The Billionaire's Forgotten Bride のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

Chapter 62The shrill, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor dragged Ethan from the depths of a suffocating black void.pHe blinked, the harsh fluorescent lights of a private hospital room piercing his retinas. His head pounded with a dull, rhythmic ache, a stark contrast to the explosive agony that had brought him to his knees on the terrace."He's waking up. Thank god. Dr. Aris, he's waking up."Chloe’s voice was a grating, panicked whisper.Ethan kept his breathing shallow, feigning a deeper level of unconsciousness as he cracked his eyes open just a fraction. He was in the VIP wing of St. Jude’s Medical Center.Chloe was standing near the foot of his bed, her arms crossed tightly, her silver gown replaced by designer sweatpants. Beside her stood Dr. Aris, the Cole family's private physician for the last five years."His vitals are stabilizing," Dr. Aris said in a hushed, clinical tone. "But I warned you, Chloe. If he experiences extreme emotional stimuli, his brain will naturally tr

Chapter 64The Obsidian Club was not the kind of establishment that allowed walk-ins. Hidden beneath the bustling financial district, it was a subterranean fortress of black marble, velvet booths, and dim, golden lighting, reserved exclusively for the city’s apex predators.Zara stepped out of her Porsche, handing the keys to the silent valet. Despite the crisp evening chill, she wasn’t wearing a coat. She wore the emerald-green silk dress, just as Ethan had arrogantly demanded.She told herself she only wore it as a power play a way to show him she wasn't intimidated by his threats. But as the heavy mahogany doors of the club swung open, the erratic, fluttering pulse at the base of her throat betrayed her."Ms. Frost," the impeccably dressed maître d’ murmured, bowing slightly. "Mr. Cole is expecting you in the VIP lounge. Right this way."Zara followed him through the labyrinth of the club. The air was thick with the scent of expensive cigars, spilled bourbon, and hushed, billion-do

Chapter 66The next morning, the sky over the city was a bruised, slate gray, threatening rain.Inside the penthouse of Frost Industries, Leo sat cross-legged on the plush living room rug. He was surrounded by a fortress of throw pillows, eating a bowl of colorful cereal. To the untrained eye, he looked like a perfectly normal four-year-old watching cartoons.But the screen of his oversized tablet was not playing Paw Patrol. It was running a highly illegal, military-grade decryption software. Leo’s small brow furrowed in deep concentration. He had successfully bypassed the firewall of Victor Vance’s private server an hour ago. Victor was a careful man, but he was old, and he fundamentally misunderstood cloud-based backup protocols. Lines of code reflected in Leo’s storm-gray eyes. He was hunting. When Ethan Cole had shown up at the charity gala and collapsed, Leo had watched the footage on a hacked hotel security feed. He had seen the way his mother screamed. He had seen the blood

Chapter 68The sterile smell of bleach and isopropyl alcohol permeated the chaotic emergency room of St. Jude’s Medical Center.Zara sat on a hard plastic chair in the waiting bay, staring blankly at her own hands. They were caked in dried mud and Ethan’s blood. The nurses had tried to examine her three separate times, but she had aggressively waved them off. She didn't have a single scratch.Ethan had taken all the damage.Julian approached holding a small paper cup of water. He looked severely shaken, his tailored suit ruined by the construction yard."Drink this," Julian ordered gently, pressing the cup into her hand. "The doctors said Cole has a hairline fracture in his scapula and a moderate concussion. He needed twelve stitches on his cheek, but he’s stable. They moved him to the VIP suite on the fourth floor."Zara didn't drink the water. She just stared at the rippling surface inside the cup.My little bird.The three words looped in her brain relentlessly. They defied logic.

Chapter 70The words struck Zara with the force of a physical blow.Who are you?It was a perfect, agonizing echo of the nightmare she had lived five years ago. The air vanished from the sterile hospital room. Zara stared into Ethan’s storm-gray eyes, searching desperately for the feral, possessive man who had thrown her into the mud just hours earlier, for the man who had called her his little bird.There was nothing. The gray irises were blank, cloudy with heavy sedatives and a profound, chilling emptiness."Ethan," Zara choked out, her fingers still hovering inches from his face. Her voice cracked, a raw sound of absolute heartbreak. "It’s me. It’s Zara."Ethan blinked slowly, his brow furrowing deeper. He shifted slightly, and a hiss of pain escaped his lips as the movement pulled at his fractured shoulder. He looked down at the heavy bandages covering his chest, then back up at her, utterly bewildered."Zara..." he repeated the name slowly, testing the syllables as if they were a