your life savings for it, did you…” It's slowly getting out of hand. “Oh, my god.” Acting like she is struggling to breathe, she collapses into a seat around the finely decorated dining table. “It's not just a ring, Penny. I saw the sketch in Baron's archive. I guess he would have proposed with it…” I pause to gulp air into my parched lungs. “I want to make our third anniversary special, yunno- renew our vows with his dream ring…” “Exactly. His.” She scoffs. “It’s all about him, and never you. If he loves you a bit, he'd know that your favorite color is peach, not pink!” She slaps the glass table, causing the fancy glassware to rattle. I can feel m

Baron’s POV“The world isn't safe, Valerie… I can't let you go.”I mumble by the door, feeling terrible for locking her against her will. Now, she had given up her little fight.Painful memories flood in. It's exhausting. My hands dig into my scalp, grabbing a fistful of my hair, and pulling as if to even out the pain. “Gosh, Valerie, I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess.” I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. Unable to get my emotions together, I groan and kick the wall, wincing from the gush of pain that jolts through my leg. Defeated, I press my back to the wall and slide down till I am butt flat on the floor. My legs sprawl recklessly, hands by my side.“You’re an amazing woman… beautiful, ambitious…but you’re… you’re just not her.” Silence consumes me.“No matter how I try to forget her, I can't.” I sigh, drawing one knee up and resting my hand on it. “So I figured that if I make you her, maybe it would hurt less… But god, I feel awful.” I press my lips firmly so I don't

Valerie’s POVMy head feels like it would fall off from the protruding ache and nausea. My last memories slowly filter in, reminding me of the devil I’m with…“Stay away!” I scream and jolt up from bed. Baron pauses, he has a damp napkin in his hand that he uses to stroke my forehead and skin. He looks pissed, nothing like I’ve seen before.“Finally awake, huh?”I adjust further into the bed, eyes scanning for something to defend myself. “What were you doing?” He groans, jaws clench. “Trying to get yourself killed?” Shocked, I choke on a laugh. “Don’t you think spilling the blood of her baby sister will be just fine?” My voice is flat. “Oh! Tired of getting your hands dirty?” “What’re you…”“You fucking killed my sister, you piece of shit!” I bark, irritation in my tone. What pisses me off the most is his fake innocence.“Jeez! No… I didn't…” He stutters. I toss the sheet off my body, charged to leave. He rushes forward. “What are you doing?” “Getting your ass jailed, what I sh

Valerie’s POV“We’ll blow down this gate in the count of ten.”A strange voice echoing through the speaker makes me lose sleep. I groan, with slight pain jolting through my joints. I spent the night in the library, on his hard table where I had cried my eyes out. “Ten.” The voice blares, ringing through the house. Something seems off. I pull down the blond just a little and the sight of police men with cocked arms, and Penenlope by the side of the leader, scares me off. Oh, my god.I hastily open my phone to the numerous missed calls from Penny and a warning text. ‘If you don't respond, I’m storming your house with the cops.’ “Shit. What have I done?” I may hate Baron but having a blown house in my name is the last thing I look forward to. I push away from the table with my last strength and dash for the door. The thunderous sound of footsteps and voices makes me stop abruptly. “It's something about Ma’am Valerie being in danger.” It's Jax’s voice. Baron sighs. “And where is my

Baron’s POVValerie is a ticking bomb waiting to explode… in no time. My eyes trail her sleepy figure, her now ginger hair with a mix of blonde, side hair like a baby, her cupid bow lips pout as she murmurs in her sleep. Undeniably, she is cute. It's one trait the Smiths aggressively shared. The things I made her endure replay in my memory. I feel worse than the devil and watching her sleep peacefully isn't something I deserve. I'm bad for her but I can't let her go. Not now. Not ever. I pull the duvet over her slightly shivering body and stand to leave when her phone binges. It's clutched in her hand beneath the sheet. I try to take it from her but the first seconds are fierce. Weak, she succumbs. The text message stares right back at me: We need to hear from you concerning the offer before noon, my team is a bit on motion. - Mark.‘Offer? Team…’ I pause, running my brain around it. ‘Who is Mark?’ When she rolls to her side, I set the phone down and watch her in deep silence. Va