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Chapter 43: Brielle's POV
Last Updated:
2025-05-03 19:02:56
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The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 44: Brielle's POV
I barely felt the cold night air as I stormed out of Julia’s mansion. My mind was spinning, my chest tight. Ace’s words played on repeat—I’m not leaving.It didn’t make sense.Dawson walked beside me, silent but radiating frustration. Esther trailed a few steps behind, muttering curses under her breath.The second we reached the car, I turned on my heel. “Did you see his face?” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “He was lying.”Dawson yanked open the car door. “Yeah, no shit.”Esther leaned against the hood. “He looked drugged. Or hypnotized. Or—” she waved a hand, “—something unnatural.”I crossed my arms. “Julia did something to him.”“She’s always doing something,” Dawson muttered.Esther frowned. “It wasn’t just Julia. There was hesitation. Like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.”That made my stomach twist. “Then we have to get him out of there.”Dawson rubbed his temples. “We will, but we can’t charge in blind.”I clenched my fists. “We don’t have time to be carefu
Last Updated : 2025-05-03The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 50: Brielle's POV
Chaos erupted like a gunshot in the dead of night.The moment Dawson lunged forward, a switch flipped, and the warehouse became a battlefield. Shadows moved, bodies collided, and the sharp echo of fists meeting flesh filled the space.I barely had time to react before Ace grabbed my wrist, yanking me back against him. “Stay close,” he murmured, his breath hot against my ear.Valerie’s panicked voice rang out, “This is so much worse than I thought it’d be!”Esther, ever the professional, sidestepped an attacker and slammed her knee into his stomach. “Then stop talking and do something useful.”Julia remained still, her smirk never faltering as the chaos unfolded around her. She was watching—assessing. Like a queen seated on a throne, waiting to see if her kingdom would fall or flourish.Her gaze met mine, and she lifted her chin. “Brielle.” Her voice was calm, almost amused. “I don’t know why you’re fighting so hard. This is inevitable.”I clenched my fists. “You’re delusional.”She ar
Last Updated : 2025-05-03The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 46: Brielle's POV
Valerie wasn’t answering her phone.I paced outside her apartment, my nerves on edge as I hit redial. The cold Boston air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. My fingers tightened around my phone, my patience running thin.Esther’s words replayed in my head: She doesn’t have to lie. She just has to hack a few accounts, move some numbers around, and make sure all the blame falls on the Nightwind’s enemies.Simple. In theory. But Valerie wasn’t built for this. She wasn’t a fighter, wasn’t a criminal. She was the girl who made terrible jokes when she was nervous and wore her heart on her sleeve. And here I was, about to drag her into my mess.The door finally swung open. Valerie stood in the doorway, wearing an oversized hoodie and pajama pants covered in cartoon frogs. Her auburn curls were a tangled mess, her gray eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.“Bri?” she yawned. “It’s—” she glanced at her phone screen “—almost midnight. What’s going o
Last Updated : 2025-05-04The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 47: Brielle's POV
We drove in silence. Valerie kept both hands clenched on the wheel, her fingers practically digging into the leather. Esther lounged in the back seat like she didn’t have a care in the world, scrolling through her phone. I stared out the window, my mind racing. We had done it. The money had been moved. We should’ve been celebrating. But all I felt was unease. “So,” Valerie finally spoke, voice tight. “Where exactly are we going?” “My place,” I answered. “At least until we figure out if anyone’s onto us.” Valerie let out a short, humorless laugh. “Oh, they’re onto us. Did you see that backtrace? We had, what? Three minutes before they found me?” “But they didn’t,” Esther said coolly, still focused on her phone. “You wiped the trace. No one’s knocking down your door.” “Yet,” Valerie muttered under her breath. I turned to her. “Val—” “No.” She shook her
Last Updated : 2025-05-04The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 48: Brielle's POV
Silence stretched across the room like a noose tightening around my throat. Ace leaned back against the couch, his bruised face unreadable, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. He was pissed. And he was waiting.Waiting for me to speak. To explain.I opened my mouth, but Valerie beat me to it.“What the actual hell happened to your face?” She stormed forward, her voice rising in pitch. “And why the hell does your phone have the same damn text as Brielle’s?”Ace’s gaze flicked to her, then back to me, his expression as calm as ever. Too calm.“You shouldn’t have come.”My fingers clenched into fists. “Yeah, well, I did.”“You shouldn’t have needed to.” His voice was deceptively soft, but the weight behind it made my stomach twist.Esther exhaled sharply. “Okay, let’s not do the whole cryptic mafia thing right now, Ace. Julia knows what we did. She texted Brielle. She texted you. And clearly, you didn’t j
Last Updated : 2025-05-05The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 49: Brielle's POV
The car ride was suffocating. Not because of the silence—there was none. Valerie was talking non-stop, mostly to herself, mostly about how insane this plan was.“I just wanna go on record,” she was saying, shifting in her seat beside me, “that this is the single most ridiculous, most reckless, most absolutely batshit idea we have ever had.”“Noted,” Esther said, not even looking up from her phone. “For the third time.”Ace sat on my other side, staring out the window like he was miles away. I could feel the tension in him, the tightly coiled energy like he was waiting for something to explode.Dawson, from the driver’s seat, let out a low chuckle. “You say that like we’ve never done anything worse.”Valerie threw her hands up. “Oh, I don’t know, Dawson. Walking into a literal psychopath’s trap with nothing but sheer arrogance and wishful thinking? Yeah, this one definitely takes the cake.”I pressed my hands together in my lap, m
