All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Betrayed Bride: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

RILEY'S POV I learned very early that silence can be sharper than words. It cuts cleaner, leaves no evidence. And if you wield it well enough, people will bleed without ever realizing how deep the wound goes.Aiden tried to speak to me three times the morning after the announcement went public.The first time, he caught me near the elevators. I saw him coming in the reflection of the polished steel doors, his stride too fast, jaw tight, that familiar mix of control and barely leashed concern written all over him.“Riley,” he called but I didn’t turn around or stop walking.The second time, he waited by my office. Arms crossed and expression unreadable. That one hurt more because it meant he’d decided to be patient instead of reactive.“Five minutes,” he said when I approached. “That’s all I’m asking.”I unlocked my door and stepped inside without acknowledging him. Left it open just long enough for him to follow. Then I closed it slowly. Deliberately.“What’s going on?” he asked, not

CLAIRE'S POVThe call came in while I was folding laundry.That was the first thing that unsettled me later, how ordinary everything was when it happened.Sunlight through the curtains, the silent hum of the ceiling fan, Owen’s shirt in my hands, still warm from the dryer and still faintly smelling like him. My phone buzzed against the coffee table, screen lighting up with an unfamiliar number. Unknown numbers always made me hesitate and this particular one made my stomach tighten.I wiped my hands on the fabric and answered anyway. “Hello?”A man’s voice came through. Calm, polite and almost pleasant.“Claire Morgan?”“Yes,” I said slowly. “Who’s this?”“My name is Daniel,” he replied. “I hope I’m not calling at a bad time.”He sounded practiced. Not stiff like a lawyer, or oily like a salesman. Just… careful.“It depends,” I said. “On why you’re calling.”A soft chuckle. “Fair enough. I’m conducting a routine inquiry. Nothing serious. I just have a few questions about your friend,

RILEY'S POV The email arrived at 10:47 a.m, which immediately made me suspicious.Nothing important ever came before noon, unless someone wanted to control the day before it began.I noticed it only because Sofia had just walked past my desk for the third time in under ten minutes. She hadn’t said a word, hadn’t even looked at me properly, but her presence lingered like a bad smell. Each pass was deliberate, meant to unsettle and to remind me that she still had power, even if she wasn’t quite sure how to use it anymore.I waited until she disappeared down the corridor before clicking the message.Subject: C&A Annual Charity Gala Attendance ConfirmationFrom: Executive RelationsMy jaw tightened instantly.I skimmed the first paragraph, then the second, then went back to the first again, slower this time, as if reading it twice might change what it said.It didn’t.We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a special guest for this year’s C&A Annual Charity Gala…Sel

RILEY'S POV The gala ended without an ending. No confrontation, no accusation, no dramatic fall from grace.Just applause that sounded polite and smiles that didn’t quite reach anyone’s eyes. That, I realised later, was the point.The most dangerous events were never loud.Aiden didn’t walk me out. Not because he didn’t want to, but because walking out together would have completed a picture someone else had started sketching the moment our names appeared side by side on those invitations.We exchanged a look instead. Brief and enough to acknowledge survival.Then he disappeared into a conversation with two men I didn’t recognise, and I slipped into the night alone.The drive home felt longer than usual. The city lights blurred past my window, reflections streaking across the glass like memories that refused to settle. I replayed the evening again and again, not the words spoken aloud, but the ones that weren’t.Every pause had weight, and every smile, an intention.By the time I re

RILEY'S POV At the end of work hours on Friday, I went to Drake's.Home had become suffocating these days and I didn't want to go over to Claire's because she would definitely grow worried.His place was the only one I could think of. Not because I trusted him more than anyone else, but because he was visible, predictable, and already entangled. If someone was watching me, they’d expect secrecy. Instead, I walked straight into a place with cameras, neighbors, and too much light.Drake opened the door with his usual lazy grin, which slipped the moment he saw my face.“That bad?” he asked.“Worse,” I sighed, stepping past him.I dropped my bag on the table and immediately started pacing. The walls were too white and the silence too loud.“They’re tightening,” I continued. “Not overtly. It’s… elegant.”Drake leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “Elegant usually means expensive.”“And quiet,” I added. “Which means people disappear without anyone asking why.”That got his attention.