Semua Bab THE BARREN EX-WIFE WHO CAME BACK: Bab 81 - Bab 90

VANESSA'S POVThe drive home from the hospital was suffocating.Nicholas sat in the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had gone white. His jaw was set, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, and he hadn't said a single word since we'd left.Not one word.His silence was worse than anger.It was worse than shouting or accusations or anything else he could have thrown at me.I kept stealing glances at him, searching his profile for some sign of what he was feeling. But his expression was carefully blank—no anger, no jealousy, nothing.Just emptiness.And somehow, that was so much worse."He shouldn't be jealous," I told myself firmly. "This is a contract marriage. A business arrangement. He has no right to be upset about Sebastian touching me."But even as I thought it, I remembered the restroom at the photoshoot. I remembered Olivia disappearing inside with Nicholas for twenty minutes. Remembered the way she'd looked at me afterward, smug and satisf

VANESSA'S POVTwo weeks.It had been two weeks since Nicholas moved out of the main suite, and I felt like I was losing my mind.The bedroom felt enormous and empty without him. The bed was too big, too cold, and I found myself lying awake at night staring at the empty space beside me where he used to sleep.He'd moved to the guest wing.A completely different part of the mansion. As far away from me as he could possibly get while still living in the same house. And worse than the physical distance was the emotional wall he'd built between us.I barely saw him anymore.He left for work before sunrise and came home after I'd gone to bed. On the rare occasions we crossed paths in the hallway or at dinner, he was polite but cold, treating me like a business associate rather than his wife.This morning had been no different.I'd woken up hoping to catch Nicholas at breakfast, hoping we could finally talk about what had happened at the hospital with Sebastian. But when I'd gone downstairs,

SEBASTIAN'S POV Today's board meeting was dragging on exactly as I'd expected. Twelve faces stared at me from around the massive conference table—some attentive, some bored, all of them calculating their own interests as they pretended to care about the future of Lancaster Global Industries. I stood at the head of the table, my hands resting on the back of my leather chair, radiating the authority that had kept me in this position for the last seven years. "As you can see from the quarterly reports," I began, gesturing to the presentation on the screen behind me, "The company has exceeded projections in every sector. Our tech acquisitions have tripled in value, our pharmaceutical division has three drugs pending FDA approval, and our real estate holdings have appreciated by forty-two percent." I paused, letting the numbers sink in. "Under my leadership," I continued, emphasizing each word, "this company has grown from a ten-billion-dollar enterprise to a thirty-five-billion

SEBASTIAN'S POVThree hours.Three goddamn hours, and we were no closer to getting that elevator open than we'd been when this nightmare started.I stood in front of the sealed metal doors, my sleeves rolled up, my tie long since discarded, sweat soaking through my white dress shirt. Around me, building maintenance staff scurried back and forth with tools and equipment, their faces covered with the knowledge that time was running out."Status update," I barked at the building engineer, a balding man named Stevens who looked like he was about to have a heart attack himself."The manual override isn't working, Mr. Lancaster," Stevens said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "The entire control system has failed. We've tried everything—the emergency release, the backup power, even attempting to manually crank the doors. Nothing's responding.""What about the oxygen?" I demanded. "How long do they have?"Stevens hesitated, and that hesitation told me everything I needed to know."Based on th

VANESSA'S POVNicholas suddenly pulled back.The loss of his mouth on mine felt like a physical blow, leaving me cold and aching despite the stifling heat of the elevator.I stared at him in disbelief, my lips still swollen from his kisses, my body still thrumming with unfulfilled desire.I couldn't believe I wanted more.No—I didn't just want more. I needed more.I needed his hands all over me, tearing away the clothes that suddenly felt too restrictive, too suffocating. I needed to feel his bare skin pressed against mine. I needed him to push me back against that cold elevator wall and fuck me senseless until I forgot my own name.I soon began imagining it already—Nicholas gripping my thighs, lifting my legs up and spreading them wide as he pressed me against the wall. His hips driving into mine with brutal, punishing thrusts. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoing in the confined space. His cock stretching me, filling me, destroying my pussy until I was nothing but a trem