All Chapters of The Billionaire's Substitute Bride : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

MRS WILLIAMS The tears came slowly.Not delicate.Not movie-scene pretty…. but ugly and loud. I slid down the wall and let it happen.How did the man who once kissed me in the rain now plan my daughter's death over tea? How did the man who once held her in his arms say nothing as wolves circled her name?And me?I cried for myself.Because the man I married was gone. Or maybe he was never real, to begin with.I was too late. Too stupid. Too quiet.I blinked, staring at the floor but as if my mind was aching to betray me, I saw something else entirely—something far away, soft around the edges like an old photograph. The memory came flooding back.----The sky had turned gold, painting our backyard in soft hues. Sophia was maybe five or six. I couldn't quite recall…all I remembered were those innocent eyes and those adorable incomplete milk teeth.“No, no, Sophia hold it steady. Like this, see?” He was crouched beside her in the garden, holding a tiny wooden slingshot they’d carved to

STANDFORD We’d been driving for hours. The hum of the engine was the only sound between us. She sat stiffly beside me in the passenger seat, arms wrapped around herself like armor. Her eyes barely moved from the horizon, but I could tell she wasn’t really seeing anything.Just... enduring.She hadn’t said much since I dragged her out of that apartment—just asked where we were headed, and I gave her what Mrs. Williams told me to say.““To Stamford. You’ll be staying with someone your mother trusts….She said her name's Mabel”Her lips parted like she wanted to ask more—but she didn’t. She just nodded a little and kept looking out the window like the city outside was a movie she didn’t care to watch.Every few miles, I’d glance over. Couldn’t help it.Her face was… not blank. Not exactly. Just worn. Like she’d been crying for years and only just now realized the tears had stopped. She sat with her knees pulled up, hoodie sleeves bunched around her fists like armor. Her eyes weren’t red,

SOPHIA It felt like someone else's voice was escaping my mouth.“She now sounds like a riot,” I said.“Well, I guess she is.”But just as quickly as the moment rose, the laughter died in my throat.I don’t even know why. Maybe it was because my body remembered it was tired. Or, perchance, my mind remembered it was hunted.The air just shifted, and suddenly the world felt heavy again.Stanford noticed.He stopped talking. Just like that. No awkward fidgeting. No pushing.He just… let the silence return. Gave me space to be small again.I was grateful for that.A second later, his hand moved to the dash, flipping through the radio stations. Static. Rap. Afrobeat. Some old-school funk. Nothing stuck.Everything felt too loud.Until—“Wait,” I said, sitting up.“Hmm?”“That one.”It was Lovely—Billie Eilish and Khalid.Soft. Sad. Familiar. Like a lullaby written for broken people.He glanced at me like he wasn’t sure. Like maybe it was too dark for someone in my shoes.I gave him a look.

SOPHIA When I opened my eyes, I didn’t know if they were actually open.Everything was… sideways.There was no up or down. Just pain and a buzzing silence thick enough to drown in.The airbag had gone off—its smell filled my nose, like burnt plastic and salt. My ears rang. Not a whine, not a tone—just this hollow sound, like I’d been dropped inside a bell tower.I blinked. My lashes scraped something sticky. Blood?I tried to lift my arm. It barely moved.The glass was everywhere. Glittering in the footwell, caught in my hair, buried in my coat. Little shards of starlight that had no business being this close.“Stanford…”My voice didn’t sound like mine.I turned—slowly, too slowly—and saw him slumped forward. Still in the seat, breathing… I thought. I hoped.“Stanford,” I said again, louder this time, my voice cracking like a mirror.He stirred.A cough. Then a groan. He raised his head, disoriented, blinking like he was waking from the same fog I’d just clawed my way out of.“You o

GERALD What was all that ruckus outside?The commotion outside my study was intolerable.I pressed my fingers against my temple, forcing a breath through clenched teeth. The noise tugged at the edge of my thoughts like a child desperate for attention. I turned a page in my book, only halfway reading the words. The voices were getting louder."Mr. Williams wants to be alone," I heard Elias bark. Of course, he did. The man couldn't think unless he was barking orders. But the next voice cut sharper."Move—unless you want to lose more than your job."Vivienne.Of course, it was Vivienne.Before I could prepare myself, the door slammed open. The brass knob hit the wall so hard, it left a mark. I didn’t raise my head right away. I didn't need to. I just smiled as calmly as ever before I closed the book gently. Folding the page, I placed it beside me like this was a regular evening and not the prelude to a storm.When I did look up, they were both staring at me. Elias looked rattled. Cold