All Chapters of I was his stand-in wife until he wanted me for real: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

77 Chapters

You Are Not Her

I shouldn't be doing this.The thought came again, louder this time, pushing against everything I’ve been trying so hard to hold together as I stood here pretending that I am not seconds away from making the worst decision of my life.I really couldn’t do this.My fingers tighten slightly around the bouquet in my hand, the stems pressing into my palm hard enough to ground me, to keep me from doing something stupid like stepping back, turning around, and walking straight out of this room while I still had the chance to.It’s just one year, I said to myself. I mean, what could go wrong? One year of pretending to be his wife. One year of this stupid agreement, I never should have signed in the first place. I can survive a year.I have to, I had no choice.My throat tightens. I swallow it down and lift my head, forcing myself to stay present.At the altar.In front of people who mattered to him.People who didn’t know me or give a fuck about me. I didn’t care anyway.I didn’t look at t

Terms of the deal

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”My hand was already on the door handle when his voice cut through the room, and I froze before I even realized I’d stopped moving.I closed my eyes for a second, then turned back. “To my room, obviously. Is that a problem?”“That wasn’t a suggestion.”Of course it wasn’t.I turned fully this time, letting the door click shut behind me. “Then say what you want and stop wasting my time.”He watches me for a moment, like he didn’t expect me to push back. His jacket is off, sleeves rolled, but nothing about him is relaxed.“We’re not done.”I met his gaze. “Then don’t drag it out.”Something shifts in his expression. Not enough to name.“This arrangement—” he starts, then stops, like he’s deciding how much patience I’m worth. “You understand what it is, don’t you?”“I understood it before I signed anything.”“Then say it.”I didn't look away. “You need a wife. I need money.”A quiet breath leaves him. “No.”I tilt my head slightly. “Then explain

Don’t look at me like that

“You’re seriously wearing that?”I don’t turn immediately. I finished adjusting the clasp at my wrist, then looked back at him.“You say that like you gave me options.”Ethan was by the door. He didn’t say anything when I stepped out. He just looked at me, longer than he should, like he didn’t expect this and hadn’t decided what to do with me yet.I held his gaze. “If you have something to say, say it.”His jaw tightened before he looked away. “We’re going to be late.”“That wasn’t what I asked.”“No,” he says, opening the door, “it wasn’t.”I walk past him. Close enough to notice the way his hand lifts slightly, like he was about to stop me, then drops again.Almost.That seems to be a pattern with him.The shift started the moment we walked in. No one stopped talking, but the room adjusted around us, conversations lowering just enough, eyes lingering just a second too long before sliding away.I felt it.Ethan kept moving as if nothing had changed. His hand settles at my waist witho

This Wasn’t Part of the Deal

“What the hell was that?”The words come out before the door even fully shuts behind us.Ethan didn’t look at me immediately. He reached for the handle, shut the door properly, then walked past me like I didn’t just say anything.I turn with him. “I asked you a damn question.”“That wasn’t a question,” he says calmly. “That was a reaction.”I laughed sharply. “You kissed me!”“Okay…so?”I stared at him. “And that wasn’t part of the agreement.”He loosens his tie slightly, already irritated with the conversation. “You’re making it bigger than it was.”“I’m making it exactly what it is!”He looks at me then. “And what exactly was that?”I don’t hesitate. “A mistake, of course!”Something shifts in his expression. “You’re overthinking it. Get over it”.“No,” I say, stepping closer. “I’m remembering the terms you were very clear about.”His gaze sharpens slightly. “Then remember all of them.”“I am,” I shoot back. “One year. No emotions. No complications.”“And no assumptions,” he adds, j

YOU’RE IN MY PLACE

I didn’t look at anyone else, not the woman who said it, not the people watching like they’ve been waiting for everything to fall apart. I looked at Ethan.He already knew.That’s it. That was the only thing that mattered.“You knew.”My voice didn’t rise. It doesn’t shake. His jaw tightens, just slightly, not enough for anyone else to notice, but I saw it. Not denial. Not surprise. Just that small shift that says I’m right.“Maya—”“When?” I cut in before he can shape it into something cleaner than it is.He didn’t answer, and that silence told me everything I needed to know.“How long?” I pressed, quieter this time, which somehow made it worse. “Before or after you brought me into this?”Ethan glances briefly past me, then back again, like he’s already calculating how to control this, how to end it before it gets worse.“Maya, not here.”I almost laugh.“Where exactly would you prefer?” I ask. “Because you didn’t seem to have a problem standing here and saying nothing when they sai

