All Chapters of Married To My Billionaire Nemesis: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

102 Chapters

081: Flirting With Danger

HAYDEN Juliet left twenty minutes ago, promising to call the lawyers and start damage control. Biscuit is curled in a tight golden ball at the foot of the couch, his ears twitching every time Eden shifts. She's lying on her side under the throw blanket, her knees drawn up, with one hand tucked under her cheek. Her face is pale, her lips pressed thin against the headache she won't admit is getting worse. She ate half the sandwich I made her, mostly to stop me hovering, then said her head hurt. That was ten minutes ago. She hasn't moved since. I crouch in front of her so we're eye-level. "Open," I say gently, holding out the two white pills in my palm. She blinks up at me, her eyes glassy, then she parts her lips. I place the pills on her tongue. She swallows dry at first, winces, then takes the glass from me. She takes small, careful sips as though even swallowing hurts. When the glass is half empty, she hands it back. "Thank you, baby," she whispers. My chest

082: The Best Birthday Present

EDEN The theater is dim when Dylan leads me inside, the glow from the screen washing the rows of empty seats in pale blue light. It looks... normal. That is if I don't think about the horror that played out in this same place yesterday. Dylan walks beside me with a casual ease that makes my skin crawl. He even holds the door open for me as if this is a real date. My stomach is deeply unsettled. I'm still shaky. The fever humming through my body makes everything feel slightly muted, like I'm floating a few inches above the floor instead of walking. He guides me to the centre row and gestures for me to sit. "Best seats in the house," he says with a grin. I lower myself into the chair slowly, willing the dizziness to pass. Please don't throw up. Please don't throw up. The screen flickers to life just as the previews end. Then the opening scene starts with soft music playing. The first scene is that of a couple laughing in a sunlit park. A romantic movie? Weird.

083: The Night Hope Found Us

HAYDEN She's asleep again, fitful and restless, small whimpers slipping out every few minutes as though she's trapped in a nightmare she can't wake from. She's thrown up twice already. Her skin is clammy now, pale except for the fever flush on her cheeks. She's shaking even in sleep. Every breath sounds labored. Her pulse under my fingers is too fast, and I know that this isn't just stress or exhaustion. Something is wrong. I can't just sit and watch. So I message Marcus to get the car ready. I lean down, brush her damp hair off her forehead, and press my lips there. She's on fire. "Eden," I whisper. "Baby, we're going to the hospital." She doesn't wake up fully, she just lets out a small, unhappy sound. I don't wait for permission. I slide my arms under her and lift. She's limp, her head lolling against my shoulder, her breath hot against my neck. I cradle her close, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back. Then I stand. She murmurs somethi

084: Empty Threats

EDEN Hayden's thumb hovers over the green accept button for a few seconds. Then he answers the call, setting it on speaker and tapping the record button. He proceeds to set the phone flat on the mattress, and lets Rachel's voice fill the quiet hospital room. I love him for that singular action more than I can say. He doesn't try to hide or 'shield' me from this. Rachel's voice comes through the phone, crisp and amused, as if she's calling an old lover. I have the strongest urge to strangle her to death. "Hayden," she purrs. "You didn't miss me?" He doesn't answer right away. His jaw is clenched tight. His free hand finds mine under the blanket and squeezes gently. "I've been sending you emails," she continues. "Little love notes and memoirs. You never replied. That's not very polite." Hayden's thumb strokes across my knuckles. "I've been busy," he says calmly. I have a feeling those aren't the words he meant to say. He's just trying to keep a lid on his gr

085: Overload

EDEN My nose is itching, and I'm actively holding back a sneeze as the harsh smell of antiseptics in the hospital corridor floods my senses. Jules is sitting in a wheelchair just outside the ICU doors. Her face is puffy and red, wet mascara sliding down her cheeks, her hair falling out of its ponytail in messy strands. Hayden hasn't let go of my hand since we stepped off the elevator. We stop in front of her, and Jules looks up, her eyes welling up with fresh tears. "Hayden—" He drops to one knee in front of the wheelchair right there in the middle of the corridor without hesitation. Then he takes both of her hands in his. "Hey," he says softly. "Hey, Jules. Breathe. Tell me what happened." She hiccups, trying to speak through her sobs. "We were... we were in the conservatory, watering the plants. Mum was on the phone. She just suddenly dropped the watering can. It shattered. She grabbed her chest and fell. I tried to catch her, but she was already on the flo

