All Chapters of From My Ex's Betrayal To His Father's Bed: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

JULIAI found Phoebe in the sunroom, though the blinds were drawn and the room was quiet. She was sitting at the table, sketching something that looked like one of her endless chaotic diagrams of Lucchesi alliances, scribbles that only she could ever decipher.“Hey,” I said, stepping inside. My voice sounded smaller than I intended.Phoebe looked up immediately, her sharp eyes catching every nuance. “You’re late,” she said with mock accusation, though her smile softened it. “And you look… different.”“Different how?” I asked cautiously, brushing a hand over my stomach without thinking.“You’re glowing. Or terrified. Or both,” she said, tilting her head and giving me that half-smile she always used when she was trying to get me to open up. “Come on, spill.”I hesitated. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her—Phoebe had seen me through every awkward, terrifying, humiliating, and dangerous moment since Marcus had introduced her into this world. But this was new. This was bigger.“I’m… I’m pre

MARCUSI did not leave the manor after Nero’s visit. I stayed in the study, alone, letting the weight of the news settle into calculated motion. Julia’s pregnancy was not a personal matter; it was a strategic variable, a piece on the board that demanded precise attention. Every potential threat, every ripple of gossip, every possible weakness in our network had to be accounted for.I began with Augustus. He was a loose element, unpredictable in his emotions. He loved Julia in a quiet, restrained way, but his instinct was always to rationalize, to rationalize control over her, to assert legacy rather than nurture. That had to be neutralized. I would not allow him, even inadvertently, to endanger her peace. A discreet message had been sent to ensure Augustus’ interactions were monitored and guided. Nothing overt, nothing that would alarm him, but enough to prevent impulsive interference.Next, the Lucchesi inner circle. They needed to be briefed, not for gossip, not for curiosity, but f

TERRAI could feel it in my bones. The world was closing in, tightening around me like a noose. Julia’s pregnancy had changed everything. Marcus had cemented her untouchable position, and Nero’s warning had only made my hatred sharper, my desperation raw.Livia was worse than useless—panicked, jittery, almost crying whenever I mentioned Julia. But she was all I had left. My closest ally, or at least the only one still willing to move with me, despite the looming shadow of Marcus’ reach.“You don’t understand,” I hissed at her, slamming my hand against the table in my private chambers. The crystal vase rattled. “She’s untouchable now. Untouchable! And Marcus… that smug control-freak, he’s already won.”Livia wrung her hands. “Terra, we have to be careful. We can’t just… act blindly. Marcus will see everything. You saw what he did to my contacts last time. We can’t survive another failure like that.”“I don’t care!” I shouted, the sound sharp enough to make her flinch. “I don’t care abo

JULIAPhoebe had just finished arranging the afternoon tea when I realized something wasn’t right. The manor, usually humming with the quiet efficiency of Lucchesi staff, felt tighter somehow, heavier, like the walls themselves were aware of the tension I hadn’t named yet.“Julia,” Phoebe said, eyes narrowing, “did you notice the way the driver’s eyes lingered on the front gate this morning?”I shook my head. “I… I thought I was just being paranoid. Everything’s been so calm lately, almost too calm.”Phoebe set the tea tray down and crossed her arms. “Calm is the problem. Calm is the sign that someone’s waiting to strike. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?”I did. That strange flutter of unease that had started a few days ago. The unexplained pauses in staff behavior, the way some deliveries were rerouted last minute, the subtle tension in Marcus’ inner circle whenever a messenger arrived. And now, with the pregnancy, I was more sensitive to every twitch, every glance, every shift of en

JULIAPhoebe had been unusually quiet that afternoon, her usual teasing replaced with a sharp attentiveness I couldn’t ignore.“Something’s off,” she whispered as we walked through the eastern wing, the polished floors reflecting the faint glow of the chandeliers. “Do you feel it?”I frowned. “Feel what?”“Eyes on us,” she said simply, her tone low but tense. “Not guards. Not staff. Someone else. I can’t tell if it’s close or far, but it’s there. Always there.”I tried to brush it off. The manor was large, bustling with activity. I was used to feeling watched by servants and security. But this… this felt different. A subtle shift in the air, the way a door clicked just slightly too late behind us, a shadow in the hall that didn’t belong.“I thought we were safe here,” I said, my voice almost a whisper. “Marcus has everything under control. There shouldn’t be—”“No,” Phoebe interrupted, her hand on my arm, steadying me. “It doesn’t mean we’re not safe. It just… means they’re testing. P