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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Billionaire Producer's Secret Wife: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

100 Kabanata

Chapter One

Serena Rivera had walked more red carpets in the last three months than in the twenty-two years of her life, and not once—not once—had Lucian Vale ever touched her like this. Not once had he placed a hand on the small of her back. Not once had he turned toward her for the cameras. Not once had he so much as acknowledged her unless the moment absolutely demanded it. Until tonight. Tonight, the man who usually treated her like thin air wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, pulled her close like she was something breakable, and whispered low and dark against her ear— “Smile. Like you’re mine.” Her heart stalled. She smiled. She had to. But it wasn’t for the cameras. It was for survival. And maybe—just maybe—because she remembered this touch. Once. No one else in this entire room knew the truth. Not the flashing press. Not the fans screaming from barricades. Not even the cast and crew of the very film she was supposed to be promoting tonight. They didn’t know Serena Riv

Chapter Two - Past

One Year Ago The Rivera estate was too quiet. Serena stepped out of the sleek black car, her stilettos stabbing into the cobblestone like they had a score to settle. They wobbled when it got stuck in the gap between cobblestone as she walked closer. Reflecting much of her own feelings. She didn’t want to be here. Not tonight. Not ever. Her body still ached from the fourteen hour shoot she’d just wrapped. Makeup clung to her skin like a mask she didn’t have the energy to rip off. And yet, she had come. Because when Robert Rivera said Come home Now, you didn’t ignore the call. Not even if you hated the man on the other end of the line. The mansion’s front doors opened before she could even lift a hand to knock. “Miss Serena,” the butler greeted with a stiff nod. Always too polished. Always too professional. Like everything in this house used to be—before it began to fall apart. "How are you, John?" Serena asked, soft and polite. John never married, choosing to serve the Rivera

Chapter Three - Past

She didn’t trust herself to speak. Not when her heart was beating like a war drum in her chest. Not when the taste of betrayal was still thick on her tongue. Not when she could feel her father’s eyes on her back, like a vulture waiting for the moment she finally broke. John asked if she needed anything as she passed, but she didn’t answer. She couldn’t. He quietly allowed her to leave, not asking anything more. She didn’t stop walking until she reached the far end of the estate, to the only place that hadn’t yet been gutted or emptied out or swallowed whole by debt and desperation—the old greenhouse. It was unlocked. No one came here anymore. Not since her mother died. Except John who tried to salvage it against her father's negligence. Serena pushed open the door and stepped inside. The smell of soil and dust hit her first. Then came the silence. Not the poised, oppressive kind from the rest of the house—but a different kind. A quieter one. Real. She sat on the stone bench

Chapter Four - Past

Serena didn’t go back to her apartment. Instead, she asked the driver to take her to the studio. It was past ten by the time she slipped into the quiet sound booth of the post-production house tucked away in West Hollywood. The dubbing director gave her a small nod of acknowledgment, no questions asked. She was always like this—showing up late, makeup smudged, coat still on, eyes red but not from crying. “I just have two lines left from episode eight,” she murmured as she adjusted the headphones. Her voice was steady, though her body moved on autopilot. The director didn’t argue. He liked working with her. She never complained. Never caused trouble. Always professional, even when she looked like the world had rolled over her spine. He even told her he didn't understand where the rumours about her came from. Serena smiled tightly when he told her that first time and he didn't say it again, taking the hint. The scene played across the screen in front of her—her character, a determ

Chapter Five- Past

The penthouse office reeked of cigars, old money, and cleaner trying to mask it all. Serena sat still on the leather couch, legs crossed at the ankle, hands perfectly folded in her lap—just the way her mother taught her. Polished. Composed. Presentable. When her father called her back yesterday, she didn't expect him to fly her to New York to meet Vale family. Her father was pacing—sharply, rhythmically—while Gregory Vale lounged with a scotch in hand, watching Robert with idle amusement, like this was theater. “He’s late,” Robert growled. “He’s Lucian,” Gregory said lazily. "His sense of time is different than ours. He'll only arrive when he wants to." The doors opened right then, like on cue. Lucian Vale entered without ceremony, coat draped over his arm, gloves tucked into one hand. No rush, no apology. Just cold purpose in every step. Serena’s spine straightened on instinct. He was taller than she remembered. Sharper, too. Like someone carved him out of shadow and ice with

