All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Fake Bride : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Ava’s POVWaiting was a form of obedience, and Ava had never been good at staying still, though she tried. She sat at the small dining table in her apartment, untouched coffee cooling beside her, phone face down like it might accuse her if she looked too long. The city beyond the window was loud with purpose. People leaving. People arriving.Celine had vanished, and Ava was the only one who seemed to understand what that truly meant. Disappearance was more than she’d dare to hope for, but no one, not even her mom, understood it.She pressed her thumb against the edge of the table, grounding herself. Anger would not help her. Emotion would not help her. What helped was leverage, and Lucien had always been leverage, even when he pretended otherwise.Especially now.Their relationship had not ended cleanly. It had not ended loudly enough. At least, he no longer needed her.He cared about Celine, not in the way Ava once believed he might, but in a way that was far more genuine. Not like t

Celine’s POVI came back to myself in pieces. Sound first. A ringing that felt too large for my skull, as though the world had struck a bell and left it vibrating. Then light, smeared and white, breaking apart every time I blinked. My hands were shaking, not violently, but enough that I had to press them against my thighs to stop the tremor from spreading.I was standing on the curb.The person in front of me was the last I ever thought of, if I ever did at all. That realization arrived late, like it had taken the long way around my body. My palm stung, and I was worried I might have hurt myself. My breath would not settle into anything resembling calm. Cars moved around us, and I had to blink three times.The unmistakable silhouette stepped out into the light as I narrowed my eyes, willing the blur to behave, my pulse ticking too loudly in my ears.“Lucien,” I said, without thinking.The name slipped out like a reflex. Like muscle memory. Relief bloomed so fast it made me dizzy.“Hel

Celine's POVIt was like looking into a mirror that had decided to tell the truth more kindly than the world ever had to me.Celeste stood across from me on the pavement, polished where I was frayed, posture straight where mine curved inward without my permission, face calm in the way only someone unburdened by second-guessing could manage. Even the way she held herself felt lighter, as if gravity had made a different agreement with her body than it had with mine. There was no soft swell beneath her coat, no instinctive guarding of her middle when a stranger passed too close. She belonged fully to herself.“God no, no one died…yet, everyone is perfectly okay.”I exhaled and looked away, scanning the street like it might offer an escape route. Cars hissed past, pedestrians threaded between us with quick glances, the city continuing its day without any regard for the fact that my past had just stepped out in front of me, looking like my future.“We can’t just stand here,” Celeste said, a

Celine’s POVThe taxi pulled to a slow stop in front of the hotel, and for a moment, I didn’t move.I just sat there, staring through the window, watching the automatic doors slide open and close for strangers who looked like they had somewhere to go, somewhere they belonged, somewhere waiting for them on the other side.My fingers were still wrapped around the paper bag of takeout resting on my lap. It was already cold from the long drive here.I had barely tasted it earlier at the cafe.I had only eaten because my hands were shaking too badly for me to ignore anymore, because the dizziness had crept up on me so strongly that I hadn’t noticed until little dots were dancing in my vision. I had to grab onto a wall like a drunk.So I bought food.I sat, and I forced myself to swallow in the small, thick, coffee-scented cafe.And then I ordered a taxi. And somehow, miraculously, I found a hotel almost immediately.For once, life hadn’t made me walk for miles while bleeding inside.I paid

Celine's POVI swallowed hard, but it was too difficult to get rid of the bile in my throat.“I’m fine,” I whispered in answer to my twin's question. I wouldn't have, but I had a feeling she wouldn't give up until I did. I have no idea what her plan was, and the confusion of that alone was enough to overwhelm me.Silence followed, and for no reason I can fathom, I just let it loose. Unable to hold and calculate, I just let it fall. It had been building; my tears had been sitting and waiting, and finally, they were free.I turned my face into my pillow, pressing it hard against my mouth to stop any sound from escaping.But my shoulders started shaking anyway. Then my chest tightened until breathing hurt.I didn’t want her to see me like this. I can't have her live here.I cleared my throat and gave it another shot.“I’m fine,” I tried again.But it came out as a sob. I sat up abruptly, panic rising. My stomach churned in discomfort and fear.A sharp wave of nausea rolled through.“No,”