All Chapters of REBIRTH OF THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE : Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Chapter 92The air inside dressing room four smelled of heavy hairspray, stale black coffee, and absolute, unadulterated terror.I stared at my reflection in the massive, bulb-lit vanity mirror, pressing the palm of my hands hard against the cool marble counter. My skin looked pale beneath the harsh professional lighting, despite the valiant efforts of a makeup artist who had spent twenty frantic minutes trying to paint over the dark circles carved into my face by a sleepless night.Every time I closed my eyes, I wasn't thinking about the quarterly projections or the hostile board members waiting to tear me apart. I was back on my living room couch. I was feeling the slow, deliberate pressure of Alex’s mouth against mine, hearing him whisper breathe me in, and feeling my entire carefully constructed world tilt completely off its axis.Pull yourself together, Camille, my inner voice snapped, a frantic edge of panic bleeding into my thoughts. You are five minutes away from walking onto

Chapter 94"I’ve watched this woman carry the weight of an entire industry on her shoulders," Alex continued softly, his gaze holding mine captive, his thumb gently tracing the back of my hand in a slow, hypnotic rhythm. "I’ve seen her walk into rooms full of men who wanted to see her fail, and I’ve watched her dismantle every single one of them without ever losing her grace, her power, or her heart. Protecting her isn't a PR strategy, Sandra. It’s the easiest decision I’ve ever made in my life."Oh god, I thought, my chest aching with a sudden, overwhelming surge of heat that made my knees feel like water. Why is he so good at this? God help me, he doesn't look he's acting at all.The silence in the studio was electric. Sandra looked temporarily speechless, her polished TV smile softening into genuine shock as the romantic tension on the set reached a suffocating crescendo."Well," Sandra managed to choke out, letting out a breath as the audience let out a collective, breathless gasp

Chapter 96The heavy sound-insulating doors of the studio shut behind us with a soft, final click, cutting off the low, frantic murmur of the production crew and the chaotic hum of the morning newsroom.Once the glass partition closed, the suffocating heat of the stage lights dropped away, leaving the cool, sterile air of the backstage corridor. I let out a long, slow breath I felt like I’d been holding since dawn, leaning my shoulder briefly against the concrete wall.My pulse was still hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs, but for the first time in six months, it wasn't out of panic.It was sheer, reckless adrenaline."Well," Alex said, his voice low and rich as he unbuttoned the top button of his vest, sliding his hands smoothly into his trousers pockets. He turned to look at me, that infuriating, lopsided smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "I think that went rather well. Don't you?"I couldn't help the dry, breathless laugh that slipped past my lips. I pushed off the

Chapter 98The silence in the penthouse was heavy.The kind of silence that only settles in after a minor crisis has passed and everyone is too exhausted to pretend they're fine. Down the hall, Ethan was finally dead to the world. He'd woken up when we'd arrived and we’d bribed him with three massive scoops of vanilla ice cream—mostly because neither of us had the emotional bandwidth to argue about sugar intake—and it had worked. He’d crashed hard, his small frame curled up under the duvet, completely safe.For now.I stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass in the living room, staring out at the blurred glow of the city lights reflecting off the dark river of my backyard. My hands were wrapped tightly around a mug of cold tea I hadn't touched in twenty minutes.Every time I closed my eyes, I didn't see the stock market charts or the flashbulbs from the television studio. I saw Ethan sitting in that stiff wooden chair, shoulders shaking, asking if I had another husband. Asking if our fami

Chapter 99 The digitized static hissed softly in my ear, cold and empty against the quiet warmth of my living room. Beside me, Alex didn't move an inch. His shoulders were set, his face completely unreadable, watching every tiny shift in my expression as I stood there holding the phone. I kept the receiver pressed so hard against my ear my knuckles were turning white. My whole body was braced for impact, expecting Kade to hit me with a razor-sharp threat or some arrogant corporate demand. That was the Kade I knew. That was the man I’d trained myself to handle. So when he let out a long, ragged sigh that sounded straight-up exhausted, my brain almost didn't know what to do with it. "Aurora... please," he said. His voice wasn't sharp at all. It was low, quiet, and stripped of that untouchable, high-and-mighty tone he always wore like armor. "Just listen to me for two minutes. Don't hang up. Just... listen." My thumb hovered over the red button on the screen, trembling. Every single