บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire’s Emergency Bride: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Drowsy EdgesTALIAI looked up at Soren, my phone still clutched tight to my chest. It felt like a secret I just couldn't let go of.I couldn't feel my fingers. I couldn't make myself let go. The words on the screen got stuck in my head.You have to work for me or your brother will die.I blinked, but the message wouldn't go away. It kept echoing in my mind. Each word felt heavier than the last one."Talia?"His voice pulled me back, but only halfway."Nothing," I said automatically, the lie escaping before I had the chance to stop it.The word sounded weak. Hollow.I didn't even believe it."It's nothing. Just..." I swallowed hard, searching for something believable. "A lot from today. The hospital. Seeing Eli like that. It hit me harder than I thought."Silence settled between us.Soren didn't move.He just sat there in front of me, one hand on his knee, his gray eyes staring at my face. His eyes were really sharp.They made me feel uncomfortable because he was being so patient.He

Calculated DistractionsSORENAll day, my mind kept circling back to Talia.It was irritating.She wasn't supposed to occupy this much space in my head. She was a contractual arrangement clean, temporary, carefully negotiated.A practical solution to a problem that threatened both our lives.Nothing more.Yet somehow, She was the one thing I could not figure out.I went to meeting after meeting one after the other and people in charge talked about what we might make this quarter opening offices in other countries and how much money we would make.My eyes were on the numbers on the screen, in the conference room. I did not really see them.Instead I kept thinking about her and I kept seeing her.But the way she'd looked at me last night.Those wide, haunted eyes.The hesitation before she'd insisted everything was fine.The obvious lie about the message on her phone.Then she'd escaped to the bathroom so quickly it had almost looked like she couldn't bear being in the same room with me.

Glass and EyesTALIAThe car stopped in front of Vane Enterprises. I just sat there for a moment looking up at the building. It was really something. The building was super tall with lots of glass and steel. It looked sharp and pointy.The building made me feel tiny. I had seen pictures of Vane Enterprises on the computer. I was not ready, for how big it looked in person.This was Soren’s world. Really his. Not the mansion or the fancy galas, but this towering symbol of everything he controlled.I took a breath and stepped out into the crowd. My white suit dress felt plain all of a sudden. It was not fancy enough for a place like this.I saw people in suits walking in and out of the revolving doors. They all seemed to know where they were going. They carried briefcases and talked about work.I heard them mention deals and deadlines. I felt like I did not belong here at all.“Mrs. Vane?”I turned to see a blonde with short hair walking toward me. The blonde had a confident look on her

Unwanted AdvancesTALIABy afternoon the conference room felt smaller than when we had started.My notebook was full of notes that I had written down quickly. There were also some charts that I did not understand well.These charts were about what we would do each quarter and who was in charge of each department and who the important people were. I kept getting the peoples names mixed up.I think I understood about half of what Julian said. My brain was full.Every new concept pushed an older one out.Still, I nodded along, determined not to look completely lost on my first real day in Soren’s world.Julian had been patient at first. Professional. The man's British accent made even the boring business talk sound really nice.Over the last hour something had changed with the British accent.He sat closer. His hand brushed mine when pointing at a graph. Compliments slipped in that felt too personal.“You catch on fast, Talia,” he said, leaning in. “Most people need weeks for this. You’r

Rain and LiesTALIAI looked down at my plate. I was moving the last piece of salmon around with my fork without really thinking about it.I was not hungry anymore. My appetite was gone. It happened when Soren asked me a question.There was silence between us. It was not uncomfortable. It felt like something was there.Soren was not trying to hurry me. He just sat there looking at me with his eyes.His eyes always seem to know more about me than I want them to and he was waiting for me to say something.An honest one.I couldn't give him that.I couldn't tell him about the threatening note I found on my pillow. I did not want to tell him about the tea, the phone calls or the very hard decision I had to make.The thing I did not want to tell him the most was that his enemy had my brother's life in his control.So I said something that was not true.I said it was a cousin who lived away. I said she needed some money and I did not know how to ask him for the money. “Family stuff is... co