Lahat ng Kabanata ng THE BILLONIARE UNWANTED SUBSTITUTE BRIDE: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

The black car cruised through the Upper East Side, its tinted windows shielding them from the world outside. Scarlett leaned her head against the window, eyes focused but mind adrift. She could still feel the weight of that anonymous message pressing against her chest like a curse one that came with the taste of danger and secrets not yet unearthed.Sebastian sat beside her, fingers drumming lightly against his knee. His face was unreadable, like a fortress newly reinforced. But she could tell beneath that calm, he was calculating, bracing, preparing for war.The car finally stopped in front of an elegant brownstone tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. It didn’t scream wealth or power. Instead, it whispered legacy.“This is him?” Scarlett asked as the driver opened the door.Sebastian nodded. “Mitchell Graves. My father’s personal attorney for nearly two decades. No one knows more about the skeletons in my family’s closet than he does.”They were greeted by a young assistant at

The morning after Sebastian’s return from Estelle’s apartment, the penthouse felt suspended in quiet reverence. The usual clinking of dishes and humming of background television had given way to something heavier something sacred. Scarlett awoke alone in bed, the sheets beside her still warm, evidence that Sebastian had risen only recently. She slipped into a silk robe and padded barefoot through the hallway, her heart pounding with a strange combination of peace and dread. The night before had been... different. Not just physically but emotionally raw. Unfiltered. And yet that vulnerability still frightened her. Because with Sebastian, nothing stayed peaceful for long. She found him in the kitchen, facing the window, a cup of coffee cradled in both hands. He wore only gray lounge pants, the early sun casting golden light across the toned lines of his back and shoulders. His stillness spoke louder than words. Scarlett approached slowly, gently wrapping her arms around his waist fr

Morning came with a pale sun peeking through the city’s skyline, but there was no warmth in the penthouse. The tension that hung in the air was thick, laced with unspoken questions, and now expectation.Scarlett brewed coffee, her hands trembling slightly as she reached for the sugar. She had barely slept. The image of herself, unknowingly watched, had rooted itself deep in her mind. The idea that someone had been close close enough to photograph her was violating.Sebastian entered the kitchen dressed in black slacks and a crisp shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. There was a hardness in his gaze, but it wasn’t cold. It was focused.“He lands in twenty minutes,” he said, accepting the coffee she silently handed him.“Silas?”He nodded. “He asked to meet at the old estate.”Scarlett blinked. “Your childhood home?”Sebastian sipped his coffee. “It’s not exactly home. Just a carcass of what once was. But he said it’s ‘clean’ no surveillance, no digital trace.”She hesitated, then asked

Scarlett stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, her silhouette outlined by the city's muted glow. Her thoughts stormed like the rain clouds beyond the glass. In her palm lay the locket open, silent, heavy. The photo inside, once a comfort, now felt like a riddle wrapped in sorrow.Behind her, Sebastian finished a phone call, his voice clipped and businesslike, but with a tension that hadn't faded since the hospital surveillance was revealed.“She left no trace,” he said as he approached her. “No name on any hospital visitor logs, no security pass scanned. It’s like she walked through walls.”Scarlett finally turned, her voice barely above a whisper. “Or like she never left them.”Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “You still believe it’s your mother.”“I don’t know,” she admitted, swallowing hard. “But the way she touched Emily so gently. Like she cared. And then she mouthed my middle name, Sebastian. That’s not something a stranger just… knows.”He studied her, not just

The rain tapped against the penthouse windows like a restless drum, filling the silence that had wrapped around Scarlett and Sebastian since she spoke of Damien Hayes.Sebastian paced, his fists clenching and unclenching as he tried to absorb the revelation. “Damien? You think he’s involved in whatever happened to your mother?”Scarlett wrapped her arms around herself, staring out at the city lights as her reflection quivered in the glass. “Caroline didn’t say it outright, but… her eyes said enough. She’s terrified of him. And she said I’m not who I think I am.”Sebastian stopped pacing. “What does that mean, Scarlett? Are you saying..”“I don’t know!” she snapped, tears burning her eyes as frustration cracked through her composure. “I don’t know what she meant, Sebastian! I don’t know if my mother stole me or if it was something else! I don’t know why Damien’s name keeps coming up or why Emily was left behind!”Sebastian’s expression softened as he crossed to her, pulling her into hi