Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Substitute Bride's Revenge : Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 128

VIVIANThe camera flashes are blinding as Xavier and I step out of the limo with his hand resting lightly on my back.My smile is wide, polished, and practiced. Months of pretending have made it second nature. To the world watching, we’re the perfect power couple: rich, beautiful, untouchable.If only they knew how much I want to claw his eyes out right now.“Smile wider,” Xavier mutters under his breath with his megawatt grin locked in place as reporters shout questions at us.“I am smiling,” I shoot back through gritted teeth, keeping my expression picture-perfect.“Ms. Taylor! How are you feeling about tonight?”“Mr. Harrington! Have you set a wedding date yet?”“Are the rumors about the triple merger true?”I wave at the crowd, graceful and poised, playing my part like the seasoned performer I am. This is what I’m good at—charming, dazzling, making everyone believe in the fantasy. Even if that fantasy is crumbling faster than anyone realizes.We glide through the marble lobby of th

ARIAI can feel every single person in this room watching me. Xavier's standing with that cocky smile, totally clueless that he's looking at the woman whose life he helped destroy. Vivian's right next to him, gripping her champagne glass, eyes sharp and suspicious.I take a slow sip of my champagne, letting the bubbles hit my tongue while I study their faces. God, the irony is perfect. Here I am, Elizabeth Sinclair, talking about a merger that'll give me access to everything they built. The power to tear their empire apart piece by piece, exactly how they tore mine down.The ballroom buzzes with conversation around us, but I'm locked onto this moment. Every detail matters. The way Xavier's eyes keep darting to other potential business partners across the room, calculating his next move. The way Vivian's nails tap her glass in a nervous rhythm she probably doesn't even realize she's doing. The way the other guests steal glances in our direction..."The merger between Harrigton Consolida

ARIA Through the chaos and the ringing in my ears, I can hear shouting, car doors slamming, footsteps running on pavement. My head's spinning, vision blurry from the impact, but I force myself to focus. This isn't an accident. The timing, the precision of the hit, the way it came out of nowhere. We've been attacked. Blood trickles down my forehead from where I hit something during the crash, and suddenly fragmented scenes I can't quite piece together start flashing before my eyes. Images blur and shift... faces I don't recognize, voices speaking words I can't understand. My head throbs with each heartbeat, and I can't tell if these are real memories surfacing or just my brain trying to make sense of the trauma and chaos around me. My ribs ache, and I think I might have bitten my tongue because I taste copper in my mouth. But I'm alive. We're all alive. The limo's still rocking from the impact when I hear voices outside, sharp and commanding. Orders being barked. The sound of

DALEDale's vision blurs for a moment as the implications crash over him like a tsunami.But if it has been Aria that night, then how...? His mind reels, trying to process the implications.Relief floods through him in a tsunami of emotion that threatens to bring him to his knees.The woman he's loved, the one who's owned his heart completely… It has been her all along.Yet the relief is immediately followed by confusion so profound it makes his head spin. If Aria has been there that night, then what has happened? How has he ended up with a different woman bearing his mark? How has the bond formed with someone who isn't supposed to be his mate?The mate bond isn't something that can be faked or manufactured. It is a biological connection forged by forces beyond human understanding. You can't mark someone who isn't your true mate on a whim… the bond simply won't take.So how has it happened? How has he ended up bound to a woman who isn't Aria?But underneath the confusion and the despe