Chapter Six - Past

Serena stood still, uncertain. She didn’t move. Not right away. She waited two beats longer than she had to—just to gather herself. Quietly. Carefully. Like a ripple waiting to settle. Then she turned. Not submissive. Not defiant. Just… watching. A little hesitant, a little tired. "You'll meet my mother soon." Serena blinked at his back. That...wasn’t what she expected him to say when he said he wanted a word. Her lips parted, but no words came. Lucian's gaze landed on her with the precision of a scalpel—sharp, emotionless. It didn’t ask for understanding. It didn't ask for anything, really. “She doesn’t know anything about this contract. And she won’t.” What? "So…” Serena’s voice was soft, tentative, like she was still testing the ground beneath her feet. “We keep the marriage a secret from the world—but the fact that it is a contract itself a secret from your mother? Am I getting that right?” “Yes.” His tone didn’t waver. No elaboration. No hint of irony. She didn’t know

Chapter Seven - Past

Flashback: Lyon, France. 8 years ago. The hallway outside the ICU stretched like a tunnel—too long, too white, too still. It was the kind of sterile quiet that didn’t belong to grief but to aftermath. A stillness after screaming. A silence after thunder. Something final. Serena walked it alone. Each step felt like her feet didn’t quite touch the ground, as if the world had loosened its grip on her, leaving her untethered. Her hoodie swallowed her small frame, her hands curled deep into its sleeves like she could hide from the moment if she just made herself smaller. The lights overhead flickered too bright. The air tasted of bleach and ghosted metal. And beneath it all—beneath the hospital scent of sterilization and endings—there was the echo of something more personal: perfume, faint, long faded. Her mother’s. She had died quietly. That was the worst part. No defiant last word. No final storm. Just a shallow breath. Then stillness. A woman who shone brightly, chaotically, who

Chapter Eight - Present

Back to PresentThe lights flashed like an avalanche. Serena stood between velvet ropes, cameras aimed like snipers. Her name was being screamed in twelve different directions. Flashbulbs erupted every half-second.And then—Questions.“Serena! Is it true Aiden Wolfe requested you personally for this role?”“Was Lucian Vale’s presence during filming intimidating—or inspiring?”“Do you feel pressure stepping into the industry with that last name?”“Any comment on the rumors about Seraphina’s original casting?”“Do you think this film is part of a larger strategy for your image?”“Do you think your mother would be proud?”Each question more pointed. Each smile more loaded.Serena kept walking.Kept smiling.She knew some of these questions came from narrative planted by Lucian for her image. Some from people who saw behind it. She won't answer. Not even to the last question.Would her mother be proud? Serena preferred not to think about it. Lucian was nowhere to be seen after leaving.

Chapter Nine - Past

Flashback – One Year Ago Lucian Vale’s Office, Vale Studios The room was silent but not still. It was the kind of silence that came with wealth. Glass walls. Steel lines. Not a paper out of place. The kind of office that was designed to look expensive without showing off, which somehow made it worse. Serena wasn't surprised. Lucian sat behind his desk, watching her the way men like him watched reports. No expression. Just calculation. Serena walked closer. “I’ll do it,” she said quietly. “But I want terms.” She'd gone home to her modest apartment and thought long and hard. Her father would let her stay married to Lucian Vale until both of them are in a grave if he could, but Serena couldn't stand that. She wasn't admittedly dating anyone, but one day, she would like to have a family. A real one. That wouldn't be possible if she was married to him. Not only that, but Serena loved acting. Acting had been a frictional point between her and her mother, always encouraged

Chapter Ten - Present

Premier Night: Industry Reactions to Half a LifeVARIETY“Produced by Lucian Vale and directed by the reclusive Isobel Myles, Half a Life is an elegant burn through grief and memory, carried almost entirely on the back of a career-defining performance by Serena Rivera.”THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER“From its fog-drenched Berlin interiors to the aching silences of its Vermont flashbacks, this is a film made with surgical care. Isobel directs like a scalpel. Rivera acts like a wound. And Vale Studios lets them bleed.”INDIEWIRE – Grade: A+“The film that wasn’t supposed to happen—the director who doesn’t do studios, the actress who wasn’t even cast six months before shooting—has become the most necessary film of the year.”THE GUARDIAN“At its core, Half a Life is about silence—and the price of breaking it. That it came from a studio-backed production is a miracle. That it’s good is something closer to a reckoning.”How It Happened (And Almost Didn’t):It was supposed to be Seraphina Devacru

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