Semua Bab I Was His Secret Wife, Now I'm His Nightmare : Bab 21 - Bab 30

Diana sat in her car outside the clinic for twenty minutes before she got out. Just watching the door and waiting.She'd seen Audrey's car parked two blocks down, tucked behind a delivery van like she thought nobody would notice. Cute. Audrey always thought she was smarter than everybody else in the room. Diana had believed that too, once. Now she just found it exhausting.The clinic was one of those private ones that didn't put its name on a big sign out front. The kind rich people used when they didn't want anyone talking. Diana had followed a hunch here three times now, and three times she'd come up empty. Today felt different. Today her stomach had that tight feeling it got right before something good happened.She waited until a nurse in pale blue scrubs stepped out for a smoke break, phone in one hand and cigarette in the other. She looked young and had tired eyes. The kind of tired that came from being underpaid and overworked, which meant she was the kind of tired that could b

The summit hall buzzed with the low buzz of money talking. Crystal glasses clinked, waiters slid between clusters of expensive suits, and somewhere a string quartet played something nobody was actually listening to. Derek stood near the bar with a drink he hadn't touched in twenty minutes, and all he could see was Audrey.She stood across the room in deep emerald green, her hair pulled back and that damn watch of hers catching the light every time she moved her wrist. She looked like she belonged there. Worse, she looked happy.And Roman's hand was on her back.It was not gripping in an obvious way. Just resting there, low, right above the curve of her spine, casual in a way a man touches somebody that already belongs to him. Derek's jaw locked so hard it ached."You gonna stare all night, or you want another drink?" the bartender asked.Derek didn't answer. He couldn't stop watching that hand.It wasn't even moving. That was the part that got under his skin worst. If Roman had been s

Audrey stared at the dark screen of her phone for a long second. Roman’s warm hand stayed firm around her wrist. The unknown voice still rang in her ears.“You need to see something before Diana Sinclair does.”She set the phone down carefully, like it might bite her. Roman didn’t ask questions right away. He just waited, thumb brushing once over the old scar on her wrist.“Who the hell was that?” he said finally.“I don’t know.” Audrey’s mouth felt dry. “Blocked number. They hung up before I could say a word.”Roman’s jaw tightened. He reached for her phone, checked the call log himself, then set it back down. “Whoever it was, they know enough to use your sister’s name like that. That’s not random.”Audrey rubbed the edge of her thumb against her wrist, the old habit kicking in hard. The tea on the table had gone cold. The soft jazz from the record player suddenly felt too loud.Before either of them could say more, her phone buzzed again. This time it was a message. From her father.

Audrey didn’t think twice. She just walked straight into Roman’s open arms and pressed her face against his chest. His coat smelled clean and he felt warm too, like home. His arms closed around her without a word, one hand flat between her shoulder blades, the other resting lightly at the back of her head.She stayed there until the shaking in her legs slowed down. When she finally pulled back, her eyes were dry but red at the edges.Roman looked at her face for a long second. Then he opened the passenger door of his car.“Get in.”She slid into the seat. He shut the door, walked around, and got behind the wheel. The engine came on quietly. He didn’t pull away right away. He just sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, staring at the house lights behind them.“Are you okay?” he asked.“No.” Audrey let out a short, tired laugh. “But I’m not falling apart either. So that’s something.”He put the car in gear and drove. The gates opened. The long driveway fell away behind them. S

Audrey’s cheeks still burned the next morning. She stood in her kitchen in an old soft sweater, bare feet on the cold floor, staring at nothing while the kettle hummed. Every time she closed her eyes she felt it again, Roman’s mouth on hers, the scrape of his stubble on her face, the way his hand had slid under her dress and gripped her thigh like he had every right. The taste of peppermint tea in his mouth. The low sound he made when she bit his bottom lip. Heat rushed through her all over again and she pressed her palms to her face, laughing under her breath like an idiot. “Fuck, Audrey.” she whispered to the empty room. “You need to get a hold of yourself. Stop blushing like an idiot.” But even while she said that, her mouth was curving into another wide smile. Then the doorbell rang so hard it nearly shook the walls. Audrey jumped. It was barely six-thirty. Nobody came this early. She padded to the door, still smiling a little, and opened it. Her assistant Julia stood the