Alle Kapitel von Dear ex-husband, I'm now your ruthless, cocky boss's wife.: Kapitel 51 – Kapitel 60

~~~Zendaya~~~Saturday came way too fast.Like, unfairly fast. One minute I'm hanging up the phone still reeling from the words "my wife," and the next I'm standing in front of my closet with my heart doing that stupid, erratic thing it's been doing all week every time I so much as think about tonight.Honestly? Agreeing to do whatever Ronan Wilder says has to be the single worst decision I've made in my entire life. And that's saying something, considering my life choices lately have included marrying a man who turned out to be a lying, cheating waste of oxygen. But at least that decision didn't come with the humiliating bonus feature of my own twin sister gawking at me all weekend like I'd grown a second head."So," Nadia said Thursday night, dropping onto my bed uninvited, chin propped on her fists, eyes gleaming with pure, unfiltered delight, "you're gonna be Mrs. Ronan Wilder. For a night.""It's fake, Nadia.""Sure." She'd grinned wider, entirely too pleased with herself. "That'

~~~Ronan~~~She disappears into the back with Cerina and the rest of the girls, and I settle onto one of those ridiculous velvet chairs by the window, stretching an arm along the back of it.Honestly? I'm happy. Genuinely, stupidly happy that she agreed to go tonight as my wife.It's fake, I know that. She knows that. But something about hearing her introduced that way, even in jest, even under obligation, settles something in my chest I didn't realize needed settling. Because I already know how this ends. She'll fight me on it, correct me every time I call her "wifey," roll her eyes at every nickname I throw her way, and one day, sooner or later, she'll actually say yes for real.I'll make sure of it.Whatever she needs, I'll give her. The house, the lawyers, the protection, all of it, and in return, she'll give me everything I've been quietly wanting since the day she walked into my life. I don't know what she did to me. I don't know what kind of spell a broke, grieving divorcee wit

~~~Zendaya~~~ "So," the host calls out, spreading his arms wide toward the crowd, "any couples brave enough to test just how well you actually know each other — come on down! Let's see whose love is real, and whose is just for show." A ripple of laughter and a handful of couples start making their way toward the open floor, some giggling, some already play-arguing about who forgot whose favorite color. I feel Ronan's eyes on me before I even turn to look at him. Sure enough, there's that smirk, slow and dangerous, already forming. "So," he drawls, leaning slightly closer, voice pitched just for me. "What do you say, wifey? Feel like proving to the room how in love we are?" "Absolutely not." I cross my arms, shaking my head firmly. "I am not kissing you in front of an entire ballroom of strangers, Ronan." "Scared you'll like it?" "Scared I'll lose braincells," I shoot back, though my pulse is doing something traitorous and quick at just the suggestion. He chuckles, low and unbot

~~~Zendaya~~~The car pulls up outside a sleek building tucked between glass storefronts, a line of people already waiting behind a velvet rope, bass thumping faintly through the walls even from out here. A guy at the door spots Ronan's car and immediately waves us straight through, no waiting, no questions, of course.Excitement flutters low in my stomach as we step out, my heels clicking against the pavement, the cool night air doing nothing to calm the strange, buzzing energy already building under my skin. It's been so long since I've done anything like this, anything just for me, just for fun, no lawyers, no cheating husbands, no mansions to fight for.The second the doors open, sound crashes over us, deep bass thrumming through the floor, colored lights sweeping across a packed dance floor, bodies moving together in the haze of it all. The air smells like perfume and expensive liquor, and somewhere above the music I can hear laughter, glasses clinking, the low hum of a hundred d

~~~Zendaya~~~The bass is still rattling my bones as Ronan’s arms wrap around me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear, but I don’t want to disappear. I don’t even know what I’m doing—I swear on every god I’ve ever lied to. My brain is static, white noise, replaying that same stupid moment from the party earlier. The way he laughed when I spilled my drink on his shirt. The way his hand brushed mine when he steadied me. The way those dark eyes had looked at me like I was the only person in the room worth seeing. And then I kissed him. Stupidly and carelessly. I shouldn’t have. But here we are, and all my body wants is to be claimed by this man standing in front of me. Like I’m his to ruin. Like he’s the only one who can touch me the way I ache for him.He lifts me up without asking, one strong arm under my ass, and my legs wrap around his waist on instinct. His mouth is still on mine—hot, demanding, stealing every breath I have left. I make a soft sound against his tongue, tasting whiskey an