Semua Bab The Billionaire's Legal Wife : Bab 61 - Bab 70

“You said you wouldn’t leave things unfinished,” Ashley whispered to the empty apartment.The rain continued tapping against the windows, softer now, like it was already tired of witnessing heartbreak. She sat on the edge of her couch, bare feet tucked beneath her, the envelope trembling slightly between her fingers. Duke’s handwriting stared back at her. Neat and controlled. Always calm, even when everything else fell apart. “I hate that I recognize your penmanship like this,” she said quietly, as if he could hear her.She slid a finger under the seal and paused, taking a breath she didn’t trust. “Running away again?” she muttered before finally pulling the letter out. She unfolded it slowly. “Ashley,” she read aloud, forcing her voice steady. “If you’re reading this, I’ve already left.” Her chest tightened. “So you really did it,” she said softly, eyes burning. “You didn’t even wait for me to wake up angry again.” Her gaze moved line by line. “I’m leaving the country for now. N

“You should sit,” Ashley said, looking around his office before turning back to him.Her tone was calm, professional, nothing like the woman who once waited for him to decide everything. Duke did not move. “You flew here to tell me that?” “I flew here because you keep assuming I need saving,” she answered. “I don’t.” He leaned against the desk instead, arms crossing instinctively. “Then what do you need?” “A conversation where you don’t flinch every time I speak,” she replied.She reached into her bag and placed a thin folder on the table between them. “And your time.” Duke stared at the folder as if it might explode. “If that’s about money, I already told you I don’t want it.” Ashley smiled faintly. “I didn’t bring pity. I brought paperwork.” He let out a soft breath. “Ashley.” “Read it,” she said, pushing the folder closer. “Before you decide what it means.” “I know what it means.”He shook his head. “You think I’m struggling and you want to help.” She straightened. “No. I th

“Let’s go over the numbers one more time,” Ashley said as she adjusted the tablet in front of her, eyes focused, posture calm and professional. “They’ve already been reviewed twice,” Duke replied, seated beside her at the long conference table. “The margin is solid.” “I don’t like surprises,” she said, not looking at him. “Especially abroad.” “That sounded personal,” he answered quietly. She finally glanced at him. “Everything is personal when millions are on the line.” Around them, the glass-walled meeting room buzzed faintly with foreign executives preparing for the joint presentation. “You haven’t disagreed with me once today,” Duke said. “That’s not true,” Ashley replied. “I disagreed twice. You just didn’t notice.” He gave a faint smile. “You still test people before trusting them.” “And you still apologize without saying sorry,” she countered. “That’s unfair,” he replied. “You insisted on handling the negotiations alone this morning,” she said calmly. “You didn’t have

“They are ready for you,”the moderator said softly, peeking into the waiting area.Ashley adjusted her blazer and glanced sideways.“Are you breathing or just pretending again?”her voice calm but edged with quiet humor.Duke let out a slow breath.“I am breathing. I think. My chest just forgot how to do it properly in front of cameras.”“You built empires in rooms scarier than this,”she replied, checking the notes tablet once more.“This time you are not standing alone. That changes everything.”He nodded.“That is the part that terrifies me the most.”“It should,”she said, finally meeting his eyes.“It also means you have something real to lose now.”The moderator gestured again.“Five seconds.”Duke straightened his posture.“If I mess this up…”“You will not,”Ashley interrupted, firm but gentle.“And if you do, we fix it. Together.”The doors opened, and the hum of voices surged forward. Cameras flashed as they stepped onto the stage side by side. The company logo glowed behind them, redes

“They’re all looking at me like I already lost.”Ashley whispered, her fingers tightening around the edge of the wooden table as flashes exploded from every corner of the courtroom.“Look at me, not them.”Duke said quietly, leaning closer so only she could hear him. “You’re not alone in this. You never will be again.”“You said that once before.”Her voice trembled despite her effort to keep it steady. “And everything still burned.”“I know.”His jaw flexed. “That’s why this time, I’m standing where everyone can see me fall first.”The judge’s gavel echoed, silencing the restless murmurs. The courtroom of polished marble and towering glass felt more like an arena than a place of justice. Reporters filled every seat behind the barricade, pens ready, eyes hungry. Cameras followed every breath Ashley took.“All rise.”The clerk announced.As they stood, Ashley felt the weight of two lifetimes pressing down on her shoulders. One where she loved blindly. Another where she rebuilt herself piece