Last Updated : 2025-05-05The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 1
“Brielle Wallace, do you take Ace Reynolds to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The priest inquired gently, his gaze and every other gaze in the cathedral, including the cold one in front of me, settled on me, anticipating that I replied with a “yes”. Maybe they all expected I smiled along with my answer, which was so ridiculous considering no one thought I would be asked this silly question until a few minutes earlier. I was dressed to be the bridesmaid, not the bride. I wasn't supposed to be the bride, my sister was. This wasn't my fate, it was my sister’s. When I was very young, my mother always read this bedtime story to me. It was about a princess who got her fate swapped with a river goddess by merely standing by the riverside. I always thought it was a ridiculous story because I didn't believe such a crucial thing as one’s fate could be swapped in a split second. Now, I understand. Indeed, it was possible. It was feasible because it just happened to me. All
Last Updated : 2025-03-31The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 2
He kissed and kissed. He didn't stop. When I thought he would stop, he didn't.His lips were soft on mine, hot, urgent, and hungry.Why would he kiss me in this manner? He seems to be enjoying it. Ace cupped my cheek, his thumb caressing it gently as he intensified his kiss.My legs turned to a piece of jelly, my trembling hands doing nothing but resting my hand on his hard rock chest in an attempt to pry him off. Why is he doing this? Why is he kissing me like he wants me? Why did he say what he said earlier? What did he mean?Finally, he breaks the kiss. He broke the kiss but his face was still dangerously close to mine. I try not to stare into his eyes and he takes my chin in his delicate fingers, shoves my face up, forcing me to look at him.And when I did, I melted underneath that gaze. It was the brightest shade of blue I had ever seen. Menacing yet, intoxicating.“Congrats on this new phase.”He whispered to me, planted one last kiss on my lips, and stepped back.I, on the ot
Last Updated : 2025-03-31
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The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 49: Brielle's POV
The car ride was suffocating. Not because of the silence—there was none. Valerie was talking non-stop, mostly to herself, mostly about how insane this plan was.“I just wanna go on record,” she was saying, shifting in her seat beside me, “that this is the single most ridiculous, most reckless, most absolutely batshit idea we have ever had.”“Noted,” Esther said, not even looking up from her phone. “For the third time.”Ace sat on my other side, staring out the window like he was miles away. I could feel the tension in him, the tightly coiled energy like he was waiting for something to explode.Dawson, from the driver’s seat, let out a low chuckle. “You say that like we’ve never done anything worse.”Valerie threw her hands up. “Oh, I don’t know, Dawson. Walking into a literal psychopath’s trap with nothing but sheer arrogance and wishful thinking? Yeah, this one definitely takes the cake.”I pressed my hands together in my lap, m
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 48: Brielle's POV
Silence stretched across the room like a noose tightening around my throat. Ace leaned back against the couch, his bruised face unreadable, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. He was pissed. And he was waiting.Waiting for me to speak. To explain.I opened my mouth, but Valerie beat me to it.“What the actual hell happened to your face?” She stormed forward, her voice rising in pitch. “And why the hell does your phone have the same damn text as Brielle’s?”Ace’s gaze flicked to her, then back to me, his expression as calm as ever. Too calm.“You shouldn’t have come.”My fingers clenched into fists. “Yeah, well, I did.”“You shouldn’t have needed to.” His voice was deceptively soft, but the weight behind it made my stomach twist.Esther exhaled sharply. “Okay, let’s not do the whole cryptic mafia thing right now, Ace. Julia knows what we did. She texted Brielle. She texted you. And clearly, you didn’t j
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 47: Brielle's POV
We drove in silence. Valerie kept both hands clenched on the wheel, her fingers practically digging into the leather. Esther lounged in the back seat like she didn’t have a care in the world, scrolling through her phone. I stared out the window, my mind racing. We had done it. The money had been moved. We should’ve been celebrating. But all I felt was unease. “So,” Valerie finally spoke, voice tight. “Where exactly are we going?” “My place,” I answered. “At least until we figure out if anyone’s onto us.” Valerie let out a short, humorless laugh. “Oh, they’re onto us. Did you see that backtrace? We had, what? Three minutes before they found me?” “But they didn’t,” Esther said coolly, still focused on her phone. “You wiped the trace. No one’s knocking down your door.” “Yet,” Valerie muttered under her breath. I turned to her. “Val—” “No.” She shook her
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 46: Brielle's POV
