Semua Bab The Chubby Wife's Revenge.: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Amelia.Nathaniel stood just outside the fitting room curtain watching me carefully.“Who said something to you?”My throat tightened instantly.God.Why did he notice everything?I looked away quickly, suddenly unable to hold his gaze.“It’s nothing.”Nathaniel didn’t move.“Amelia.”“I said it’s fine.”The words came out too quickly.Years of surviving Daniel had taught me how to do this perfectly. Pretend things didn’t hurt even when they did.Nathaniel studied my face silently for a few seconds longer before speaking again.“No,” he said calmly. “It isn’t.”I wrapped my arms tightly around myself.“It happens all the time.”The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Because something cold shifted behind Nathaniel’s expression immediately.Not anger, something I couldnt place immediately. I tried forcing a weak smile.“Seriously, don’t worry about it.”Nathaniel’s eyes stayed on mine.Then very calmly, he said,“Take the dress off.”I blinked in confusion.“What?”“We’re

Amelia.The ride home felt different from the drive to the boutique.Nathaniel sat beside me in calm silence, one hand resting loosely near his phone though he barely looked at it. Every few minutes, I caught him watching me.Not casually.Not absentmindedly.His gaze lingered like he was still trying to process something.Or maybe trying not to.I kept my eyes on the passing city lights outside the window, but I could feel him there beside me in a way that made my heartbeat strangely unsteady.Eventually, I glanced toward him.“Are you tired?”“No,” he answered immediately.Then, after a small pause, “You should rest before our dinner date.”I blinked. “Dinner date?”“Yes.”The single word carried that same calm certainty he always had whenever he’d already made up his mind about something.So I nodded softly. “Okay.”For some reason, that simple answer made his expression shift slightly.Not enough that anyone else would’ve noticed.But I did.Like my agreeing with him mattered more

Amelia.The ride home passed in a quiet blur after that.I barely remembered leaving the restaurant.People had congratulated us as we walked out, smiling warmly as they noticed the ring on my hand, but everything still felt strangely unreal. It felt like I was moving through someone else’s life instead of my own. Barely weeks ago, I was begging to be noticed by my husband, and now I was standing beneath the stars with another man, looking at me as if I were the most precious thing he had ever seen.Nathaniel stayed close beside me the entire time.One hand rested firmly against the small of my back as he guided me through the restaurant and toward the car, his touch steady and grounding beneath the chaos in my chest.And every few seconds, my eyes drifted helplessly back to the ring.The diamond caught beneath the city lights beautifully, scattering tiny flashes against the dark interior of the car.“You’ve looked at it at least twenty times already,” Nathaniel said quietly beside m

Daniel. By the time I got to the office that morning, I already had a headache.Three investors wanted emergency meetings.Two suppliers were threatening to suspend shipments over delayed payments.And Sophia had spent nearly forty minutes complaining during breakfast because apparently the diamond bracelet I bought her last week was “underwhelming.”At this point, I was beginning to suspect nothing I gave her would ever actually satisfy her.Which was ironic considering she hadn’t been like this when we first started dating.Back then, Sophia had been effortless.Charming.Easy to impress.Now?Ever since I publicly announced our engagement and she moved into my house, everything had changed.Every conversation somehow became about money.Jewelry.Trips.Designer brands.And the worst part was that her father still hadn’t invested the additional funds into the company the way I’d expected after the engagement became official.So essentially, all I’d gained lately was pressure and nag

Daniel. By the time I got home that night, I was exhausted.Not physically.Physically, I could survive seventy-hour workweeks without much issue.Mentally, though?That was different.Because for some reason, no matter how many meetings I sat through or how many reports I signed, my mind kept circling back to Amelia.To the press conference.To the photographs.To the way Nathaniel Vaughn had looked at her in front of the entire world without even a hint of embarrassment.The penthouse lights were already on when I stepped inside.Sophia’s voice reached me before I even loosened my tie.“I told Elise the champagne arrangements need to be redone because the crystal selection looked cheap—”She stopped the second she noticed me walking in.Then frowned.“You’re late.”I moved past her toward the kitchen without answering immediately.The faint scent of her perfume lingered heavily through the apartment now. Expensive. Sweet. Overwhelming after a long day.Sophia followed behind me in i