Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's Reluctant Bride : Kabanata 221 - Kabanata 230

Some battles are fought in public.Others are fought in the quiet moments where you choose joy anyway.I stared at the message on my phone, the words taunting me with their simplicity.You thought it was over?Alexander’s jaw ticked as he read it. His eyes, usually so steady, darkened as a fresh wave of fury rippled beneath his surface.“She’s escalating again,” he said quietly, voice sharp.“She’s desperate,” I countered, forcing my voice to stay even. “This is bait.”He exhaled, long and heavy. “And part of me still wants to take it.”“I know.” I slid my hand into his, grounding us both. “But we’re not playing her game.”He nodded after a long pause, his muscles finally softening under my touch. “Not tonight.”“Not tonight,” I echoed.Because tonight wasn’t about Nora or threats or the ghosts of what we’d survived.Tonight was about the life we were building anyway.The next morning, Ava confirmed that the text had come from an encrypted burner number, impossible to trace directly.

It’s easy to love someone when everything is calm.The real test is loving them when the ground shakes beneath your feet.The second I saw the blocked number light up on my phone again, my stomach twisted.Not because I didn’t expect it.But because I was exhausted by how predictable she had become.Alexander’s arm tightened instinctively around my waist as I read the message aloud.You’re not safe yet. Neither of you.I felt his entire body go still behind me, his breath drawing tight at the base of his throat. The peace we had finally begun to settle into cracked under the weight of those seven words.“She’s bluffing,” I whispered.“Or preparing something new.” His voice was low, dangerous in a way that used to scare, but now I understood it for what it was. A protective edge sharpened by everything we’d already survived.I turned in his arms, pressing my hands flat against his chest. “Alexander, look at me.”He did. And in that moment, I saw the flicker of doubt trying to claw its

Sometimes the biggest leap isn’t fighting for survival.It’s letting yourself want more.The message still sat on my screen.You don’t deserve peace. Neither of you does.The words were venom, designed to slice into the cracks she hoped still existed. But the cracks had closed. Sealed. Reinforced with everything we’d built together.Alexander didn’t speak at first. He didn’t need to. His hand slid into mine under the covers, his grip firm. Not frantic. Not panicked.Just steady.“We don’t answer her,” I whispered, breaking the silence.“We won’t.”“She wants to pull us off balance.”“She’s failing.”I turned my head on the pillow, studying him in the dim light. His jaw was tight, but his gaze was calm. Resolved.“She’s not the one I’m thinking about anymore,” he added, voice quiet but certain.“Who are you thinking about?”“You.”His thumb traced the back of my hand, gentle but purposeful.“You’ve spent so much of this fight carrying both of us, Leila. And now… I want to make sure you

You can build walls high enough to keep out enemies.But sometimes the real test is learning to stand when the storm finds a way in anyway.You won’t see the next move coming.The message sat on my screen like a grenade waiting to detonate.Alexander didn’t speak as he read it. His hand gripped my waist, firm but not panicked, while the silence between us thickened.For a long moment, neither of us moved. The city glittered behind the glass like a distant, uncaring witness while we stood frozen in that small moment before impact.He exhaled finally, low and steady. “She’s shifting her game again.”“I can feel it.” My voice was calm, but my heart had already started racing. “She’s been trying to pull us back into reaction mode. This is something else.”“She’s trying to unnerve us.”“It’s working.”Alexander’s jaw ticked as his thumb brushed absent circles on my lower back. “We’ve prepared for every version of this, Leila. Whatever card she’s about to play, we’ll face it.”I nodded beca

The most terrifying kind of strength isn’t found in power or control.It’s found in letting go.The door to the arbitration room closed with a quiet click that sounded far louder in my chest than it did in my ears.The moment we’d both feared, prepared for, and survived our way toward was here.Nora sat directly across from us, her legal team flanking her like armor she still somehow believed would save her.Alexander’s hand was steady in mine as we took our seats, but I felt the shift inside him before he spoke a word.This wasn’t the man who once clung to absolute control like it was oxygen.This was the man who had learned how to breathe without it.The arbitrator opened the session with standard formalities, but my heartbeat drowned out most of the words.My focus was entirely on Alexander.On the way, his shoulders stayed relaxed, even as Nora’s attorney launched into his first carefully rehearsed monologue filled with half-truths and implied misconduct.On the way, why did he ne