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Not the same anymore
Last Updated:
2025-03-09 23:06:24
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The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Popular Actor
Moon-Tears, A fabric I had personally customized over the years with the help of some of my clients. From collecting the cotton to reviewing the final product, I oversaw every step of the process, savoring the experience. That was why it had taken me five years to perfect. "Boss, how about we hire some freelancers? There are plenty of fashion designers eager to work with us!" Mirah suggested, her freshly manicured nails tapping rhythmically against the keyboard. Leaning back in my chair, I sipped my afternoon coffee and hummed thoughtfully. Freelancers? It was a better idea than halting the project altogether. Our company wasn't in the fashion or entertainment industry, but I had always enjoyed gaining experience in different fields. This particular endeavor had intrigued me since I was twenty when I first started working for our company. But now that I thought about it, my father hadn't sent any updates after his meeting in Qatar. "Mirah, has my father sent any emails? It
Last Updated : 2025-03-12The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Pathetic People
The first red flag I should have noticed about the meeting with the actor and his company was the location they requested—a VIP club. I didn't know what they had planned for this meeting, but as usual, I had a gut feeling that something interesting was about to unfold. The moment my car entered the VIP parking lot, the club grew silent. The coworkers and the manager's footsteps echoed in the hallway as they all stood in two lines. My two bodyguards opened the door. Mirah got out first and held my hand as I stepped out. Not to mention, I was wearing heels, and my foot had been bandaged. My attention shifted to the people—neat and clean—but their expressions changed to pure confusion when I walked toward the door. "What's going on? I heard the CEO of Riverwood is here. Where is he?" one of the waitresses asked. "This is Riverwood's logo. They are the ones. But... is the CEO of Riverwood a woman?" I wasn't surprised by their supposedly whispered words. I had never app
Last Updated : 2025-03-12The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Unwanted baby
The deal had been canceled the moment I said I didn’t want it. The payment for the damage at the club had already been sent, along with the CCTV footage of that man... I didn’t know his name—like I cared—to the Dales Entertainment Company. It was one of the biggest entertainment companies. However, judging by how they treated their employees, it wasn’t long before they got involved in some sort of controversy. Not to mention, fans think they own their idols, becoming enemies of their idols if they get involved in any scandal. I avoided situations that might cause me a loss. I would rather keep them away from my company instead of bringing them in. “I’m disappointed!” Mirah placed a bunch of files on her desk before breathing heavily. “I really loved the Dales Entertainment Company. I even wanted to work there!” I folded my arms and leaned into my chair. I didn’t know much about Mirah’s personal life. So she liked some actors? It was news to me. “Aren’t you happy that you co
Last Updated : 2025-03-13The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception My Priority
Knox, Certainly, I knew what I was doing. But why I was doing it—I had no idea. My heart clenched at the sight of Violet standing there, stunned, with blood dripping down her chin. She looked emotionless, hollow, and somehow... too distant. It was as if I were standing on the shore while she was on the edge of a cliff—any moment now, she would fall, but not toward me. She would plummet somewhere too far, somewhere beyond my reach. Too late to save. I knew she was tolerating this because of me. The Violet I knew never endured nonsense that disrupted her normal life. She was always composed, sharp, and unwilling to be dragged into anyone’s mess. But now, she was enduring it. For me. "Violet!" I called out as soon as Mrs. Smith rushed forward to calm Sarah down. I hadn’t expected Sarah to react this way. The marriage was just an arrangement between two families, nothing more. Our sole objective was to have children together, to produce an heir—that was the agreement. But… "Vi
Last Updated : 2025-03-13The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception You should cherish her
Violet, When I woke up with a sharp pain in my head, I noticed Mom, Knox, and Sam were having a conversation—or maybe a heated argument, I couldn’t quite fathom. A bit of confusion worked within me about my surroundings, and then I recalled the situation I was in earlier. A bitter laugh escaped me as I realized how foolishly I had overreacted to Knox’s words. How foolish! He was right when he said that. He never saw me as anything more than a buddy who grew up with him. The woman who had lost everything was his love of life. I should have shown a bit of compassion. But then again, I didn’t know how to show compassion to anyone. It was worthless to even talk about. Whatever it was, I should have said something else instead of calling his woman infertile. “Violet! You’re up!” Sam approached quickly. My mother rushed to me and held my hands. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” I pulled my hand away. Her sweetness felt as fake as ever. But I didn’t want to make any conversation. “Yea
Last Updated : 2025-03-15The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Don't push her
