All Chapters of LOVING THE WRONG BRIDE: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Adrian's POVI looked at the way my mother glanced at me — like I ruined everything. But I needed to speak my mind."Leave this to me," I said, my voice louder than I intended. "I married Isabella. Not you. This is between me and my wife."My mother's eyes flashed with something dangerously close to fury. "I gave birth to you, Adrian. I raised you. I know far more about what a wife owes this house than you ever will.""That's not the point—""That is exactly the point!" She cut me off, stepping closer, her hand pointing at me, her finger jabbing toward my chest. "You think love excuses ignorance? You think that because you feel something for that girl, she gets to skip every duty a wife in this family has upheld for generations?""She is not 'that girl.' She is my wife." My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching it. "And I will decide how she learns this family's expectations. Not you, shouting at her like she's a disobedient child.""Watch your tone with me." My mother's expression c

Adrian's POVShe still stood her ground.I moved closer to her and took hold of her hand.Isabella's hand felt cold in mine, but it wasn't the cold that scared me. It was the way she wasn't looking at me. Not really.She was looking through me, like I was already a memory she'd decided to forget."Isabella." I said her name like it was the last card I had left to play."The clock is running out. You're the only one who can free me from this."She turned then, and her eyes — God, her eyes — weren't soft anymore. They were sharp enough to cut."You built this cage yourself, Adrian." Her voice didn't rise. She sounded in a low tone."You accused me in public. You took me from my home by force. Now you want me to save you? After you broke every promise? You did that to yourself. So don't stand here and ask me to hand you the key. If you started this illegally, you can find your own way to fix it."Her words came out too hot for me. Heat crawled up my neck. My jaw locked so tight I thought

Adrian's POVAfter Isabella walked away from me, leaving me kneeling on the floor, I stood up and stared at the bathroom door she had just entered, my knees still cold from kneeling there. My chest felt hollow, like something had been carved out of it.Then a sudden knock came at the door. Sharp. Urgent. My stomach dropped at that moment, because I had already assumed it was my mother or my uncle.I rushed to the door and pulled it open. Mr. Tim stood there, and I was overwhelmed with relief — until I noticed his usually calm face was pulled tight with worry."Mr. Tim?" I said, confused. "What are you doing here at this hour?""Adrian, we need to talk. Now," he said, gazing at me like he barely recognized me.Something in his voice made my stomach drop. Mr. Tim never showed up unannounced. He never looked like this."Talk about what?" I asked, my curiosity sharpening into dread."Not here," he said, glancing past me into the house. "Somewhere private.""My room, then—""No." I cut him

Isabella's POVAdrian's eyes lock onto mine — and this time, there's no smile at all.It seems like he doesn't want to tell me about it. But I deserve to know who is leaking the information, because I've noticed that Adrian is hiding something from me."Who is it?" I ask again, my voice shaking. "Who did they find, Adrian? Who's leaking the information?"He doesn't answer. He doesn't say anything at the moment. Instead, he closes the distance between us, his hand sliding along my arm, slow and deliberate, like he's trying to erase the question from my mind with touch alone."Adrian." I push against his chest, but he doesn't move. "Tell me. Is it someone you know? Or someone in your family?"His eyes flicker — just for a second — and that flicker tells me everything and nothing at all.He's close now, and I don't know what he's thinking.A few seconds pass before his breath comes out. "Later," he says, voice low, rough at the edges. "We'll talk about it later.""Later isn't good enough

Isabella's POVBefore I could step closer to the door, her voice came out like a blade."Where is she? I want to see her — now!" My stomach dropped.Adrian's mother's voice cut through the walls, making them vibrate. I froze in the hallway, my hand still on the doorknob, my heart slamming against my ribs. She had been shouting for almost five minutes straight, and every scream that followed my name shook my entire body.Tim had warned me. He'd knocked on my door only minutes earlier, his face pale."Isabella, Adrian said to tell you — he's coming. Just... stay calm."Calm. As if that word meant anything in this house.I smoothed down my dress with shaking hands and stepped out anyway. I wasn't going to hide from her. Not today. But I needed to breathe first.Before I reached the living room, I saw it all — the guards standing stiff by the door, Tim wringing his hands near the staircase, and Adrian's mother standing in the center of the room like a queen delivering judgment, her eyes b