Todos os capítulos de The Billionaire’s Contract Bride: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

Adrian's PovThe moment I opened my door, I closed it hard and gripped the wheel, struggling to breathe.He was hiding something. Maybe he wasn't responsible for the messages. But he was holding something back. I saw it in his eyes, the spark of guilt, the flash of anger when I mentioned Val's name. This wasn't all about me.He wanted her too. Not for love, but for control. The attention. He wanted her as a bait to get to me and I would not let her be used as a pawn in his game.I drew out my phone again and sent a text to Jules.Double the efforts to break through. Dig deeper, trace the traceables. I want the source. I don't care if it's behind fifty walls of encryption, find it.My thumb hovered over the send button for a moment before I typed another line:And trace Damian's devices too.Then I hit send. The game was on. This wasn't about who was sending the texts anymore. It was about who was willing to hurt her to get to me. And that? That was a boundary they should have never cr

Adrian's Pov The glass trembled in my hand, causing a rippled movement in the whiskey. I settled deeper into my chair, looking into the fire burning in the hearth at the opposite end of the room. The flames wavered and spat as though they were sneering at me. Each flame seemed to whisper her name.Valentine.She'd looked at me as if I were something to be counted on. As if she needed me to come closer. And God have mercy, I'd wanted to. My body had cried out to bridge the space between us, to kiss the quiet she wouldn't keep, to drown in the maelstrom of her.But I'd left. Like a coward.I scrubbed my loose hand against my face, the bristles scratching my palm like a rebuke. I wasn't sure what had kept me from it. Guilt, or fear, or the stubborn little voice in my head that just kept reminding me what happened the last time I let someone in.No. I wasn't going there.I pushed the chair out of the way, igno

Valentine's PovThe ride home was quiet.Adrian had not spoken since we both read the headline. He had clenched his teeth, tossed his phone into the glove compartment, and told the driver to take us directly back to the estate. One part of me was grateful we went with the driver today cause with the way Adrian was upset, he would have run us into the ditch.I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I just fought the tears burning my throat. My heart was a bloody sledgehammer in my chest, and my mind was a jumble of panic, shame, and shock. I just kept going over the image in my head—Who took it? How did they get so close? Why at that exact moment when school was preparing to resume, was someone setting me up for ridicule?And then the words: "Cinderella or charity case?" Why would people be so mean.When the car pulled up in front of the house, my hands were damp. Adrian stood at the open door but said nothing. His silence was greater than any words he could have uttered.We

Adrian's POVWhen we got home, I couldn't help but be burdened with the moment. Valentine said nothing—she just walked away, and I stood there like an idiot. I meant what I had said in the garden but she didn't say anything. Not a word. And when we got here, she just nodded, and disappeared.It was a strange kind of silence, one that was almost too loud. What did it signify? She'd been upset with me the other day, furious when I led her on. She'd obviously been upset because she cared right? That wasn't an emotion born of indifference. She had to care about me, didn't she? But tonight, it was different. I had told her I liked her and she'd given me nothing. I cannot really understand women.I opened the door and stepped inside, attempting to brush aside the sense of not knowing that gnawed at me. I understood she had a right to be confused, to be angry. I also understood, however, that I couldn't let this pass now, not when I was begining to be sure of what I wanted. And what I wanted

Valentine's PovThe afternoon sun cast a golden sheen along the winding garden path as Adrian and I walked hand in hand. His thumb brushed over mine intermittently, and though it was discreet, it was earthy. Like I was addicted to something real, at last. We didn't say much, but we didn't need to. There was a connection building between us, one that had been forged in the quiet, not the theatrics. I never imagined I would sense this with Adrian. Not him. Not the hard-as-stone man who barely looked at me.But something had shifted. Last night we talked late into the night when the moon was down and the stars were listening. Not because it was an obligation but because of a shared affectation. And I was scared of this new heat growing in a place that had been barren. We were two broken people but we were willing to try. And here we were, stealing a quiet moment in a world that never seemed to allow it.And then suddenly, a voice spoke from behind us, shattering our beautiful, quiet mome