All Chapters of Becoming Mrs. Blackwood: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

~ LENA ~Minutes later, I was walking into a small, quiet café just a block away from the hospital. Julian moved ahead of me. He looked around the room once before choosing a table in a cozy, private spot by the window.He pulled out a chair for me, then took the seat opposite. He looked calm—too calm—nothing like me, whose heart was doing backflips in my chest, tight in anticipation.“Would you like anything?” he asked as soon as a waitress appeared. “Coffee? Tea?”“No.” I shook my head immediately. The smell of warm pastries in the air was tempting, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since the night before. But hunger felt irrelevant now, trivial compared to the knowledge that my sister was lying on a hospital bed with a heart that could fail at any moment. Food didn’t stand a chance against that thought.He nodded, then pulled out his phone as the waitress left to get the coffee he’d ordered. Unlocking it, he swiped a few times before placing it on the table and sliding it toward me.

~ LENA ~I had to be dreaming. Could it really be—?Nathan’s lips didn’t allow the thought form fully in my head. They didn’t give me the room to think. His mouth devoured mine like a man who’d been starving. Like the past days he’d been away had been torture, and this—me—was his only relief.His hands slowly guided me backwards as the door closed behind us with a soft click, while his mouth continued to ravage my senses.Naturally, I should have panicked. Instead, my body betrayed me, shamelessly melting against him.I had been kissed before—by my ex and a few other men whom I thought knew exactly what they were doing. But none of it had prepared me for this. None of it came close to the way Nathan Blackwood unraveled me with just one kiss.As his hand slid into my hair, deepening the kiss, the rest of the world faded away. For a moment, I forgot everything. The contract, the lies… The name I was bearing that wasn’t mine…My knees went weak. I clutched the lapels of his jacket for sup

~ NATHAN ~I stood in the kitchen doorway for longer than I meant to. Kim hadn’t noticed me. She was completely absorbed in what she was doing. So focused that she hadn’t heard my footsteps at all.I’d only come to check on her because curiosity wouldn’t let me sit still. I told myself it was only going to be for a minute.But the moment I saw her, I was rooted to the spot.The sight of Kim wearing an apron was…unexpected, pleasant. Shocking.She stood by the counter, seasoning meat with an ease that caught me off guard. She chopped the herbs with practiced precision, looking so relaxed, so at peace, like she belonged there.She was actually cooking.The realization hit me in a way that left me utterly stunned. Because the truth was, Kimberly Hayes hated kitchens. She avoided them the way some people avoided bad memories.She’d once told me that cooking felt like a waste of time and energy when there were chefs and restaurants available for that. I’d simply laughed it off, accepting it

~ LENA ~“Good morning, Mr. Blackwood. Good morning, Miss. Hayes.”The maid that got the door greeted us warmly. She smiled at me in a way that immediately made me feel safe and welcome. Like I belonged there.“Good morning, Rosa,” Julian replied as he stepped inside.“Hi, Rosa,” I said, following him in and returning her smile.Up close, she looked to be in her fifties, Latina, with kind eyes and streaks of grey woven through her dark hair, pulled neatly into a low bun that matched her uniform.There was something about her presence that felt safe. Motherly.The door closed behind us, and looking up, I froze. The picture-perfect setting of a grand foyer with warm lighting, curved twin staircases on either side and a massive chandelier in the middle stole the breath right out of my lungs.I wasn’t sure what I’d expected Nathan Blackwood’s home to look like, but this by far surpassed any image I’d built in my mind.I stood there a second too long, taking it all in, until I realized I wa

~ DEBORAH ~“Mum, what are you doing? Take it easy!”Ashley almost stumbled when I dragged her into one of the guest bedrooms. I didn’t slow down. I didn’t care. I pushed the door shut behind us, the slam echoing through the room.She looked irritated. But I was livid.“Come on, Mum, chill,” she snapped, pulling her arm away from me. “You don’t have to get all mad. I was just getting to know her better, that’s all.”“What you were doing,” I said slowly, my voice calm in a way that meant I was anything but, “was letting her know you hate her.”She lifted her chin stubbornly. “What? Am I supposed to like her?”“You could at least pretend.”She laughed once. It was sharp, disbelieving.“That’s what I was doing.”“No,” I said flatly. “You weren’t.”She began pacing, her anger bouncing off the walls like a trapped animal. Ashley had always been like this—too much emotions and not enough control. Her emotions moved first and her brain followed later. Just like her late mother.“Arghhh! I hat