Valerie wasn’t answering her phone.I paced outside her apartment, my nerves on edge as I hit redial. The cold Boston air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. My fingers tightened around my phone, my patience running thin.Esther’s words replayed in my head: She doesn’t have to lie. She just has to hack a few accounts, move some numbers around, and make sure all the blame falls on the Nightwind’s enemies.Simple. In theory. But Valerie wasn’t built for this. She wasn’t a fighter, wasn’t a criminal. She was the girl who made terrible jokes when she was nervous and wore her heart on her sleeve. And here I was, about to drag her into my mess.The door finally swung open. Valerie stood in the doorway, wearing an oversized hoodie and pajama pants covered in cartoon frogs. Her auburn curls were a tangled mess, her gray eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.“Bri?” she yawned. “It’s—” she glanced at her phone screen “—almost midnight. What’s going o
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 50: Brielle's POV
Chaos erupted like a gunshot in the dead of night.The moment Dawson lunged forward, a switch flipped, and the warehouse became a battlefield. Shadows moved, bodies collided, and the sharp echo of fists meeting flesh filled the space.I barely had time to react before Ace grabbed my wrist, yanking me back against him. “Stay close,” he murmured, his breath hot against my ear.Valerie’s panicked voice rang out, “This is so much worse than I thought it’d be!”Esther, ever the professional, sidestepped an attacker and slammed her knee into his stomach. “Then stop talking and do something useful.”Julia remained still, her smirk never faltering as the chaos unfolded around her. She was watching—assessing. Like a queen seated on a throne, waiting to see if her kingdom would fall or flourish.Her gaze met mine, and she lifted her chin. “Brielle.” Her voice was calm, almost amused. “I don’t know why you’re fighting so hard. This is inevitable.”I clenched my fists. “You’re delusional.”She ar
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 44: Brielle's POV
I barely felt the cold night air as I stormed out of Julia’s mansion. My mind was spinning, my chest tight. Ace’s words played on repeat—I’m not leaving.It didn’t make sense.Dawson walked beside me, silent but radiating frustration. Esther trailed a few steps behind, muttering curses under her breath.The second we reached the car, I turned on my heel. “Did you see his face?” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “He was lying.”Dawson yanked open the car door. “Yeah, no shit.”Esther leaned against the hood. “He looked drugged. Or hypnotized. Or—” she waved a hand, “—something unnatural.”I crossed my arms. “Julia did something to him.”“She’s always doing something,” Dawson muttered.Esther frowned. “It wasn’t just Julia. There was hesitation. Like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.”That made my stomach twist. “Then we have to get him out of there.”Dawson rubbed his temples. “We will, but we can’t charge in blind.”I clenched my fists. “We don’t have time to be carefu
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 43: Brielle's POV
I gripped the steering wheel tightly as Dawson sat in the passenger seat beside me, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. Esther was in the backseat, tapping impatiently on her phone. The tension in the car was thick, suffocating even. None of us wanted to admit what we were all thinking—if Julia had Ace, then we were already too late.But I refused to accept that.“We’re checking the bar first,” I said, breaking the silence. My voice was steadier than I felt.Dawson exhaled sharply. “You think she took him from there?”“Where else would he have been?” I shot back, gripping the wheel tighter. “He wouldn’t just disappear without a fight. Something had to have happened after I left.”Esther hummed from the back. “I still think we should be looking at Julia’s new husband’s place. The Nightwind Mafia has the resources to keep Ace locked up.”I clenched my jaw. “We’ll get there. But first, the bar.”No one argued after that.---The bar was nearly empty when we arrived, a few scattered patrons
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 42: Brielle's POV
I knew exactly where to find him.The bar was dimly lit, the scent of whiskey and leather thick in the air. Shadows stretched long across the room, the low hum of conversation buzzing in the background. Ace was where he always was—behind the bar, half a glass of bourbon in his hand, watching the room with that sharp, unreadable gaze.His eyes flickered to mine the moment I stepped inside, and for a second, I hesitated.I wasn’t sure why I had come. Maybe it was the way he got under my skin, the way he always seemed to know what I was thinking before I even said it. Or maybe I just needed something—something real, something solid—when everything else felt like it was slipping through my fingers.Ace didn’t say a word as I approached. He just lifted his glass, took a slow sip, and watched me over the rim.“You’re late,” he finally said.“I wasn’t aware we had an appointment,” I shot back, sliding onto the barstool in front of him.His lips curved slightly, but it wasn’t a smile. “You al
The Substitute Bride of the Ruthless Mafia Boss Chapter 41: Brielle's POV
I wasn’t supposed to be here.That much was obvious.The hallway was dimly lit, the faint golden glow from the sconces casting long shadows against the polished wood. My footsteps had been light, careful, every nerve in my body telling me to turn around and go back.But then I heard them.Dawson’s voice, low and edged with something unfamiliar. Isobel's softer, more vulnerable than I’d ever heard before.I knew I should leave. This wasn’t my business.But I stayed.Pressing my back against the wall, I positioned myself near the slightly open door, the gap just wide enough for their voices to slip through.“I can’t do this,” Isobel whispered. “I keep telling myself that, but then…”Dawson let out a slow exhale. “Then what?”“Then I see you,” she admitted, her voice barely above a breath. “And everything I try to bury comes back.”A silence stretched between them, thick and charged.“You think I don’t feel the same way?” Dawson’s voice was lower now, almost dangerous in its intensity.I