Camille

“What?”The word slipped out before I could stop it, and this time it didn’t sound steady; it sounded wrong even to me. I heard her clearly and still refused to accept it.I looked at her again, properly this time, not the way I did before. For a moment, I totally forgot we weren’t alone.“What the hell did you say?”Camille didn’t rush to answer me. She didn’t look uncomfortable or defensive or even slightly thrown by the fact that every single person in this room was watching her because she had just set fire to the room and stepped back to let it burn. “I believe you were not deaf and heard me the first time. She said,“Your husband was in my bed last night.”I didn’t react immediately. I didn’t let anything show, not on my face, my fingers tightened slightly at my side before I forced them to relax again. I let the words settle. Then I turn to Ethan.“You knew,” I said, and I don’t raise my voice, “You knew she was back. And you slept with her?”His jaw tightens slightly, just e

DON’T TOUCH ME AGAIN

I didn’t walk out.I should have. Every part of me knew I should leave, but my hand stayed on the door a second too long, his words still sitting heavily in my chest, and I couldn’t push it down.“Your brother’s treatment stops the second you walk out.”He hadn’t raised his voice when he said it. It wasn’t a threat; I knew for a fact he wasn’t bluffing. If he stops paying for my brother’s treatment, I’d be damned. I let out a slow breath and turned back to face him. I didn’t even know why I was reacting this way. It’s not like I had any feelings for him or anything. It was in our agreement. I wasn’t going to throw any tantrums that would ruin my brother’s life. “And that’s what this is now?” I asked. “You pay the bills, so you get to decide whether I stay or go? Disrespect me? Cheat on me? Embarrass me?”Ethan didn’t answer. He was watching me. “You’re twisting this whole thing,” he said.I shook my head once. “No. I’m just trying to understand it.”Something shifted in his express

TOO CLOSE

I had thought distance would fix something.Not everything, not even most of it, but at least enough to make being in the same house with him bearable. I told myself that if I stayed out of his way, if I kept to my side of the agreement and treated this like the arrangement it was supposed to be, then whatever happened yesterday would settle into something quieter, something I could ignore without it sitting in my chest every time I saw him.That lasted less than a day.The problem was not the house. The problem was that I was aware of him now in a way I had not been before.I heard him before I saw him.Not his voice, not even footsteps, just that sense of presence that made me look up from what I was doing without thinking about it. It irritated me immediately, the fact that I noticed at all, the fact that my body reacted before my mind caught up.I kept walking.If he was there, then he was there. That did not mean I had to stop.The hallway stretched ahead of me, quiet, empty, and

Still my wife

“I'm not going.”I didn’t plan to say it out loud, and for a second, I almost wished I hadn’t, because the moment the words left my mouth, I couldn’t take them back. Ethan didn’t react immediately.He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve instead. “We’re expected to be there,” he said at last, his tone controlled in a way that would have sounded reasonable to anyone else listening.I let out a quiet breath and shook my head.“You’re expected,” I corrected. “I’m not.”That got his attention.He looked at me, and there was something in that look that made it clear he had already decided how this was going to go, and the only question left was whether I was going to make it difficult.“You don’t get to separate yourself from this,” he said.A short laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.“That’s interesting,” I replied, meeting his gaze. “Because you had no problem separating yourself from me.”His jaw tightened.“You don’t get to decide when this matters,” I continued, my voice stead

Where control breaks

Ethan broke the kiss first. Slowly, just enough to pull back and look at me, his breath uneven, his gaze darker than I had ever seen it, like something had slipped past his control and he hadn’t decided yet whether to stop it or follow it through.“Don’t say anything, just shut up for five minutes,” he said, low enough that no one else could hear.I should have answered.I should have said something sharp, something that reminded him of exactly who he was and what he had already done.But nothing came out.Because I was still trying to catch up to what had just happened.His hand closed around my wrist before I could step back, and the next thing I knew, he was already moving, pulling me with him through the crowd, past conversations, past people who didn’t notice anything beyond what we allowed them to see.The elevator doors closed behind us, and I turned towards him. He pushed me against the wall. “What…what are you doing?” I asked, my voice shaking.He didn’t answer.His hand was

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