Sarah Smith,"Ms. Sarah, we have appointed a psychologist to help you cope with the overwhelming emotions you're feeling right now. Trust me, she's an expert—absolutely perfect for the situation."Sam Riverwood, Violet’s brother, stood near the foot of my hospital bed, his voice calm, his smile professional. He scribbled something in his notebook as he spoke, as if I was just another patient, just another case in his daily life.I barely nodded, eyes fixed on the pale wall in front of me. The silence in the room was thick, but I wasn’t interested in breaking it."Any discomfort? Headache or nausea?" he asked, glancing at the IV drip connected to my arm."No. Thanks." I shifted my gaze to his face. "By the way, Doc," I said, my voice low but clear, "does your sister like my fiancé?"Sam paused, visibly taken aback. His pen stopped midair, and a faint frown formed between his brows. "If you mean romantically... I don’t think so," he replied after a beat, clearly confused by my directnes
Last Updated : 2025-04-04The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Fighting
Violet,Although at first I didn’t actually feel anything, recently I started feeling drained and exhausted out of nowhere. Earlier today, I had an important meeting with one of the biggest clients, and I almost collapsed on the floor while talking to him.Certainly, it’s normal to feel a bit under the weather, and clients understand that we’re human too. But I hated the fact that I had to pause the meeting for five minutes to deal with it.My blood pressure was fine. I took my vitamins, and the meal was from my regular diet—yet I was weak?Does it even make any sense?Running my fingers through my hair, I sat in the car. Mirah had been a bit more attentive to me than her work. Is she trying to slack off?However, before I could tell the driver to move, a knock on the car window made me look up.At first, I didn’t recognize him. But Mirah gasped when she did. She hurriedly moved to me and opened *my* door without even asking for permission.“What are you doing, Mirah?” My voice was co
Last Updated : 2025-04-05The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception We are even
"I don't understand! What happened seven years ago that caused you to lash out?" I scoffed, standing up. I had been an expert at feigning my emotions. Hopefully, he wouldn't see through me. "You are childish. You better clean up yourself before returning home."I said, walking out of the bathroom. However, he stopped me, holding my wrist. "You never said what made you leave the country so suddenly. It's a mystery to everyone, even me!"My eyes widened when he said that. I thought he believed me when I said I needed to leave for some personal reason."It's even!" I said, my voice light. "Let's not dwell on this anymore!""What do you mean by 'it's even'? What is even?" he asked, his voice frantic.My eyebrows arched as I faced him. "Since I ghosted you for six months when we were in senior school, and now you ghosted me for a whole year... I think we both know what kind of pain we felt when we were ghosting each other and prioritizing anything else!""Wh-What? No. That's not the same!"
Last Updated : 2025-04-10
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The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Plus one
“So you’ve started working the moment you got back from the hospital?” His voice cut through the silence like a blade—not loud, but sharp enough to carry a trace of something I couldn’t ignore. Was it resentment? Frustration? A little of both, perhaps.I didn’t look up immediately. My fingers hovered above the laptop keys for a brief second before I slowly folded my arms across my chest. Calm on the outside, but there was a growing heat behind my eyes I couldn’t quite contain. When I finally looked at him, I took in the change. He had gone out earlier in just a waistcoat and shirt. Now, a jacket hung over his shoulders like a shield he’d hastily thrown on. He was hiding something. “I told you to move out of my house,” I said coolly, my tone even though my leg tapped repeatedly against the wooden leg of my chair. “Why are you still lingering here? Your Sarah has already left, hasn’t she?”He didn’t respond—not directly, at least. Instead, he pulled a chair out from under the table wi
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Are you that desperate?
Leaning against the doorframe, holding the signed paper, Mirah scanned the contract with a disbelief grin on her face. Her eyes narrowed, lips curling into a half-sneer as she raised her brows at me with a are-you-an-idiot expression before striding in."I thought you didn't even have time to choose a dress for the Business Association Party. Now you’ve made a deal with Sarah to do what? Pursue Knox and make him fall in love with you? Are you that desperate, Boss?"The scowl on her face made my stomach twist, but not out of shame—out of effort to hold back my laughter. I straightened my back, casually lifting the teacup to my lips. The warmth of chamomile grounded me as I replied calmly,"I thought you knew me more than I did myself," I scoffed."Now I’m doubting it. I would've slapped her across the face and thrown her out!" she grunted, then paused, eyes narrowing suspiciously."Wait a minute… those conditions—!" Mirah’s eyes widened as realization hit. “You’re playing dirty with he
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Better late than never
Knox,I lost control."Shut up!" I roared, slamming him against the chair, gun against his temple. "She is not part of this madness! She hates crime. She faints at the sight of blood. She’s terrified of the dark. She’s not like us. She never will be!"My pulse thundered. My hands shook."I will protect her. From people like you. From everyone. Not even my fucking grandfather can touch her. I will kill anyone who comes near her. She’s mine. Mine to protect.""Boss," Mark’s voice was cautious. "Let go."I stepped back, breath ragged. The man slumped, face purple. I had nearly killed him.I couldn’t believe it. Violet wasn’t like us. She was light in the middle of my nightmare. I had shielded her from this world with blood and lies. Now someone dared say she was behind it?No. It had to be my grandfather. That old monster had always wanted control. And he knew my weakness—her. She had been using her to control me. Not fucking anymore. Of course he’d use her to manipulate me. I would kil
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception The dark side of his
