Todos os capítulos de The Billionaire’s Betrayed Bride: Capítulo 161 - Capítulo 170

AIDEN'S POV Riley was learning herself again in pieces. Not memories, sensations.That was the first thing I noticed after bringing her home.She reacted to the light before faces. To temperature before sound and her eyes followed shadows on the wall longer than they followed people. She paused before crossing thresholds, like doorways had become negotiations instead of habits.It was like watching someone reassemble their soul from muscle memory. And every instinct in me wanted to take over.I wanted to move furniture so she wouldn’t bump into corners, I wanted to control the volume of the street outside.I even wanted to decide what she ate, when she rested, and how long she slept. I wanted to protect her from every possible discomfort.But I couldn’t.She didn’t need a commander, she needed room. So I followed her quietly instead.She walked through her apartment slowly, touching surfaces like they might disappear if she didn’t confirm they were real. She traced the edge of the

RILEY'S POV The kettle screamed before I realized I had put it on.I flinched at the sound, my heart jumping hard in my chest, and rushed toward the stove, turning the knob off with shaking fingers. Steam curled into the air, fogging up the small kitchen window.I stood there for a moment, breathing slowly, one hand resting against the counter.I hated how easily startled I’d become. It wasn’t fear exactly, It was more like my nervous system didn’t trust silence anymore.Behind me, I heard soft footsteps.Aiden didn’t announce himself, he never did. He just appeared, moving quietly like he was afraid of disrupting something fragile.“You okay?” he asked.I nodded, even though my throat felt tight. “Yeah. Just… distracted.”He stepped closer but didn’t touch me. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Giving me space, waiting for me to close the distance instead of assuming he had the right.It made something ache inside my chest.I poured hot water into a mug and stared at it like I wa

RILEY'S POV The house smelled like ginger tea and furniture polish.Claire had been cleaning again. Overcorrecting, the way she probably did when she was worried. It felt familiar.Every surface gleamed too much, like she was trying to scrub away something invisible. The afternoon light slanted through the windows, catching dust motes in its path, turning them into floating sparks.I sat on the couch with my legs tucked under me, one hand resting absently on my stomach.Aiden was in the kitchen, talking on the phone in a low voice. I couldn’t hear the words, only the tone, controlled, calm, protective. He’d been like that all morning. Orbiting. Present without hovering. I’d started to recognize the pattern.The doorbell rang and Claire froze mid-step.Aiden’s voice cut off abruptly. “I’ll get it.”Something in my chest tightened.I didn’t know why.The door opened, and the sound of the outside world spilled in, traffic, voices, movement.Then I heard a familiar voice say my name. N

RILEY'S POV The teacups were mismatched.I noticed that first, the small, ordinary wrongness of it. One cup was chipped at the rim, floral print faded from too many washes. The other was plain white, thin porcelain that felt almost too delicate in my hands.Claire had insisted on tea, had moved around the kitchen with that careful cheer she adopted when she was worried but didn’t want to scare me with it. The kettle clicked off softly. Steam curled upward, fogging the window above the sink.Outside, the afternoon was dull and overcast, clouds pressing low like they were thinking about rain but hadn’t committed yet.I wrapped my fingers around the cup, letting the warmth seep into my palms.“You’re staring,” Claire said, sitting across from me at the small dining table.“Sorry,” I murmured. “I was just… thinking.”She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s what scares me.”I huffed out a breath. “I can’t even brood properly anymore without supervision?”“You tripped la

AIDEN'S POV The kettle clicked off behind me, forgotten.I didn’t turn back for it. I didn’t need tea. I needed my hands to stay still, my breathing even, my presence unassuming.Riley was sitting on the hospital bed like she belonged there again. Not like someone placed carefully in recovery, not like someone hovering between past and present. She looked… anchored. As if her body had finally caught up to her mind. That scared me more than when she didn’t remember.When she didn’t remember, I knew my role. I knew the limits. Be steady. Be patient. Be quiet. Don’t ask for more than she could give.Now she remembered everything.Which meant she remembered me. And the weight of that pressed into my chest harder than any uncertainty had.I stayed where I was, half in the room and half by the corner, until I realized I was doing the thing she hated hovering at thresholds, pretending it was neutrality when it was really just fear.So I moved. Slowly and deliberately. Every step was intent