Semua Bab The billionaire leftover wife : Bab 1 - Bab 10

"Emily Harlow.”Her name thundered through the speakers, echoing across the studio and into the waiting room like a public sentence.For a moment, Emily didn’t move.Her fingers tightened around the thin fabric of her gown as the reality settled in. This was it. No turning back. No escape.She was about to beg for a husband on a national television show.She drew in a breath, slow and careful, but the air barely filled her lungs before the corset bit sharply into her ribs. Whoever had laced it had pulled too tight, cinching her waist into something fragile and ornamental. Beauty over comfort. Always.She swallowed the discomfort down.“This way,” a stagehand said, already pulling the curtain aside.Emily stepped forward.The corridor was dim and narrow, but the noise ahead was anything but. Laughter. Applause. The excited murmur of an audience that hadn’t come for love, but for spectacle.The curtain opened.Light exploded around her.For a heartbeat, she was blind. White-hot stage li

Emily arrived at Cupid’s House just as the sun dipped low, the sky blushing pink behind the towering white gates. The place looked nothing like a facility meant to decide women’s futures. It looked like a resort. Tall iron gates swung open silently, revealing a long curved driveway lined with palm trees wrapped in twinkling lights. The mansion itself rose at the center, all white stone and glass balconies, glowing warmly as if it welcomed everyone equally. Emily knew better. She stepped out of the car with her overnight bag clutched tightly in her hand. The driver didn’t wish her luck. Didn’t say a word. He simply nodded and drove off, leaving her standing alone at the foot of the stairs. A woman in a crisp white suit approached immediately, tablet in hand. “Emily Harlow?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “Yes.” “Welcome to Cupid’s House. Phones on silent. Cameras are everywhere. What you say here may be used on air.” Her smile was polite, professional, empty. “Follow me.

Amidst the chaos, Damien strolled through the room, heading toward the stage. A strange, new calm had descended into the place, replacing the cacophony with an electric tension shocked anticipation and curious silence.Media personnel had their cameras trained on him, lenses swiveling as he moved. He knew in the next five minutes, every entrance and exit in this building would be blocked, reporters clamoring for a statement, a photograph, any movement from him.So many questions would follow. Why was he here? Why participate in the event? Why choose a “leftover” woman as his wife? Did he know her before this moment? Had she been placed in this position deliberately?But Damien’s attention was fixed. His eyes found her. The woman who had, unknowingly or not, destroyed his plans. The woman he was meeting for the first time yet whose existence seemed to dominate his life. The woman his father had loved more than him. She was powerful in a way that unsettled him, and he would uncove

Emily’s eyes fluttered open as the sun streaming from the window finally graced her face. Turning away from the harsh light, her legs tangled in silk sheets.Silk sheets.For a split second, her heart slammed painfully against her ribs. Her sheets were not made of silk. They were cotton. Cheap, practical, bought on sale because that was all she could afford.Disoriented, it took her a moment to remember the events of the previous night. She had lived a million lifetimes in a single night, and woken up into the strangest one yet.Reaching for her phone, the screen lit up with chaos.Hundred and twenty messages in just one night.From acquaintances she barely remembered giving her number to. From coworkers she had not spoken to in months. From her siblings. From her mother.Call me.How did you meet him?Was he your secret boyfriend?Are you okay?Emily please answer your phone.Her thumb hovered u

The sleek Porsche deposited Emily at the steps of Preston Hall.Alone.She should have been walking into her engagement party holding hands with her fiancé, but Damien was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t shown up since last night. Every message she had sent him through the day had been met with silence. No explanation. No reassurance. Just an aching, growing void.She should leave. This wasn’t the place for her. It never had been.But this was finally her chance to change her family’s life. To take care of her siblings. To make sure they never had to struggle the way she had. This wasn’t the time to be selfish, she reminded herself. Not when so much was at stake.She shifted her weight, warming her cold feet inside her heels, then took a step forward. The guard at the door immediately moved, holding it open for her while bowing slightly.“Good evening, Miss Harlow,” he greeted.“Good evening,” she returned with a warm smile, though her stomach tightened. How had he known her name?Pres