All Chapters of From substitute bride to CEO : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The Carter’s family dining room was silent except for the soft scrape of expensive cutlery against porcelain plates.Everything in the room looked perfect, as it always did. To anyone looking in from the outside, this was the home of a family who had everything.But Chloe Carter knew better.She sat at the far end of the table, nearly invisible, as usual. Across from her, Amelia was laughing quietly at something her mother had said, and her father, Richard Carter sat at the head of the table scrolling through documents on his tablet without looking up once. No one spoke to Chloe. No one ever did unless they needed something from her. She kept her eyes on her plate and continued eating.Then Richard set his tablet down with a sharp sound that cut through the room.Everyone looked up.His face was serious in a way that made Chloe's stomach tighten before he even opened his mouth."We have a problem," he said, staring at all of them with a serious look.Amelia frowned. Evelyn straightene

That same night, the grey group limited building stood the way it always did at night, tall and certain above the rest of the city, its glass exterior catching the lights of New York below like it owned every reflection. At the top floor, Lucien Grey sat behind his desk in the kind of quiet that only exists when everyone else has gone home. The office was large and deliberately sparse, nothing on the walls that didn't serve a purpose, nothing on the desk that wasn't being used. He was going through documents, his eyes moving steadily across each page, his expression giving nothing away. This was where he was most himself. Not at dinners or social events or in rooms full of people performing their importance at each other. Here, alone with numbers and decisions and the clean logic of business, everything made sense.The office door opened.Caleb Stone walked in.Lucien didn't look up. He could tell from the sound of Caleb's footsteps, the particular way they slowed just inside the doo

Chloe stepped out of the car and stood on the pavement outside the courthouse, smoothing the plain white fabric with both hands out of habit rather than hope. There was nothing to smooth. The dress was simple, and chosen by someone who hadn't thought about her at all when they chose it. She looked down at herself for one brief moment and sighed.Her father stepped out behind her. Then Evelyn, adjusting her coat, already scanning the entrance with the practiced eye of a woman managing appearances. Amelia hadn't come. The plan was to tell the Grey family she was sick, that she couldn't make it, that their law required the first daughter to marry before the second and so here they were. Chloe had heard Amelia scoff at that lie from behind her bedroom door the night before. Not with guilt. Just with the mild amusement of someone watching other people handle something inconvenient.Inside the courthouse the Grey family had not yet arrived.That gave Chloe a little relief. She took a slow

Later that night Lucien who was still in the bar was already drunk.“That’s enough,” Caleb said as he took the wine glass from Lucien just as he was about to gulp another liquor down his throat.“Give me that,” Lucien said unsteadily, trying to grab the glass back, but instead he staggered slightly on his feet.“You’re drunk Lucien, and you need to go home before you’re shown on the news tomorrow,” Caleb told him firmly.“I don’t want to go back to where that woman is,” Lucien said, shaking his head as frustration and irritation mixed in his voice.“Then do you want to ruin your reputation and be on the headlines tomorrow?” Caleb asked him back.Lucien didn’t respond.That silence was enough answer for Caleb. He sighed and stepped closer, lifting Lucien slightly so he could lean on him.“Damn you’re heavy,” Caleb muttered as he helped him out of the bar.“Just shut up Caleb,” Lucien replied weakly.“My car is parked at the back, and don’t worry my driver is here,” Lucien added.Caleb

Lucien's phone buzzed on his desk in his office.He glanced at the screen, and saw his mother's name on it ‘why was she calling?’ he thought.He picked up."I want to have lunch with your wife," Catherine said on the other side of the phone before he could speak.Lucien leaned back in his chair. "Why?""Can't I have lunch with my daughter-in-law?"A pause. "I'll let her know."He ended the call and called his butler."Tell Mrs. Grey that my mother is expecting her at the Grey mansion for lunch. A driver will take her.""Yes sir."Chloe was by the window reading a book when the butler knocked on her door, “who is it?” She asked not looking away from the book she was reading. “It's me ma'am, Mr Grey told me to inform you that his mother wants to have lunch with you at the Grey's mansion.”She listened to the message, and wondered why his mother wants to see her. She pushed the thought and went to get ready.She didn't rush. She dressed simply, kept her makeup light, and clipped her moth