Lahat ng Kabanata ng BETRAYED BUT MARRIED TO A BILLIONAIRE. : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

D.N.A TEST. BrieAt the office, I couldn’t get my head to focus on the load of paperwork sitting on my desk. My fingers tapped restlessly against the mahogany surface, the rhythmic sound doing little to drown out the storm of thoughts raging in my mind. I couldn’t focus.My mind kept drifting back to Derrick. I had a gut feeling that he wasn't going to stop, and it amplified my worry. I knew Derrick, I've been with him almost all through college, and he wasn't the type that gives up that easily. Once he set his mind on something, he pursued it with relentless determination. And now, that determination was fixated on Liam.A cold feeling of anxiety tightened in my stomach. What if this changes everything between Smith and I? Smith had been nothing but patient, understanding, but how long could that last? What if one day he woke up and decided this was too much..that I was too much? He hadn’t called since I’d told him about Derrick’s threats, and the silence was deafening. Was he pulli

TakenSmith The first thing I felt after hours was the cold splash of water hitting my face, shocking me awake. My body jerked instinctively, but my arms were bound tightly behind me, the rough bite of the rope cutting into my wrists. I gasped, blinking rapidly as droplets of the water splashed rolled down my cheeks, some slipping past my lips, salty, like sweat or seawater.My head throbbed, a dull ache pulsing behind my temples. Where the hell was I? The last thing I remembered was leaving the club. I had spotted those three weirdos at the club staring attentively at me, I got uncomfortable and decided to leave there. A few minutes drive into the highway and bang, we were Ambushed by a vehicle I think, gunshots fired. Then nothing. A sharp pain at the back of my skull, darkness swallowing me whole. Harsh sunlight burned through the fabric of the hood over my head. A hand yanked it off, and I winced as the glare stabbed at my eyes. I squeezed them shut, my pulse hammering in my thr

The Wrong MoveDerrickThe sun was a merciless beast today, pounding down on the construction site like it had a personal vendetta against us. Sweat trickled down my temple as I bit into my turkey sandwich, the bread already soggy from the heat. The little café across the street was our only refuge. Air-conditioned, stocked with cold drinks, and, most importantly, far from the dust and noise of the site. Trevor, my foreman and the closest thing I had to a friend on the job, wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before taking a swig of his iced tea. "Man, if it gets any hotter, I swear I'm gonna start stripping layers right here," he joked, fanning himself with a napkin. I chuckled, but my mind wasn’t really in it. I’d been distracted all morning, ever since that call from Tyrell last night. The guy was unstable on a good day, and after what I’d asked him to do, or rather, not to do, I wasn’t sure if he’d actually listen. Then the TV above the counter caught my eye. The ne

Desperate WithdrawalBrieThe bank was crowded, a sea of impatient faces and restless bodies shifting in slow-moving lines. The air hummed with hushed conversations, the rhythmic clicking of keyboards, and the occasional sharp ring of a telephone.My legs trembled as I stepped forward, clutching the withdrawal slip in my damp fingers. The pounding in my chest was so loud I could barely hear my own ragged breaths. The bank official, a middle-aged man with wire-rimmed reading glasses perched low on his nose, barely glanced up before taking the slip. His name tag read Mr. Donald. His expression was neutral and professional. The kind of man who followed procedure without question. My stomach twisted. "Madam," he said, adjusting his glasses, "you’re requesting to withdraw $300,000 in cash?" His voice was steady, but his eyes flickered with curiosity and suspicion. "That’s a substantial amount. May I see your identification, please?" I swallowed hard, my fingers clumsy as I pulled out

GymDerrickAt the gym, the barbell moved in rhythm with my breathing. Each rep burned through my chest and arms, but the pain was a welcome distraction. The gym had always been my escape, a place to silence the noise in my head. Lately, though, no amount of weight could press away the burden I carried. There were too many moving pieces, too many loose ends.Smith had been a major problem, and for now, he was out of the way. But was it really over? I exhaled sharply and racked the barbell, my arms trembling slightly from exertion. Sitting up, I let the sweat drip down my face, wiping it off with the back of my hand. My heart was still racing, but it wasn’t just from the workout. Tomorrow was the day I was supposed to meet up with Bridget and baby Liam at SYNLAB for the D.N.A test, but since Smith's disappearance, I became hesitant.I had lost the guts to call her to talk about it. I kept thinking, what if she thinks I did it? The last thing I wanted was getting in the cross hairs. If