Semua Bab The Billionaire Ex-Wife’s Scandalous Revenge: Bab 21 - Bab 30

~Aliyah’s POV~ The car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the gala venue. I could already feel Ronald’s eyes on me before he even turned my way. His voice came out clipped, low, controlled. “Fix your face.” I straightened immediately. “I’m fine.” “You look nervous,” he said. “Don’t. People watch everything.” “I understand.” “Good.” He stepped out, then opened my door like a gentleman, only he wasn’t doing it for me. He was doing it for the crowd, for the cameras, for the reputation he was so obsessed with protecting. The fresh air hit my face, cool and relieving. I inhaled deeply, almost too deeply, because Ronald’s brows drew together. “Stop acting like you’ve been locked up,” he said quietly

~Ronald’s POV~ I checked my watch for the fourth time. The minute hand seemed to mock me, moving painfully slowly, dragging out every second of my irritation. Aliyah had said she was going to the restroom. That was twenty minutes ago. My jaw tightened, the muscles ticking as I exhaled through my nose. Twenty minutes. For a simple restroom break. She wasn’t careless. She wasn’t forgetful. And she damn well knew I hated waiting around like some clueless fool. “She’s taking too long,” I muttered under my breath, the words laced with annoyance I could no longer hide. A few guests walked by, smiling politely as if everything in the world was fine and elegant and perfectly controlled. I barely nodded back. I didn’t have the patience for meaningless social gestures. Not when irritation was already tightening like a rope around my throat.

~RONALD’S POV~ The moment Aliyah stepped close to me in that hall, an instinctive jolt hit me before her eyes even met mine. It wasn’t a thought. It wasn’t suspicion, it was something far more primal. A scent. At first, I tried to place it, something faint drifting through the air between us. But it wasn’t hers. It wasn’t the soft, warm perfume she always wore. It wasn’t the familiar sweetness I had memorized on her skin, the one that clung to her whenever she leaned too close.  No. This was different. This was him. Dominic. A sharp, familiar undertone threaded through the space around her, clinging to her like something that refused to be washed off. My brother’s scent, subtle, but unmistakable. Embedded in the fibers of her clothes. Tangled in her hair. On her breath. A

~Aliyah’s Pov~The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was the stiffness in my neck. The second was the throbbing ache in my wrist, and the third....the cold metal lock on the door staring at me.I blinked slowly, disoriented for a moment, then everything rushed back.The fight that occurred in the car. Me shouting, the bruises.The night.I sat up, breathing shakily.Still locked in.Still trapped.I reached for my phone immediately.Two percent battery.“Great,” I whispered.My fingers trembled as I scrolled for Clara’s contact. She picked up on the first ring.“Aliyah?” Her voice instantly sharpened. Where have you been? I tried calling you since yesterday.....“He locked me in,” I whispered, my throat tightening. “Clara, I’m still locked in.”There was a sharp inhale from her end.What do you mean locked in? As in, locked? With a key? Aliyah....“Yes,” I choked out. “He dragged me in and locked the door and I just woke up now.”“Oh my God. Are you okay? Talk to me.”“I don’t

~Aliyah’s POV~I scrubbed the kitchen counter for the third time, even though it was already clean. My hand dragged back and forth in stiff, restless strokes. I wasn’t cleaning, I was running. Running from my own mind, from last night, from the panic and guilt tangling inside me… and from Dominic’s accidental kiss that kept replaying like a mistake I couldn’t unmake.“Focus,” I whispered to myself, scrubbing harder. “Just… focus on this.”But my thoughts slipped right past the sponge and sank straight into the memory again…his face too close, his breath mixing with mine, the startled brush of his lips. And then the shock, the silence, the way my heart lurched despite everything.I squeezed my eyes shut. “It didn’t mean anything. It shouldn’t mean anything.”The environment around me was quiet. Not uncomfortable, just gentle and it scared me.Ronald wasn’t home.A slow breath, one mixed with relief and a little guilt, left me and it softened my shoulders. At least I didn’t have to face