All Chapters of THE WIFE WHO STOLE HIS HEART: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Garlic and herbs scented the kitchen as I stirred the sauce. Outside, I watched Mikel help Emma build a fairy house out of leaves. Their laughter floated in, and for a second, it felt like the past five years were just a nightmare.Even though I loved the scene, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. The creepy messages hadn't stopped since Mikel moved into the guest house. If anything, they were worse, like our happiness was driving someone nuts."Mommy, Daddy says dinner smells amazing!" Emma yelled, bursting in, her face red from the cold air."Oh, does he?" I smiled, hugging her. "And what do you think?""It smells like home," she said, hitting me right in the heart.Mikel came in, shaking leaves off his sweater. "Sorry, I got her a little excited. We found the perfect spot for the fairy house.""It's by the big oak tree," Emma said importantly. "Daddy says fairies are like old trees 'cause they have more stories."I looked at Mikel, seeing the same wonder I felt. These we

A silver Mercedes rolled into the Marriott's parking garage downtown right at 3 PM – exactly when Thomas Romano wanted. Sophia Chen was behind the wheel, a little shaky, watching the older guy get out of a black car a few spaces down.Thomas looked every bit the big-shot businessman at 68. Perfect silver hair, an expensive suit hiding how frail he was getting, and a gold watch catching the light. But Sophia knew how to read the coldness in his eyes – so different from Elena's warm ones."You look awful," he said as they sat down in a quiet corner of the hotel restaurant. "When did you last sleep?""Kind of hard when your life's falling apart," Sophia shot back, stirring sugar into coffee she didn't even want. "They had breakfast together this morning. All three of them. Like some perfect family."Thomas didn't react much, but Sophia saw his eyes tighten a bit. "Tell me about it.""Mikel made pancakes. Dolphin-shaped for the kid. Bella laughed – actually laughed – at something he said.

The mood in Lucas's firm's security briefing room felt like a wartime strategy session. Emma was safe at the estate with Elena, happily coloring, thinking it was a fun sleepover with her great-grandma. Meanwhile, Mikel and I were staring at some pretty disturbing evidence on the table."She's been watching you for three weeks," Detective Sarah Martinez said, pointing to surveillance photos that made my skin crawl. "We found these on Sophia Chen's devices, along with logs of your family's routines."Looking at the photos of Emma leaving school, Mikel at the store, and me grabbing coffee on Tuesdays, I felt exposed. It was like our private moments were being studied under a microscope."How did she get so close without us noticing?" Mikel asked, his voice dangerously low."She's been careful—using different cars, wearing wigs, using long-distance lenses." Detective Martinez pulled out another folder. "But today's incident at the school gave us a reason to search her place. What we found

"Marriage is a big choice that grown-ups have to think about," I said. "But whether Mommy and Daddy are married or not, our family is strong enough to protect each other from anyone who tries to hurt us.""Promise?""Promise," Mikel and I said together.Emma finally settled down, her breathing evening out as she felt safe with us there. But just as I thought she was asleep, she spoke one more time."Mommy? Daddy?""Yes, baby?""If the sad lady tries to take me away... if she says I have to choose... I would choose both of you. Always both of you. Even if she promises me ice cream every day and all the toys I want."That just broke me. Our five-year-old was ready to stand up to an adult with the loyalty of someone way older."You'll never have to choose, Emma," Mikel said, his voice thick. "Because no one will ever separate you from us. I promise you that.""We both promised," I whispered, kiss

My phone went off at 5:47 AM, pulling me out of the first good sleep I'd had in weeks. Maya's voice was in total panic."Bella, big problems. You need to get to the office ASAP."I was up like a shot. "What's going on?""Three of our biggest contracts? Terminated overnight. Just like that. The reason? 'Restructuring priorities.'"My blood went cold. These contracts were nearly forty percent of Romano Enterprises' money right now. All three companies called on the same night?"Yeah, within a couple hours of each other. And get this, Bella, someone slipped our secret plans to our rivals. Info on the Nakamura project is already all over the place."I was already throwing on clothes, thinking fast. The Nakamura project was our best work; losing it like this would cost us millions and kill our edge."Maya, call an emergency board meeting for eight AM. And get our lawyers on the phone in half an hour.""Already on it. But hey, the media's blowing up my phone, asking about 'problems' at Roma