086: Let Me

EDEN I've been on the bathroom floor for the last twenty minutes. The cold tiles are doing something useful at least, keeping me from overheating while my stomach continues its personal vendetta against me. I've got my cheek pressed to the edge of the bathtub, my arms wrapped around my middle, while I breathe slowly through my nose. The nausea has faded from screaming to a dull sensation, which I'm choosing to count as a victory. The baby, apparently, disagrees with everything I've eaten in the last twelve hours. The baby also disagrees with the smell of the hospital. And the elevator. And the hand sanitizer I used four times. Basically, the baby is a tiny, unreasonable dictator, and I am its helpless subject. I curl tighter around myself on the floor. The house is so quiet without Hayden in it. He stayed at the hospital longer than we'd planned. Jules needed him, and Clara's vitals dipped slightly around eight, which sent everyone into a panic before they stabilized

087: Somewhere Safe

EDEN I've been in Hayden's private jet before. But it feels different this time. There are fresh flowers in a slim vase near the window and a couple other things which I find both unnecessary and deeply charming. I've been horizontal for the last hour, my legs stretched across his lap, a blanket pulled to my chin. He's been massaging my calves since we hit cruising altitude. Outside the oval window, there's nothing but blue sky. So, I watch my husband instead. "You're staring," he says without looking up. "I'm observing," I correct. "Really?" "You're the most interesting thing in here." He glances up then, just briefly, and the corner of his mouth moves. His thumbs press a slow circle into the arch of my foot, and I feel it travel up my entire leg. "How's your stomach?" he asks. "Fine," I say. He looks at me. "It's fine now," I amend. "It was not fine earlier. Now it is." Earlier was forty minutes before we boarded. I'd been on my knees in the pr

088: The Joke’s On Him

HAYDEN I've been standing in the corridor for four minutes. Four minutes of hearing Dylan's voice carry through the archway. Four minutes of knowing that Eden is in there faking her smiles. Four minutes of forcing my hands to stay still at my side with the kind of effort powerful enough to move a mountain. She's fine. Everything is under control. I know this. I own this island, every person on it, every exit, every variable Dylan thinks he's holding. I have known how tonight ends since before we boarded the jet. And I still nearly walked in thirty seconds ago because I heard his voice drop. The light on my watch blinks red. Right. We're done here. I step out from the archway that leads to the villa's dining room, the same one Dylan probably thinks is still guarded by his own people. The soft tap of my shoes on the polished marble is the only sound that breaks the sudden, suffocating quiet. Dylan's head snaps towards me. His expression goes through three dis

089: Taking Out The Trash

HAYDEN Dylan doesn't stop shaking. Even after we drag him away from the railing. Even after the gun is back in my holster. Even after the ocean is far away. The smell of urine hangs thick in the night air. He sits on the ground where my men dropped him, his wrists bound behind him, his shoulders trembling. He looks smaller now, stripped of the illusion that he was ever in control. Eden hands me the phone slowly. "It's all in there," she says. Her voice is steady, but I know her well enough to see the tension still bubbling under her skin. Every word Dylan confessed is sitting on that recording. There's evidence tying him directly to Rachel. It's enough to bury him. Dylan lifts his head slowly. His voice is barely a whisper when he speaks. "You're dead," he says hoarsely. I stare at him. "Am I?" He swallows hard. "You think she doesn't know where I am?" The words hang thickly in the air. Eden and I exchange a look. I crouch in front of him again. "Yo

090: All Four Of Us

EDEN I wake up slowly, yawning. The sheets are warm where Hayden was lying. The pillow still smells like him. But the space beside me is empty. My heart does that stupid little lurch it always does when he's not where I expect him to be. I sit up, rubbing sleep from my eyes. The bedroom is dark except for the soft blue glow of the clock: 4:17 a.m. It’s too early for him to be up working. It’s also too early for anything except nightmares. I listen. The house is quiet except for Biscuit's gentle snoring from the foot of the bed and the faint hum of the air conditioning. Then I hear the soft clink of a pill bottle. Followed by water running. And then, the unmistakable sound of capsules rattling against plastic. Bathroom. I slide out of bed, barefoot. His T-shirt which I'm wearing falls to mid-thigh. I don't bother with shorts or a robe. I just go to him. The bathroom door is ajar, light spilling into the hallway. I push it open gently. Hayden is standing at the

...

6 7 8 9 10 11

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP