All Chapters of The Mafia's Substitute Bride: Chapter 251 - Chapter 260

Olive had been up since dawn, scrolling through old photos, digging through archives, comparing blurry party shots and tagged group pictures—names she couldn't trace, faces that weren’t in any employment system, guests whose identities seemed too clean to be real.She was this close to going crazy.She never knew it was going to be this hard. It's excruciating.She hadn’t made much headway. Most leads had led nowhere. But today she hoped everything would fall into their places for fucking once. She can't handle another disappointed look from Lucas. He wanted her to go back to driving until he found something different for her to work on again, but she got itchy butt sitting in the car for too long thinking of ways to make him proud of her, to wipe the disappointment off his face, and only came to one conclusion. She had to dig up something spicy to shake the earth.Okay, maybe that was a little far.But as long as he doesn't look disappointed, she was okay and good to go.Olive parked

Rain had been falling since morning, a big full and steady curtain that blurred the canal outside into shifting streaks of silver. Kennedy moved tiredly through the dining room, clearing plates without a word, her sleeves brushing the table edge. She paused by the window, staring out at the rippling water, and Alecia joined her without thinking, their reflections faint in the glass. The streetlamps beyond wavered like tired stars, their glow shivering on the canal’s surface.The air inside was warm from the kitchen. Alecia sank into one of the low chairs, the weight in her body settling in a way she both welcomed and resented. She still felt the dull pull in her muscles, a heaviness she hadn’t managed to shake since arriving a d the pain from the surgery. Somewhere down the hall, a door slid shut with a muted thump. She glanced back to see Satoshi walking past the corridor, turning off the light behind him before disappearing from sight. His footsteps faded, leaving only the soft tick

Four days after the fainting incident, Alecia was insisting she was fine and they could resume ticking the fun activities on their list but Kennedy didn’t buy it. She didn’t say so outright but she’d learned by now that telling Alecia to slow down only made her push harder and that made the unease sit in her stomach like a stone.Still, there were errands to run. The fridge was down to half a carton of milk and a limp head of lettuce, and Kennedy had been eyeing a small stationery shop since they’d arrived. She suggested they combine the trips, offering that it was just going to be another slow walk through Kyoto’s streets. It was a win win so Alecia agreed. Anything to get out of the house.The neighbourhood felt smaller here. Wooden eaves leaned out over narrow roads, their shadows broken by slivers of sunlight. Somewhere nearby, the faint crackle of grilling fish drifted on the breeze, mixing with the sweetness of blooming lilies from the florist two doors down.The shop sat tucked

Rebecca stood in the middle of the living room with a notepad in hand, tapping her pen lightly against the paper as she eyed the space. The afternoon sunlight poured through the wide windows, catching in the dust motes that swirled above the polished floor. She had called in extra staff earlier, and now they were arriving one after another, cleaners, decorators, a delivery boy carrying boxes of fresh flowers.“Alright,” she said, addressing the small group in front of her, “we’re not turning this place upside down, but I want it spotless. And the dining area I want new table setting. Think m gold trim. The cake will be here by Friday morning, but I want the tables and the chairs and the stairs, I want this entire place ready before then.”A few nodded, already jotting notes or heading toward the kitchen. One of the younger decorators moved to the staircase. “What about the entrance? Balloons or no balloons?”Rebecca shook her head. “No balloons. This is for Valentina and she likes ele

The day’s shoot had run longer than expected, yet the large, white-lit hall still buzzed with activity. Valentina eased herself out of the last outfit with the help of a lady in the wardrobe crew, careful with the zipper so it didn’t catch on the thin fabric, while across the space one of the male ambassadors joked loudly with his assistant about how his suit had been tighter last year, she didn't know if he was flirting or not but that sounded like he was flaunting his ability to stay fit, and even get thinner by each spoonful of food. Camera flashes popped from a far corner where two others were still posing, their smiles holding for just a beat longer before dropping into hushed gossips between takes.Assistants wove through the open floor, some carrying trays of bottled water, others balancing phone calls on one ear while holding makeup kits in the other. A makeup artist crouched near Valentina’s chair, brushing the last bit of powder over her cheekbones while murmuring something