บททั้งหมดของ THE BILLIONAIRE'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

JulianThe sound of silverware scraping against a fine china plate was like a dull blade being dragged across my nerves. Every time the fork hit the plate, I felt like jumping out of my seat and walking out. My father was staring at his plate as he tried to eat slowly, his breathing ragged. He looked like a goddamn ghost. Across from us, Marcus was busy sawing at his lamb roast, his eyes darting toward Scarlet every ten seconds like a starving dog waiting for a scrap of meat to drop.Eleanor took a sip of her red wine, her eyes never leaving us. It was like she was hunting us. I could feel the predatory glare on my skin. She wanted a crack in the armor and to break character."So, Vivian," Eleanor started, her voice sounding like a knife sliding out of a velvet sheath. She put her glass down with a soft clink. "My son, Julian, is a difficult man. We all know that. He’s impulsive, angry, and honestly? A bit of a nightmare to deal with. Tell me, do you actually love him? Or are you ju

SCARLET“Hello?”My voice came out weaker than I wanted, and I tightened my fingers around the phone as Julian slowed the car. The hospital had never called me this late with anything I wanted to hear, so my mind had already gone to the worst place before the person on the other end spoke.“Miss Lawson? This is Doctor Meyers from St. Joseph's.”“Yes. Is it my father? Did something happen to him?” I asked so quickly that the words nearly ran into each other.“Your father is stable, Scarlet. I need you to know that first.”I closed my eyes and released the breath trapped in my chest. Julian had already pulled the car to the side of the road, but I barely noticed until the engine went quiet.“Then why are you calling this late? You scared me.”“My apologies. We've received his latest results, and I wanted to speak to you about his response to the new treatment. There has been some improvement.”I sat straighter. “What kind of improvement?”“The medication is working better than we initia

SCARLETI walked into the grand foyer of the estate, the silence of the house doing nothing to calm down my racing pulse. Vivian was coming back, and I had no idea what her presence would do to the arrangement. While I was somewhat sure of Julian’s stance on our marriage, Vivian, on the other hand, was volatile and erratic.A voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Scarlet?” I turned and found Chloe. “You’re back.”I offered a small curt nod in response, exhaustion pulling at me. “Mr Cross asked to see you as soon as you arrived. He’s waiting for you in his study.” I gave a small smile. “Thank you, Chloe.”I found Julian in his study, nose deep in what I presumed were legal documents. He didn’t look up when I entered, but his posture shifted slightly, acknowledging my presence.“We have a mandatory event tomorrow evening,” he said, setting his pen down. “A corporate charity gala. Victoria Vance is hosting.” He spoke the name like I was supposed to know who she was.When he saw that

SCARLET“What is she doing here?” Julian demanded, his voice slicing through the air completely devoid of warmth.The immediate transformation that took place across Vivian's features was almost entertaining to watch. The rage that had practically been vibrating off of her a second ago had completely vanished and was replaced with a carefully constructed mask of fragility and wide-eyed innocence. She stepped towards Julian, casting a brief, venomous glare at me before she looked up at Julian with her practiced vulnerability.“Julian, thank goodness you’re here,” Vivian said, her voice basically dripping with desperation. “This entire situation is a huge misunderstanding. That girl…” she pointed towards me. “…my stepsister is an imposter. She has been entirely misleading you, using my legal name to creep into your life and leech off of you. I came here the second I landed to fix this disaster.” I held my breath, my fingernails digging painfully into the palm of my hands. My brain s

SCARLET Julian took a single slow step forward, leaning down enough to force Margaret to take a nervous step back. He didn’t look rattled by the threat; instead, he looked toward me and nodded. I instantly knew what it meant— it was time for both of us to drop the act of staying in the dark about the matters concerning our marriage. We had let them have the upper hand for long enough, and now it was time for us to fight back.He turned back to Margaret, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Go ahead, Margaret. File the paperwork,” He said, his voice dripping with quiet amusement. “Let’s bring in the federal investigators. Let’s stand in front of the judge and explain how my mother paid Vivian five hundred thousand dollars to vanish to the Maldives, how she paid you fifty thousand dollars to convince Scarlet to commit identity theft. Let’s see how the state prosecutors react when they realize you facilitated a corporate sabotage scheme.”Margaret froze. The rage fad