All Chapters of His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

For the next two days, Althea will wake up ahead of him and started to prepare their coffee and will take her bath. She would then put a call to order room service for their breakfast. By the time the staff had arrived and placed their meal by the balcony, Dominic will be stepping out from the villa, already showered, and changed.“You know,” she said slowly after chewing the pancake she ate. “Coming here wasn’t just about intimacy.”He set his coffee down, attentive.“It was also a decision for me in stepping forward,” she continued gently, looking at him calmly. “It’s not the final step or everything. But, I want to take this step because it’s toward something long term.”Dominic’s pulse thudded quietly beneath his ribs.“Althea—”Interrupting him gently, she reached across the small table, covering his hand with hers.“I’m not afra

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE/SEXUAL CONTENT. PLEASE READ WITH DISCRETIONDominic, with his one hand splayed on her back, gently guided Althea down the bed as they continued to kiss deeply with her hands around his neck.He was always controlled, composed, always the one who led. But with Althea, he was trembling for her. It made her feel less alone, and more tethered to him.He lifted one hand to her cheek, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His thumb traced the curve of her jaw like it was fragile glass. She leaned into his touch, smiling and trusting the warmth of him, closing her eyes just for a moment to let it settle in her bones.When she finally opened them, Dominic is looking down at her with that reverent awe. The kind that said he just didn’t want her. He cherishes her.“Tell me if you need me to slow down.” He murmured gently.“I don’t want you to slow down,” she breathed. “Show me, Dominic. Show me everything.”The statement made his control snapped. Not in a vi

The intimacy between Dominic and Althea did not fade after that night at Primavera Cove. It deepened into a kind that seeks closeness rather than fire. They crave each other not out of hunger, but of longing.Upon returning, Althea will be staying at apartment only on weekends and they would spend the nights asleep pressed together.Dominic had hoped and expected deep inside that she will permanently move in with him when they got back. It took Althea six more weeks for her to finally tell him that she will be staying at the apartment from now on.Dominic never expected that a single decision could feel like an entire shift in the axis of his world.For the next six weeks, he had grown used to the rhythm of her soft laughter echoing against the apartment’s walls, her things in small, delicate clusters that reminded him she was here only temporarily. Like her hair tie on his nightstand, a novel half-read on the arm of the couch, the faint trace of her perfume lingering long after she l

The Valtieri estate was already buzzing when Dominic arrived, men in dark suits lining the hallway as though preparing for war.His footsteps echoed, steady and composed. However, each echo reminded him of a truth he’d tried to ignore for years.The Valtieri family never summoned anyone without reason.“I’ll wait right here, Dom,” Enzo said in a low voice.Dominic glanced behind him and nodded slightly.He knew. Regardless of what will happen, Enzo’s loyalty will always be with him.He finally pushed open the double doors to the council chamber and the room fell silent.His Uncle Luca sat at the head of the long table, his Uncle Matteo and Seraphina, his mother sat to Luca’s right while several elders on either side. His older cousins, Aurelio and Marcello are also present, sitting on one side of the room together with his sister, Isabella, who gave him a small smile.The eyes of the Valtieri

Althea stood before the mirror, staring at herself, unmoving, while the room buzzed quietly around her.She gently patted the deep midnight blue gown that is structured at the shoulders with a flowing hem. A gown that Helena had bought for her for the gala that August Devereaux had organized for her.It felt like an armor, a statement without being loud.Elegant and intentional.She had her hair swept back into a low and clean knot, showing off her neck, her collarbones. She gently picked up the sapphire necklace from the set that Michael had gotten for her to wear and after clasping it behind her neck, her eyes even became darker.The bracelet she wore next covered the subtle scar near her wrist but Althea no longer mind if it will be seen. She now considers it her badge after everything she had went through.Miracle Hands.The name attached to her still felt unreal, like something borrowed. She felt like it’s a title given to a version of herself that had survived when she hadn’t be