All Chapters of The Rival’s Contract Wife: Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

The moment Valerie’s body went limp, Killian caught her before her head hit the wet concrete.He didn't think. He didn't weigh the consequences. His arms simply closed around her shivering, bruised frame, pulling her flush against his chest to absorb her fall. The rain pounded relentlessly against the roof of the Maybach as Killian slid into the vast rear cabin, cradling Valerie’s limp, fever-scorched body against his chest.In the driver’s seat, Julian’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel. Through the rearview mirror, he shot a tense glance at Philip sitting in the adjoining rear seat.Neither of them was surprised to see Killian touch Valerie anymore. They had already witnessed him break his years-long touch aversion to women for her back at the mountain villa and even in his penthouse. What terrifyingly gripped both Julian and Philip now was the dark dread of a delayed reaction. Normally, even the briefest contact with a female sent Killian into a skin-pricking, suffo

"Why me?" Valerie asked, her voice barely a rasp against the quiet hum of the hospital monitor. She leaned forward, wincing as a sharp pain throbbed behind her eyes. "Why hit the brakes at that bus stop, Killian? Why pull me into your car instead of dumping me on your driver? What do you actually want from me?" Killian set the half-empty bowl onto the silver tray with a quiet, deliberate click. He turned back, leaning in until his shadow swallowed her whole. The scent of sandalwood, rain, and cold leather wrapped around her, thick and heavy. "What do I want?" Killian’s voice dropped low, smooth, and lethal. "I want a wife who owes me her life. Someone with no allies left to run to, no family to betray me, and a hatred sharp enough to match my own. You’re not a charity case, Valerie. You’re the weapon I’m going to use to bury Damian Vance." “I still don’t understand your vendetta against Damian…” Valerie trailed off, as she tried to see if he would speak. Ignoring her remark, he

Killian’s knuckles turned pure white around the edges of the tablet. The air in the room instantly turned ice-cold, a dangerous, deadly rage flaring deep in his eyes as he stared at the red toxin levels highlighted on the screen. "Find out who did this," Killian ordered, his voice dropping into a razor-thin, scary whisper. "Check every maid, every cook, and every assistant at the Vance house. Anyone who touched her food or water. I want to see their bank accounts, their phone calls, and their messages." "Already on it, Mr. Sterling," Julian whispered back, tapping quickly on his phone. "Our security team is pulling the records now." "Check the medical clinics too," Killian added, his eyes flicking back toward Valerie's sleeping form in the distance. "Every doctor and nurse she saw. If someone paid a fertility specialist to hide this poison from her and pretend she was broken, I want them ruined." "Understood, sir," Julian murmured. "And Damian Vance?" Killian’s jaw clenched

"Well, well, well," Clara drawled, stepping closer. "Look what the rain washed in. The barren ex-wife, limping around the mall like a pathetic beggar." Valerie straightened her back, pushing past the pain in her feet. "Clara." "Don't say my name like we are equals," Clara snapped, her voice loud and nasty. "You got thrown out of my family's house where you belong. You are a broken woman who couldn't even give my brother a baby. Damian should have kicked you out years ago!" Around them, other shoppers stopped walking. They began to whisper, pointing at the tall man standing right behind Valerie. "Is that... wait, who is he?" a woman nearby whispered to her friend. "I don't know, but he looks super important," another shopper whispered back. "Look at the way he stands. He gives off that untouchable billionaire vibe." "And look at his suit! He looks like a movie star or a high-society heir." Dominic stepped forward, his funny smile completely gone. He glared down at Clara with ic