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Home / Romance / THE BILLIONAIRE'S RELUCTANT BRIDE / Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE'S RELUCTANT BRIDE : Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

215 Chapters

CH.161

EVANGELINEMy legs gave out before I could take another step.I collapsed onto the forest floor, dry leaves crunching beneath my palms as my eyes locked on the body lying a few feet away. For a moment, my mind refused to understand what it was seeing. The shape of him. The blood. The stillness.“Gael,” I whispered.He lay on the ground like something life had already abandoned. His white shirt was soaked dark red, the stain spreading across his chest and down his side, and the handle of a knife stood from him with a cruelty so unreal that my thoughts scattered around it. It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be real. A person couldn’t be warm in your arms one day and reduced to silence in the dirt the next.I crawled toward him on shaking hands and knees, saying his name again and again because it was the only thing my mouth remembered how to do. “Gael… Gael…”Before I could reach him, rough hands seized my arms and dragged me up from the ground.I fought instantly. My eyes stayed on Gael’s

CH.162

EVANGELINEHope hit me so sharply it hurt.“Gael,” I whispered.The knife left my neck, but Sebastian didn’t step away in mercy. He turned toward Gael, his expression tightening with fresh rage.I tried to crawl to him first, but Sebastian caught my hair again and dragged me back.“I see you’re still alive,” he said. “Looks like my stabs weren’t strong enough.”Gael tried to lift himself. His arm trembled beneath him, his body straining against pain and blood loss, but he collapsed before he could rise. Still, his eyes stayed on me.“I swear,” he rasped, “if you hurt her, your death will be by my hands.”Sebastian laughed, the sound broken and bitter. “How? With that ruined body?”I wrapped a hand around Sebastian’s wrist and hit his arm, trying to free myself. “Please, Sebastian, stop! I’m begging you!”Gael tried to move toward me again. He barely managed to drag himself an inch before his strength failed, and the helplessness in his eyes tore through me.“Your helplessness is the be

CH.163

EVANGELINEI kept glancing at him while the car tore down the road, terror rising every time his body moved too little.“Gael, my love, you’ll be fine. Believe me.”His eyelids shifted.Hope struck so suddenly I almost lost focus on the road. I grabbed his hand and threaded my fingers through his. His grip trembled once, then his fingertips tightened weakly around mine.A broken smile pulled at my mouth. “Gael.”His eyes opened just enough to find me.“Don’t worry,” I said quickly. “We’re going to the hospital. You’ll be fine.”His lips moved.I leaned closer, fighting to keep one eye on the road. “What?”His voice was barely there. “Did you ever love me?”The question cut through every other sound.I looked at him for a second, too long, then forced my eyes back to the road as tears blurred everything in front of me.Did I ever love him?When I glanced back, his eyes had closed again, and his hand had gone loose in mine.“Gael?”I shook his hand. He didn’t respond.Panic rose so viole

CH.164

EVANGELINE“I kept trying to get close to Gael afterward,” Seraphina continued nonetheless, her voice barely steady now. “But he pushed me away every time. He ignored me, avoided me, treated me like a mistake he wanted buried.”She covered her mouth for a second, and the gesture might have looked fragile if I didn’t already know what kind of cruelty she was capable of.“So, I threatened him.”The words settled between us with a weight that made the hallway feel colder.I stared at her. “Threatened him with what?”Seraphina’s eyes filled again, but this time I felt nothing for her tears.“With what happened to him when he was a child.” Her voice broke. “I told him I’d reveal it if he didn’t stop pushing me away.”For a moment, I couldn’t move.I couldn’t even breathe properly.The hospital sounds around us seemed to fade until all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. She had seen him at his weakest, had once saved him from something monstrous, and then years later, she had tak

CH.165

EVANGELINEThree days passed.By the third day, I couldn’t bear the glass between us anymore.I walked quickly toward Dr. Madon’s office and entered without knocking. He looked up from the file on his desk, surprise flickering across his face.“Dr. Madon, three days have passed and he still hasn’t woken up.”He removed his glasses and clasped his hands over the desk. “That can happen after such a serious operation. His body went through severe trauma, and the anesthesia alone can leave him deeply sedated for some time. He may wake gradually. Try not to panic.”“But they won’t let me go inside.”“That’s normal. He’s still in a sensitive stage.”“I want to see him up close.” My voice broke despite my effort to keep it steady. “Please.”“Mrs. Dettling—”“Please. I need to touch him. I need him to know I’m beside him.”Dr. Madon looked at me for a long moment. I could see the professional answer in his eyes, the one that wanted to refuse me for Gael’s safety and maybe mine too. Then he sig

