All Chapters of LOVING THE WRONG BRIDE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Adrian's POVThe knock hit my door like a gunshot.Three sharp raps. Then silence.My whole body locked up before my brain even caught up. I sat frozen on the edge of my bed, staring at the door like it might explode.Every knock in this house came with a demand. A summons. A problem I didn't ask for."Who's there?" I called out, my voice steadier than I felt. I could even hear breathing coming in heavier than usual."It's Tim, sir. You need to come down. Now."I was already moving before he finished the sentence.I took the stairs two at a time, my hand gripping the banister so hard my knuckles went white. Tim stood at the bottom, and one look at his face told me this wasn't nothing."What happened?" I asked, and he was still breathing."Someone came to the gate. Asking for Isabella." Tim's jaw was tight. "We didn't let him in, sir. Didn't feel right without your say-so."My stomach dropped."Who?" My voice came out without hesitation.Tim hesitated, and that hesitation made my chest

IsabellaI waited for Adrian to come back after receiving a call from uncle Raymond, so he would tell me exactly what he wanted from me.Before I could go to the bathroom and come back. Adrian was sitting in the chair."I am going out," I said and stood up. Adrian looks up.“What?” His voice is sharp like a blade.“You heard me," I murmured.“You can say that, Isabella.” He growled.“Then go and tell your mother and your uncle what happened, or everybody will hear about it.”He walked out for a few minutes without telling me why he was going out.I sat there alone for a moment.Suddenly, I heard the noise outside.“Adrian, I want to go.” I called.My voice cracked on the last word, but I didn't care. The chair in front of me had become the only safe thing to look at, because if I looked at him, I would fall apart completely.The door slammed open before I even finished the sentence.Adrian.Of course, it was Adrian.He froze in the doorway like he'd walked into a fire, his eyes scanni

Lily's POVStraight to Adrian's room to see if she could see me, but I was inside.I watched her turn back and go to her room.I sat there thinking about what kind of drama Adrian is trying to play.A moment later, a knock came at the door.“Who is there?” I said with a sharp voice.‘It is me ma’ am.” Rosie's voice at the door.“Is there a problem?” I said Rosie hesitated.“Ma’ am,” she said in a quiet tone.Mrs. Ashford said I should call you.”“What?”“Call me?”Yes, ma’ am.”“For what?” I asked.“I don't know. “ Rosie said.And for the first time, I wanted to refuse, but the way she insisted on disturbing me made me hungry to go and hear why exactly she wanted to see me.I walk out of the room and head to her room.But my hands wouldn't stop shaking on the way to her sitting room.I told myself I was ready for whatever she wanted from me. I wasn't."Sit," she said, not unkindly, gesturing to the chair across from her. The tea between us had already gone cold, like she'd been waitin

Isabella's POVThe Dinner Guests Saw EverythingThe dining hall was full that night, so every neighboring family from the estate row had been invited, silver gleaming under the chandeliers, laughter rising and falling around the long table. For once, dinner felt almost normal. Almost safe.I should have known better.Adrian's mother arrived late, sweeping in wrapped in dark red silk, greeting guest after guest with a smile so polished it could cut glass. She air-kissed cheeks, complimented dresses and laughed at jokes that weren't funny. By the time she reached to end of our table, I actually let myself relax.That was my mistake."Isabella." She said my name the way someone might name a stain on a tablecloth. "How wonderful that you could dress up for tonight."A few guests chuckled, unsure if it was a joke. I wasn't sure either — until she kept going."Tell me," she said, loud enough that conversations nearby began to quiet, "did you marry my son for love, or did you only marry to h

Isabella's POVMy heart won't stop pounding, hearing Adrian saying something that caught my attention.*He remembers someone.* The words keep circling back, tightening around my chest like a fist. Adrian said it so quietly, like the memory slipped out before he could stop it."Who?" I ask him again, my voice smaller than I want it to be.He looks at me with a smiling face; he really looks like he's trying to find something in my face. "It doesn't matter," he says. "Forget I said it." He was looking very serious and calm.But I can't forget. Not when it might be me.I want to grab his hands and shout it: It's me, Adrian. I was that girl. I helped you when no one else would. But the words stay locked behind my teeth, because what if I'm wrong? What if he's talking about someone else entirely, and I make a fool of myself chasing a ghost that was never mine to claim?In the next few minutes, I met Adrian in the dining room. So I sit beside him on the couch, closer than I've dared in weeks