Semua Bab Married by Mistake, Loved by Fate: Bab 1 - Bab 6

“I’m okay,” Lucy said quietly, standing up and brushing the dust from her clothes. Her voice shook, but she tried to keep it steady as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.Across from her, Austin DiMarco studied her closely. She was broken, yet something about the way she held herself, fragile but still standing, made her shine even more.“I’m Austin,” he said gently. “I’m a businessman.”Lucy blinked, taken aback by his calmness and timing. “I’m Lucy,” she replied with a weak smile. “Just a roadside food vendor.”Austin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t look like ‘just’ anything,” he said honestly, glancing down at her soft makeup, her delicate features, and the ruined bouquet still clutched in her hands. “You look stunning.”Lucy let out a small, tired laugh. “Well, thank you. But looks don’t matter, do they? Not when you’ve been publicly humiliated by someone you gave everything to.”Austin tilted his head. “Maybe not to some men. But to me? Character matters. And I jus

“No. I was trying to help the man I loved,” Lucy said, her voice sharp and fierce now, burning with a mix of pain and defiance. “But you were too busy proving something, too proud, too blind, to see that I was standing right beside you, carrying your weight.”Greg slammed the contract papers down on the polished table with a harsh bang. His face twisted in anger and hurt. “What the hell, Lucy! You made me look like a fool!”Austin stepped forward, his tone cutting through the tension like steel. “You did that all by yourself, Greg. And if you ever raise your voice at my wife again, I won’t just stand here.” He moved protectively closer to Lucy, his eyes blazing.Greg’s fists clenched so tight his knuckles went white. He looked ready to punch a wall. But before he could explode, Richard Bennett’s cold voice cut through the room like a judge’s gavel.“That’s enough.” His eyes locked onto Greg’s with icy precision. As his gaze swept over Greg and Vanessa like a judge sentencing. His voic

The gun dug into her temple like an icy brand.Lucy’s breath caught, every nerve screaming.Austin’s voice was a razor.“Let her go.”The masked man laughed, low and mocking, his pale eyes glinting in the dim light.“That’s cute. You think you’re the one in control here.”Austin’s jaw flexed.“I don’t think so. I know.”Lucy’s pulse thundered in her ears. She could feel the intruder’s breath near her ear, hot, slow, deliberate, like he wanted her to feel every second of her fear.Her voice was tight, but she forced it out.“If you’re going to shoot me, do it. But don’t—”The man’s grip on her wrist snapped tighter, cutting off her words with a hiss of pain.“Oh no,” he murmured. “The Phantom wants you alive.”His eyes flicked to Austin.“Both of you.”Austin’s fingers twitched at his sides, the barest tremor betraying the storm under his calm exterior.“You have five seconds to walk out of here breathing.”The masked man tilted his head.“Or what? You’ll put a bullet in me? From where