Semua Bab Losing Ryker: The Billionaire's Second Chance : Bab 21 - Bab 27

Zerah I should’ve known dinner was going to be a disaster the moment we stepped into the house. The Falloway estate was the kind of place where people wore designer grief and smiled with judgment tucked behind pearl necklaces. The dining room looked like something out of a luxury lifestyle magazine—long polished table, golden cutlery, crystal glasses, and a chandelier so unnecessarily big it could crush someone and still be considered tasteful. And there I was, sitting between Ryker and an empty chair, hands folded tightly in my lap, trying to act like my lungs weren’t collapsing with every second that passed. Nathan sat opposite me. He kept stealing glances when he thought I wasn’t looking. His expression was unreadable—curious, confused, almost as if he were trying to decide whether or not I was the same girl from all those years ago. I didn’t blame him. I probably wasn’t. Not fully. “So, Zerah,” Mrs. Falloway said, slicing into her salmon with a little too much grace to be ca

Ryker The streets were less busy than usual for a weekday morning. Maybe it was too early, or maybe traffic had just taken a different route, but I wasn’t complaining. I preferred the silence, and Zerah hadn’t said a word since that call. Not that I minded. She looked like she was still turning things over in her head. I guided the car through downtown traffic, eyes flicking between the road and Zerah in the passenger seat. The morning sun glinted off the hood, and my thoughts were already shifting to the backlog of board meeting notes on my phone. I’d just turned off the notes app when— A black sedan lunged into my lane, its driver pushing through a yellow light. I slammed on the brakes. The wheels locked, screeching against the asphalt. Heart pounding, I pumped the brake pedal, trying to steer us clear. “Damn it!” I hissed, wrenching the wheel left. The other car swung right to avoid us, tires squealing. Beside me, I heard Zerah’s soft curse. “What the hell was that?” I shoved

FLASHBACK: SEVEN YEARS AGO CONTINUED Ryker The ink was barely dry on the last signature when I stood up, shook the lawyer’s hands, and stuffed the documents into my briefcase like they meant nothing. But they meant everything. SparkForge. Finally mine. The estates, the stocks, the damn legacy they were mine now. All the years of waiting, of playing the game, pretending to have a wife just to get it done… Well technically we were married but it was a mere contract agreement, it had worked. She stood beside me, quiet like always, her face calm. Too calm. Like she hadn’t just conned her way into a fortune. I looked at her, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. If she thought this little contract made her important, she had another thing coming. I should have left it at that and abandoned her in the mansion, but like I was possessed, something else came to mind. “We're not going home just yet,” I said as I pulled out my phone. She blinked, confused. “Excuse me?” “I’m going to celebr