All Chapters of The Wrong Bride: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Collins Walker stood stiff by the armchair, face pale but trying to keep control. “Mr. Bode, there must have been…”“Must have been what?” The old man barked. “I wired you ten thousand dollars, Collins. Ten thousand! You said she was ready; beautiful, obedient, grateful. I even booked the civic centre. Do you know how I felt waiting there like a fool?”Collins swallowed. Greed still pushed through his fear. “There must be a misunderstanding. I’ll… I’ll get her back to you.”Mr. Bode straightened his jacket, sneered. “You’d better. Or I’ll tell the police about your little bride scheme. I’ll take every cent back, with interest.” “Bring the girl to me by tomorrow night, or you’ll regret it.” Then he hung up, the door slamming loud enough to rattle the frames on the wall.For a moment Collins held himself like a man who had been hit. When the anger left Mr. Bode’s voice, his composure fell apart. He snatched his phone back up, veins pulsing at his neck. “That ungrateful brat,” he hissed

His phone buzzed with a new message; Lawrence again.“Heard anything interesting about the mystery wife?”Ethan’s lips thinned. He typed one word back:“Everything.”Then he pocketed the phone, grabbed his car keys, and strode toward the private elevator.Ryan caught up halfway. “Sir, where are you going?”Ethan’s answer was short, clipped, cold. “Home.”“But, sir, your meeting with the Singapore board.”“Cancel it.”The elevator doors closed, sealing him in the quiet hum of descent.As the floors ticked past, his thoughts sharpened into one clear decision:He would hear the truth from her own lips.No assistants, not from reports.Ava Walker; whoever she truly was, owed him an explanation.And tonight, she was going to give it.While Ethan was speeding home to confront the woman who had tricked him into marriage, Ava’s father was on his way to pick up his daughter; and hand her over to the man she was supposed to marry.Back at Ava’s apartment, the night was quiet. She had just fini

Anger rose again. From that moment, he decided he would play along, just as she seemed to want. She could have the title; the protection; the safety; but she would not have him.He stood slowly, the light catching the faint bruise on his jaw; the firmness on his face clear. When he turned toward the hallway, his eyes paused on the guest room door. The light was still on. So she was awake too.“She can have the name,” he said quietly, his voice steady. “But not the man; and not the heart.”The next morning, sunlight slipped through the curtains, giving the small apartment a soft, warm look. Ava had been awake before dawn. Sleep had not come; not after everything that happened; not after seeing Ethan bruised and silent because of her father.She stood in the kitchen, stirring a small pot of congee she managed to put together from the cupboard. The light scent of rice and ginger filled the room. Her hands shook a little as she poured it into a bowl.She did not know how to fix the harm he

 Ava tried to laugh, but the sound came out weak and empty. “Maybe I have.”Standing there between the half-painted walls and the smell of new plaster, she told Pearl everything; she explained her father’s sudden entrance, the fight that followed, Ethan’s cold silence, and the distance in every word he was now saying.Pearl stared at her with wide eyes. “Wait… you’re telling me he fought those men for you, and now he’s treating you like he barely knows you?”Ava nodded and swallowed, trying to keep her voice steady. “Worse. He acts like I’m something he regrets.” She wiped at her eyes quickly, feeling embarrassed. “I can’t stay in that house anymore, Pearl; I’m thinking of filing for a divorce before everything becomes even worse.”But Pearl grabbed her wrist, firm and fast. “Don’t you dare.”Ava blinked, confused. “

 When the door closed behind him, the room went quiet again. Ava stood in the middle of the living room, feeling the stillness settle around her. She listened to the faint traffic from the street below, the distant sound of a motorcycle, a vendor calling out somewhere far away. It made the apartment feel smaller.The breakfast he made sat neatly on the table. The eggs were arranged evenly, the toast cut into precise halves, and the fruit placed in a small, round bowl. It looked like something from a hotel, not a home. Ava stared at it for a long moment before sitting down.She began eating slowly, taking small bites. She wasn’t hungry. Her stomach felt tight. But leaving the food untouched made her feel uneasy, as if she were rejecting something he tried to do. Even if his actions came without warmth, they still came from him.Af