All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE'S RELUCTANT WIFE : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

WELCOME TO OUR CIRCLE...The first thing Abigail noticed was the silence just as if they had come to the graveyard.Not the warm kind that made you feel at home. This was the deliberate, weighted hush of women taking measure of someone new.The club’s main lounge was a masterpiece of old money: polished mahogany panels, chandeliers that looked like they’d been hanging there for centuries, and a faint, expensive fragrance in the air that made it seem as though the very walls had been perfumed.Luke had escorted her to the entrance but didn’t step inside. This was her arena now. He’d simply placed a hand at the small of her back, leaned down, and murmured, “Remember, how you carry yourself is the answer to every question they won’t ask out loud, their final judgement for each day is passed to you with how well you're posed. Don't let Obetta crawl into your skin. She dosen’t worth it”And then he was gone going

YOU'RE MINE...Abigail hadn’t expected the call.It came two days after the club meeting, in the quiet hour just before lunch. She’d been curled up on the sofa with a book, enjoying the rare silence, when her phone lit up with an unknown number.“Abigail Vandell?” The voice was smooth, cultured.“Yes,” she said cautiously.“This is Carmen Lois Cruz. I thought it was time you and I spoke… outside of the club.”Abigail straightened in her seat. “I… appreciate you calling. May I ask why?”“Because,” Carmen replied without hesitation, “if you’re going to last in that room, you’ll need more than polite smiles and perfect posture. And I think you already know that.”Abigail exhaled slowly. “Are you offering advice?”“I’m offering perspective,” Carmen said. “Over lunch. Tomorrow. There’s a place I like private, discreet. I’ll send you the details.”And with that, the call ended.Luk

I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A TEST...The days after the meeting carried a strange undercurrent. Luke didn’t ask for a detailed play-by-play, but he watched her a little differently as though he was measuring not whether she had survived the club, but whether she had claimed ground.Two mornings later, Abigail received a cream- coloured envelope delivered by hand. There was no return address, only her name written in looping black ink.Inside was a single card:Abigail,Private luncheon. Friday at one. The terrace at Elmare’s. No substitutions. C.It was Carmen’s handwriting.Elmare’s was the kind of restaurant where reservations took months to secure and the sea was framed like art through the glass. When Abigail arrived, a hostess guided her past the main dining area and out to a secluded terrace where Carmen sat alone at a table for two.“Sit,” Carmen said, her voice warm but carrying the weight of a command.Abigail did.“You handled yourself well the other day,” Carmen began, pouring th

SHE STANDS WHERE I PUT HER..The Vandell car swept through the city at twilight, its sleek black frame cutting through traffic with ease. Abigail sat beside Luke, her hands folded neatly on her lap. Her heart raced with every passing streetlight. Tonight wasn’t just another outing, tonight was her first dinner with the Lois family.Luke, as usual, was composed, unreadable. He leaned back against the leather seat, his phone set aside, his gaze fixed out the tinted window. Abigail stole glances at him, searching for some sign of what to expect.“Luke,” she said finally, her voice low, “what if I say something wrong?”His head turned, and those dark eyes locked onto hers. “Then you’ll learn not to.”Her breath hitched. There was no comfort in his tone, but there was certainty. She pressed her lips together, nodding.“Abigail,” he added after a beat, his voice softer but no less firm, “the Loises aren’t your friends. Don’t mistake their politeness for acceptance. They’ll test you. And you

I WON'T BE ANYONE'S PAWN..The morning after the Lois dinner carried with it, a strange heaviness. Abigail woke later than usual, her body still weary from the night before not just from the endless scrutiny, but from Luke’s commanding intensity once they had returned home. She lay for a while with her cheek pressed against the pillow, replaying fragments of the dinner in her head. Carmen’s sudden defense, the other wives’ snide laughter. Obetta’s ever-smug smirk.Beside her, Luke’s side of the bed was already cold. He had risen before dawn, the way he often did when his mind was set on business. He hadn’t kissed her goodbye, but the imprint of his hand on her waist still lingered, proof of his silent claim.Abigail pushed herself up, wrapped a robe around her, and wandered into the sunlit lounge of their wing. The quiet was comforting. Until it wasn’t.A knock at the door broke the silence. It wasn’t one of the staff they usually announced themselves softly, never knocking like stran