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Home / Romance / I was his stand-in wife until he wanted me for real / Chapter 71 - Chapter 77

All Chapters of I was his stand-in wife until he wanted me for real: Chapter 71 - Chapter 77

77 Chapters

THE RED CARPET

"Mrs. Blake, look over here!"The shout came from the crowd as the car door opened. Light hit them immediately, flash after flash turning the pavement into a bright stage. Ethan stepped out first, fastening his jacket before turning to offer his arm. His face shifted into a relaxed expression, entirely empty of the rage from the night before.Maya placed her hand on his forearm. His muscles were stiff beneath the fabric. He did not look at her eyes. His gaze was fixed straight ahead on the entrance of the hall. She stepped out into the cold, her gown moving around her ankles as she took her place at his side."Keep walking," Ethan said, his voice a low murmur beneath his crooked smile. "Do not stop for anyone at the barrier. Move straight to the steps."Maya kept her fingers pressed against his sleeve, her face matching his perfectly. She forced her lips to curve upward, her eyes scanning the crowd without blinking against the glare. Every muscle in her body ached from the strain of h

THE DISAPPEARANCE.

Maya stood by the cold marble pillar, her hand gripping her silver clutch so tightly the metal edges cut into her palm. Ethan had walked away toward the inner lounge with the directors, leaving her alone without a single backward glance. To the guests nearby, it looked like a standard corporate departure, the busy heir leaving his wife to enjoy the evening. But Maya could still feel the phantom pressure of his grip on her skin from their argument before entering the hall. The room was loud, filled with the clinking of crystal and the low laughter of people who had spent their entire lives surrounded by wealth. Every glance from the passing guests felt like a cold appraisal, a silent calculation of her worth against the Blake family pedigree. They had been watching her since the day the marriage contract was signed, waiting for the stumble that would prove she did not belong in their world."You're letting your shoulders drop," Camille said, stepping up right beside her. She held a gla

THE HEAD TABLE

The main dais was elevated two steps above the rest of the banquet hall, positioned perfectly to give the senior members of the Blake family council a clear view of the two hundred guests seated below. The tablecloth was heavy white damask, set with antique silver and crystal that caught the sharp light of the overhead fixtures. At the center of the long table sat the patriarch, his expression unreadable as he spoke in a low voice to the managing director on his right.Maya took her seat at Ethan’s left hand, her movements slow and deliberate. She kept her spine perfectly straight, ensuring her dress did not bunch against the high back of the chair. The proximity to Ethan was suffocating; she could feel the heat radiating from his frame, a silent reminder of the grip he had held on her arm just moments before in the portrait gallery."Smile, Maya," Ethan murmured, his voice a flat, almost imperceptible vibration as he picked up his water glass. He did not turn his head to look at her.

The leak

The murmur began at the far edge of the room. It was not a sudden burst of noise, but a slow, spreading friction that rippled through the outer tables. People who had been talking turned their heads away from the main floor to stare down at the small screens lighting up in their hands.Maya did not look down. Her eyes remained fixed on the space ahead of her, but her jaw tightened. The shift in the room was palpable, a sudden drop in the temperature of the air that had nothing to do with the wind outside.Beside her, Ethan did not move. He was still listening to the director on his right, but his hand had stopped halfway to his glass. His fingers remained perfectly still against the white cloth, his entire frame locking as the low hum of the crowd reached the base of the main dais."Ethan," Maya whispered, her lips barely moving. "Something is wrong.""Stay still," he commanded under his breath, his voice cutting through her panic with absolute coldness. "Do not look around."Across t

THE VIRAL STORM

The first flashbulb felt like a blow against Maya’s face. The light was white and blinding, burning through the dim, heavy atmosphere of the banquet hall and leaving a dark purple smear across her vision. Then came the second. Then a dozen more, firing in a chaotic, overlapping rhythm that turned the elevated dais into a stage under siege.The low hum of the two hundred guests had completely vanished, replaced by scraping of chairs being pushed back from tables as people stood up to get a better view. Nobody was pretending to eat anymore. Nobody was looking at the center stage where the presentation was supposed to take place. Every eye in the room was fixed on the head table, tracking the sudden, violent fracture in the Blake family wall."Mr. Blake! Is it true the marriage was a financial settlement to cover your wife’s brother medical bills ?"The shout came from a reporter at the front of the press surge, his voice carrying clearly over the frantic clicking of camera shutters. He

THE BACKROOM

The noise from the hall died the moment the door clicked shut. Maya hit the wall with her back, her palms pressing flat against the cold plaster to steady her legs. Her chest ached. The reporters had screamed her brother's medical diagnosis into the microphones, and within minutes, those files would be on every screen in the city.The door burst open again.Ethan lunged into the hallway, his face twisted. The calm look he kept at the table was completely gone. His tie was pulled loose, his collar torn open where he had ripped it away while running through the flashes. Two guards stood outside, holding the handles tight against the crowd."You walked off," Ethan said, his voice a low, raspy snarl as he stopped three feet from her. He looked unhinged, the veins standing out like thick cords along his neck. "In front of everyone, you stood up and pulled your hand away from mine. Do you have any idea what you just did?""What I did?" Maya’s voice came out small, cracked, and completely de

THE RECKONING

The plastic clicked as Ethan pressed the cap back onto the pen. He didn't look at Maya. He handed the paper back to Camille, his skin brushing against hers for a second before he dropped his hand."It’s done," Ethan said. His voice was thin, empty of the anger from before. "Tell them it goes out immediately."Camille took the folder. A small satisfaction settled into the corners of her mouth, so faint that only someone who had spent months watching her could have caught it. "The vehicle is ready. We need to move before the crowd gets around the back."Maya didn't scream. She didn't throw her hands up or try to snatch the paper. The violent panic that had been clawing at her throat since the dinner table went cold, turning into a heavy weight at the bottom of her stomach. She looked at Ethan’s face. His sharp jaw, the blue eyes that refused to turn toward her, the slight bend in his posture that showed he had completely broken under the threat of losing his title."You really think the

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