Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Substitute Bride For Mr. Voss: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

~Astrid~After spending a few days in New York, we finally returned to Seattle, and boy, were things awkward.Adrian had completely shut down after I spent a ridiculous amount on shopping. Strangely, the thought of him being pissed off brought me a twisted sense of satisfaction.When the car finally stopped in the garage, Adrian stepped out, adjusting his collar with that stiff, controlled air he always had. I stared at my phone for a second before climbing out too."I'm going out," I announced casually. He froze mid-step, slowly turning around to look at me.His gaze flicked down my body, lingering, and I cocked my head slightly to the side, arching a brow."And where exactly are you going?" he asked, his tone cool but with an edge that wasn’t hard to miss.I sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Informing you that I'm going out should be enough, Voss. You really don’t want to know where."The chauffeur hurriedly got out, unloading our bags, his movements quick and tense l

Adrian"What are you doing here?" she asked, and a muscle twitched in my jaw as I stared at her.Her muscles were tense, and something was off in her blue eyes. I glanced back at her mother’s apartment, at the figure I’d seen standing by the doorway just moments ago. But when I looked again, he was gone.I was sure it was a man. Her mother would have reacted if it were her."Get in the car," I said, turning around and climbing into the driver’s seat. Thinking about it now, showing up here was stupid.She had stormed out earlier, saying she was going to see her boyfriend. I knew it was probably a lie, but after a few hours and she wasn't back, I had a sick feeling in my gut, and before I knew it, I had tracked her down.What I didn’t realize until I was almost at the door was that this was her mother’s apartment.Astrid being Astrid, she didn’t move. She stood there, looking goddamn tempting and defiant in that small black dress. I rolled down the window, my gaze fixed on her."I reme

Astrid "Hey, she's married, okay? And how do you even know that when you've been out of the country?" Joan interrupted. His eyes fell on her, a muscle twitching in his jaw as he stepped back. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised," he muttered. I gave a curt nod and pulled Joan along. "Let's go," I said, not sparing Xavier a glance. He probably didn't realize he'd put me in a tight spot. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled, my whole body tensed, waiting for Joan to ask the obvious question. But it never came. Not as we entered her suite. Not even when she decided to come with me back to Adrian's house. Only then did I allow myself to relax. She probably didn’t suspect anything—it was just a careless remark from a man. And even if she did ask, the answer was simple. We were keeping things private. "Oh my God, this is your house?" she gasped as the driver pulled into the compound. I shrugged with a small smile. Oh, the house wasn’t really mine. It was Adrian’s, and maybe it could

♧Astrid♧"Don't touch me," I muttered, stepping away from whoever was behind me. Whether he heard me or not, he acted like he didn’t."You're doing so good, baby!" Ophelia yelled over the pounding music. I knew coming here was a mistake. It was supposed to be just one drink while I listened to an obviously drunk Ophelia pour out her heart.But that one drink turned into two, then four, and now here I was—on a crowded dance floor with some random guy pressed up against me."Come on, Phil, we need to leave. Now." I grabbed her wrist, but she just shrugged, flipping her hair over her shoulder."I don’t think so," she mouthed.And then I felt it again —hands, rough and unwelcome, touching me where they shouldn’t.I turned abruptly. And a dark-haired man grinned, his teeth flashing in the dim light before he ran his tongue over his lips like the creep he was."Wanna go home with me?" he yelled over the music.I shot him a glare. "What the fuck, man? Who even are you?"He chuckled. "We were

♧Adrian♧I drove back home from the office as soon as I got the invitation. I wasn’t supposed to do this, but there was nothing wrong with going to a gala with my 'wife' by my side.The chances of running into my dad were high, and while I had been avoiding him, I couldn’t run away forever.I pulled into the garage and just stared at the house. I had thought living with Astrid would be simple. But hell no, it wasn’t.The moment I walked into her room, I knew exactly why. Her scent, her space—it pulled me in and messed with my head. I wanted to be immersed in it while hating her.I wanted her even though I hated her, and I had no idea how this would turn out. We had three months.Three months until I got my promotion. Three months until we filed for a divorce. Three months to find out if this feeling was mutual. And once we split, I knew I would never see her again.Just like I never saw her after our breakup five years ago. That was the kind of person Astrid was. Once she left, she n