Knox,Work on the weekend?Violet didn’t even blink. Didn’t question it, didn’t complain. Either she didn’t hear me—or worse, she didn’t care anymore. And that stung deeper than any bullet I’d ever taken.Each day, I watched her drift further away. And it was killing me. She didn’t fight. She didn’t cry. She didn’t get angry. She just… shut down. Like I meant nothing. Like we meant nothing. And for a man like me, silence was more violent than screams."Boss."Mark’s voice echoed through the underground chamber. He held a file in one hand, a laptop and phone in the other, face taut with urgency."They caught the rat. One of our buildings. You need to see him."He handed me the devices. Foreign. Not ours. "Found these with him. IT says he was siphoning data. Trying to steal our internal protocols."A smirk pulled at the corner of my lips."A man with a steel heart had the balls to crawl into my territory? Brave. But fucking stupid." I stood, adjusting my cufflinks. "Let’s pay him a visi
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception A deal
I froze. A flicker of something stirred in my chest—something sharp, unwelcome. She smirked and leaned back, watching me like a hawk. Her eyes searched for cracks, but I quickly masked it. Expressionless. As always.Still... I froze. Knox likes me? That was laughable. He didn't even see me as a woman. “What makes you think that, Ms. Sarah? Everyone knows Knox likes me. I’m his—”“Romantically.” She cut in..Her smirk deepened.I felt my chest tightening. It would explode anytime. But I knew what I needed to do. She was trying to push my button. And I would show her that I wasn't a weakling like her, “Hah. Are you delusional? If he loved me, he would be with me. Not you, Ms. Sarah.”“You don’t believe me? Fine. But what about you?”This time I straightened my back. I had planned to treat her respectfully since she came to talk business. But now she was testing my patience.“Do you think you’d be sitting here if I loved him? I don’t share—”“No need to lie to me about it,” she smirked.
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception It's non-negotiable
Violet,My grandma, bless her soul, used to say—never provoke a soul if you can’t handle the outcome. Always stay humble with people who are honest, and stay quiet when you don’t want to reveal yourself to those you don’t trust.Sarah—this woman—I didn’t hate her at first. Not when Knox told me he broke our promises and got engaged. Not even when we first met. I actually pitied her. She lost everything. She didn’t even have the ability to get pregnant.I didn’t find any reason to hate her. I was envious of her. I had everything the world could offer—but she had the one thing I wanted most. And I'd trade it all, every last piece of it, just to have what she did..I thought she was lucky. She got my man.However, she didn’t think of me the way she should have. The way I would’ve blessed her—with my whole heart and a very expensive wedding gift.Too bad she thought she needed to compete with me for someone she already had.What a stupid girl.After she asked to talk, we came back home. K
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Let's talk
Violet,I felt a strong thirst for him. When my eyes met his, I forced myself to act normal, letting the thirst dissolve within me. I ran to him, chased him, walked to him, and even crawled to him. Yet... he was never mine. Knox was there. The phone I saw earlier was his. So he returned last night after I fell asleep.When I returned to my ward, I found him frantically searching for me. Yes, for me. Seeing the man you love become desperate brings a whole different level of satisfaction—maybe something else. I didn’t quite know what it was. Yet, I wanted him to be like this—to want me, to desire me, to see me as someone he would love, kiss, and crave.“Hey!” I said, my voice calm.Although I felt a hint of heartache after seeing that woman, I could do nothing more than help her in the way that would secure her child’s future. She was ready to do anything for her child.The child was lucky—having a parent who would go to any extent to save him. I wondered how the kid would feel when h
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception Selling Body?
Gisele,My mind was spiraling when that woman appeared before me. She was smug, her attitude arrogant—like she was looking down on me.When she sat down on the bench right in front of me, I was dumbfounded. It was as if she was enjoying my misery.She was rich, holding a black card like it was disposable, flaunting her wealth while I was ready to die for my son.When she asked me to give her what I considered my most valuable possession in exchange for my son's life, I handed her the most sentimental, most important thing I had—the ring my fiancé gave me the day before our son, Alex, was born. That same day, his father, my fiancé, died in a crash.I had never met such an arrogant and cruel woman. I thought she was mocking me—trying to show me I couldn’t do anything for my son. Not even the most precious thing my fiancé left behind mattered to her.She watched me cry like I was performing some tragic act that intrigued her. Her eyes never left me, but held an emotion so complex, it fel
The Surrogate-in-law: The Billionaire CEO's Deception A decision that changes life
Violet,I opened my eyes, finding myself lying in the hospital bed. Saturday was over, and now Sunday would end with this unwanted stuff.However, for a second, I looked around, wishing someone would be here. But nobody was. The tranquility of the room felt like a slap on my face.It reminded me of that night when I was lying on the bed with a knife in my back and no one around.Taking a deep breath, pushing those unwanted memories aside, I grabbed my phone to check if there was anything important. I didn't have anything to do at this hour.But the moment I turned my phone on, the flood of messages made me drop it. It rattled for a second before I turned off the vibration.But I regretted checking those messages."Hey! It's Mom. I heard you're hospitalized. Don't you think it's karma for humiliating the entire family?" — from my mother's number."How are you doing? I heard from Mom that you're at the hospital. I have surgery, so I won't be able to meet you. Be careful when you move ar