CH.166

EVANGELINESoft fingers moved through my hair.At first, I frowned in confusion. Then my eyelids slowly parted, heavy with sleep. For a few seconds, I stared at nothing, trying to remember where I was and why my body ached.I was leaning on my forearms at the edge of Gael’s bed.I must have fallen asleep without realizing it.The fingers in my hair paused, then moved to my cheek with such gentleness that my breath caught.I lifted my eyes.Gael was awake.For one suspended second, I couldn’t move.Then tears flooded my eyes.He looked exhausted, pale and weak, but a radiant smile touched his mouth. Warm. Tender. So alive that my heart nearly broke beneath the relief of it.“Gael.” His name came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.My body froze in place. Only my eyes moved, devouring every detail of him — his open eyes, his tired smile, the way his thumb brushed slowly over my cheek as if he were reassuring himself that I was real too.“Did you miss me?” His voice was rough from disuse,

CH.167

EVANGELINEI returned with Dr. Madon, who embraced Gael with such visible relief that I paused near the doorway.Every time I saw them together, I became more certain that their relationship went beyond doctor and patient. There was affection there. Familiarity. The kind of concern people couldn’t manufacture.There was something between them I still didn’t know.“I knew you would regain consciousness quickly,” Dr. Madon said warmly.Gael nodded faintly. “Thank you for taking care of me, Dr. Madon.”The doctor looked at me, and I immediately knew I was about to be exposed. “I only did my duty, for which I’m paid. The person you should truly thank is your wife. She hasn’t left your side since you were brought here, and she also hasn’t stopped causing trouble.”My eyes widened slightly. Did he really have to say that?Gael’s gaze shifted to me. He motioned with his eyes for me to come closer.I shook my head.I didn’t trust him. Not because he was dangerous — although, emotionally, perha

CH.168

EVANGELINEA while later, I returned to the room carrying a tray of food.Gael had fallen asleep, and I had used the chance to speak with Dr. Madon. He told me Gael could eat a little now, as long as the food was light and easy on his body.Apparently, vegetable soup was the exact form of punishment hospitals believed in.I balanced the tray in one hand and reached for the doorknob with the other.A hand landed on my shoulder.I turned.The moment I saw his face, my expression hardened.Thaddeus.“Evangeline,” he said with a broad smile, his hand still on my shoulder.I knocked it away and stepped back. “How do you have the nerve to come here?”His brows lowered, as if I had hurt him. “Is this how you welcome me?”I laughed once, disbelieving and cold. “Every time I see you, I become more certain you’re a sick bastard who needs—”Before I could finish, he shoved me backward and trapped me against the wall, his chest pressing close to mine.“Needs your presence,” he whispered.Disgust c

CH.169

EVANGELINEA knock at the door broke the silence between us.I lifted my head from Gael’s chest just as the door opened, and shock moved through me before I could hide it.Mr. Dettling stepped into the room.So now he remembered he had a son?I tightened my fingers around Gael’s hand and watched his face carefully. His expression didn’t change much. Only his eyes moved, following his father’s entrance with a stillness that felt practiced.Behind Mr. Dettling came Sebastian’s father.Unlike Gael’s father, whose face was composed and unreadable, Sebastian’s father carried his fury openly. Hatred darkened his eyes. His jaw was clenched so tightly that every word he hadn’t yet spoken seemed already sharpened.I stood instinctively. “Gael is still recovering, so—”Gael squeezed my hand gently.I looked down at him. His brows moved slightly, silently telling me it was all right. Reluctantly, I swallowed the rest of my protest and let him face them.Mr. Dettling looked at his son with cold di

CH.170

EVANGELINEA solemn silence fell over the room.I remained frozen near the door, unable to move. Gael was no different. His gaze stayed fixed on the empty space ahead of him, unblinking and unmoving, as if something inside him had been taken without mercy.And maybe it had.Slowly, I made my way to him and sat on the edge of the bed. Up close, I could see the sad shine gathering over his dark eyes.“Gael.” My voice came out low, but it was enough to draw his attention. His eyes moved to mine and held there for a long moment.He studied my miserable face, and the sadness he found there seemed to hurt him more than what had just happened.“I’m fine.”He forced a small smile.It only deepened the pain in my chest.“Stop pretending you’re fine just to comfort me.”I cupped his face between both hands and looked into his tired eyes. “I know it hurts. I know you’re trying to swallow it because you think pain becomes smaller when no one sees it, but I’m here. You’re not alone.”His eyes softe

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