Semua Bab Beyond Betrayal: Marry His Brother: Bab 221 - Bab 230

Lucas wouldn’t have accepted Miranda’s birthday invitation if I weren’t coming with him. She’d been forced to extend the invitation to include me, even though I hadn’t given them an answer yet. “I don’t think I should come with you,” I said quietly as we stepped into the villa. I didn’t really know Miranda, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way. I had a feeling things wouldn’t go well if we ended up in the same room, especially since it was her birthday, and she might ask for something unreasonable. I didn’t know any of the friends she mentioned either. What troubled me most, though, was the uncertainty surrounding Lucas’s relationship with Miranda. Just how deep did their connection run? Lucas ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t say no to Miranda. I owe her father a lot; he saved my life once when I nearly drowned in the lake. After her parents died, I became...” He paused, searching for the right words, “responsible for her.” “You mean you s

Isla It was morning when I arrived at the Bryston bus station. I hadn’t slept at all. The entire trip had been a blur of streetlights, passing towns, and a heavy, anxious weight pressing down on my chest. I had reached out to Auditrose as soon as I boarded, knowing she was the one person I could count on in this crisis. I sent her the bus’s plate number and told her which station I’d be getting off at, just to be safe. After all, it was an overnight trip. But my phone died somewhere during the journey, and the battery drained from overuse. Though the bus had charging ports, I had forgotten my cable in my hasty departure from the lake house. I felt utterly defeated. So when I stepped off the bus and saw Auditrose waiting for me, my heart almost gave out. Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them. She walked straight toward me and wrapped me in a firm hug. “Why are you here?” I asked, my voice cracking. “The moment you texted about taking an overnight bus back to Bryston,

Isla Auditrose’s home was unexpectedly grand. When she invited me to stay with her, I had expected a modest apartment, not the sprawling villa that greeted me behind the gates of one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods. “You were surprised when you found out I inherited millions from my mom,” I said, glancing around. “You acted like you didn’t have a dime. So… what do you call this?” She shrugged. “This place belongs to my brother. He’s the one with deep pockets, not me.” We’d always kept our friendship pretty simple; there were unspoken boundaries. We emotionally had each other’s backs, but never really got into deep stuff. It just so happened that my mom got sick and passed away. “Are you absolutely sure it’s okay for me to stay here?” I asked, following her through rooms that seemed to stretch endlessly. “I promise I’ll find my own place soon. The last thing I want is to impose on your brother’s generosity.” She looked me straight in the eye. “Isla, you’re a friend. You

The lawyer sent me a plane ticket so I could travel to the South. I’m still unsure what’s going on, but he said he would explain everything to me in person. According to him, they could easily pressure Mr. Foster to hand over my mother’s share in the company without waiting for more months. I’d arrived in Bryston that morning after a restless night of overthinking, and even though it was only midday, exhaustion weighed on me. I’d managed a few hours of uneasy rest, but recent events kept my mind churning. Four hours after my last call with Lucas, he tried reaching out again. Honestly, I didn’t plan on answering. Then came the text: ‘I’m here outside the gate of your friend’s place.’ My heart skipped a beat. Despite everything, despite the hurt, despite trying to build walls around myself, that familiar flutter of excitement still found me. When I went downstairs to check, Lucas stood before the main building entrance. He was arguing with Auditrose. “I need to talk to Isla,” he sa

“Isla, I don’t have a wife or children. Where did you get that idea?” Lucas asked, and I froze. But then he sighed, correcting himself. “Actually… that’s not entirely true. I was married once.” My lips parted in shock as tears continued streaming down my cheeks. “I married a woman my mother insisted on, for reasons I never fully understood.” “Assistant Emma from the Ferrero Group?” I asked in a low voice. Lucas nodded, his jaw tightening at the name. “Where is she now?” I asked again, unable to contain my curiosity. “She passed away six years ago… after kidnapping my friend Gazelle.” There was a pause. He looked ahead, like he was searching for the right words. “Emma is the reason I haven’t slept properly in years. I want you to understand, our marriage was never real. We were husband and wife only on paper, nothing more. But because of what she did, I lost the trust of people who mattered to me.” Gazelle is Maximus Ferrero’s wife, and Maximus is one of Lucas’s closest friend