Todos os capítulos de ARRANGED TO BE BILLIONAIRE'S SUBSTITUTE BRIDE : Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

AVERY'S POVI didn't have time to turn back to the bedroom before James came toward me.“What the fuck have you done?”A few minutes ago, I saw him monitoring my everyday life, and now he is asking me what I have done. I think I should be the one asking questions here.I stared at him, looking completely lost. “What?” He went mute. He reached for my arm and started pulling me toward the stairs.“James, what are you doing?” I stumbled after him, trying to keep up with him. “Stop dragging me. I can walk by myself.”He totally ignored me.His grip was firm enough to make it clear that he had no intention of listening. Whatever had happened, he was angry, and I had no idea why I was the person taking the blame for it.When we reached the lower floor, I was already fed up with James's shenanigans. He pushed open the door to his office and pulled me inside before finally letting go of my arm.“What have you been doing, bitch?”Is he crazy? He dragged me all the way downstairs, and now he w

JAMES'S POV The room was quiet, but I still couldn’t make myself leave Avery alone. I sat beside her with a cold cloth in my hand, watching her under the duvet. When I carried her in from the woods, her skin was ice cold. Now her forehead was burning, and that worried me more than I wanted to admit.I pressed the cloth to her forehead again and waited before picking up the thermometer from the nightstand. Frau Martha brought the medicine earlier. She set everything beside the bed, explained which tablets Avery needed, and left without asking anything. She knew I wasn’t in the mood to talk.I checked Avery’s temperature again, and I didn't like what I saw.“Come on,” I muttered. “Don’t do this.”She didn’t answer. Her eyes stayed closed, and her breathing was shaky.The sight of her in the snow kept coming back to me. She was curled up against that tree, covered in snow and barely moving. I was angry when she left my office, but seeing her like that had wiped everything else from my

JAMES'S POV I needed to get out of that room.“I’ll let you rest,” I told Avery as I got up from the chair. She gave a small nod, and I walked out before she could say anything else.The door jammed behind me, but her words stayed in my head as I walked down the hall. I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. Still, I couldn’t forget what I remembered from that day. I was there. I remembered the river, Avery standing there instead of helping me, and what happened after I went under. Most of what I knew came from Sadie, and I never had a reason to doubt her story.Until now.I pulled out my phone and called her.She answered after two rings. “James?” Her voice sounded worried. “Is everything okay?”“I need to ask you about the river. Tell me what happened that day.”Sadie gave me the same story I'd heard before. She said Avery was angry after losing the competition to me. When I fell into the river, Avery stayed there and watched me struggle. I listened, then asked, “Where were you?”

AVERY'S POV The next morning, I waited until I was alone before calling Pa Thomas. I had already rehearsed what I wanted to say in my head, so when he answered, I skipped the usual pleasantries. “Pa Thomas, I want a divorce from James.”The silence on the other end lasted long enough for me to shift against the headboard. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm, almost annoyingly so. “That can’t happen now, Avery.”I stared at the phone. “What do you mean it can’t happen now? I’ve thought this through, and I’m not asking you to choose sides. I’m telling you what I’ve decided.”“You’re staying married to James.”His certainty caught me off guard, but I kept my voice respectful. “Pa Thomas, I respect you, and I understand that you have your concerns, but this marriage has become something I no longer want to continue. I would like to handle the divorce properly and leave without creating another problem for anyone.”“You’re not getting divorced now.”I pressed my lips together, the

AVERY'S POV My period was late, and after ignoring it for days, I finally asked Frau Martha to bring me a pregnancy test. I made sure no one else heard me. She came back later, handed me the box, and left without asking questions.I waited until I was alone before taking it. When I checked the result, I froze. Two lines showed on the test. I checked the instructions again, then looked at it one more time.Pregnant.I sat on the edge of the bed, still holding it. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t imagine telling James, especially with everything between us. Before I could think about it any longer, I heard footsteps outside the room and quickly put the test in the drawer beside the bed.James walked in looking tired. He spent most of the night on calls, dealing with whatever was going on back home.I expected him to leave yesterday. I was looking forward to having the villa to myself, even if it was only for a few hours.“Good morning,” he said.I kept my eyes on the loose thread