All Chapters of Married To The Ruthless Billionaire : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Lucian Hale never acted on impulse—not in business, not in war. But tonight, impulse burned like acid in his blood.He stood by the black sedan waiting outside the hospital, the city’s night air cutting sharp against his skin. His driver opened the door, but Lucian waved him off, choosing instead to linger in the shadows, thinking. Calculating.Ethan’s smirk replayed in his mind, each curve of it a taunt, a declaration. She’s not yours. She’s not anyone’s.Lucian’s jaw clenched. Ethan thought he could twist Amara’s doubts into something more. He thought her silence meant weakness, an opening to exploit. But Ethan didn’t understand: silence wasn’t surrender. And if Amara ever truly tried to walk away—Lucian would burn down every wall she thought she could hide behind.He pulled out his phone, dialing a second number this time. One his assistant wouldn’t question, one tied to the side of his empire most people pretended didn’t exist.“Mr. Hale,” came the voice on the other end, respe

The flashes still behind Amara’s eyes as the town car door slammed shut. Silence wrapped around them, heavy after the chaos of the ballroom, but it didn’t soothe her. Her chest rose and fell too quickly, her fingers trembling against the leather seat.She pressed a hand to her temple, trying to steady her breath. All she could hear was Lucian’s voice echoing over the crowd—This is my wife.The words should have felt like protection, like a shield against the wolves. Instead, they felt like chains tightening around her ribs.Lucian sat beside her, still as stone. His jaw was clenched, his gaze fixed out the tinted window, but his hand remained on her thigh a silent brand, as much a claim as the declaration he’d made to the world.Amara wanted to push it away, but her strength faltered. The memory of Ethan’s smirk across the ballroom pressed against her mind, poisoning her thoughts. He hadn’t looked defeated. If anything, he had looked… patient.She swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t

Amara sat at her vanity, the morning light spilling across the marble floor, catching the glittering beads of the gown laid out for her. Silver silk, custom-tailored, as flawless as the image Lucian wanted her to project.Her hands stilled on the fabric. It was beautiful. It was suffocating.A knock at the door broke her thoughts. It wasn’t the polite rap of a servant—it was firm, deliberate. Lucian.“Come in,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt.He entered without hesitation, his gaze sweeping over her in the dressing gown, then to the untouched gown on the chair. His brow lifted slightly. “You’re not dressed.”Amara turned to face him, meeting his gaze head-on. “Because I’m still deciding if I want to be paraded in front of another room full of cameras.”Lucian stepped closer, his presence filling the space. “This isn’t a choice, Amara. It’s strategy.”She laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. “That’s all I am to you, isn’t it? Strategy. A move on a chessboard

Amara felt it before she heard it.The subtle change in the room — heads tilting, shoulders leaning together, the rustle of gossip sliding from one guest to another. At first, she thought it was her imagination. But then the words slipped close enough for her to catch.“Lucian Hale… another woman…”“…already straying?”“…poor wife…”Her breath stilled. The smile she’d been holding like a shield almost cracked.She kept her posture perfect, chin lifted, hands folded lightly on the table. But inside, the ground shifted. Every glance seemed sharper, every laugh at the next table cut deeper.Beside her, Lucian’s hand closed over hers, steady, firm. Ignore it, his low voice urged. But his grip felt more like a cage than comfort.She wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that the whispers were just noise. But her heart twisted with a cruel thought she couldn’t silence: Why did they believe it so easily?Her gaze slid across the room — and collided with Ethan’s.He stood relaxed, too

His jaw tightened. He didn’t move closer. He didn’t explain. He only said, “I’ll have the car ready in an hour. We have meetings to attend.”Something inside her snapped, quiet but sharp. Meetings. Appearances. Masks. Always business first, strategy first, silence first. And where did that leave her?She nodded once, slipping past him toward the bathroom. “I’ll be ready.”The door shut between them with a soft click, but the weight of it echoed louder than a slam.Amara leaned against the cool tile, her eyes stinging. She had wanted him to fight for her last night, to offer words, truth, anything. Instead, he gave her distance dressed up as control.And if he thought she would keep waiting in silence, he didn’t know her as well as he believed.Lucian watched the bathroom door close, the soft click echoing like a verdict. He remained seated on the edge of the bed, his hands braced against his knees, his chest a knot of restraint he could no longer untangle.He had faced hostile