Lahat ng Kabanata ng Married to My Ex-Fiancé’s Billionaire Brother: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

For one suspended moment, the world outside the elevator disappeared.There was only Damien’s hand at my waist and the warmth of his mouth against mine. I had asked for this. I had chosen it.He kissed me carefully, as though he was still giving me time to change my mind. When I caught his shoulder and pulled him closer, his restraint finally slipped.The kiss deepened.I forgot the boardroom, Adrian’s fingers around my wrist, and the cameras waiting outside. For a few precious seconds, I was simply a woman kissing her husband because she wanted to.Then the elevator chimed.Damien drew back, breathing unevenly. His forehead rested against mine, and neither of us spoke until the doors opened onto the private parking level.“You look like you’re about to give me a speech,” I said.“I’m deciding whether I should.”“Please don’t.”One corner of his mouth lifted. “That’s a dangerous request from a woman who just told me not to stop.”Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I was caught up in the momen

“Ask Damien what happened to the original transfer instructions.”I read the message again before turning to my husband.“Did you ever see my father’s original transfer instructions?”Damien’s expression changed. His shoulders stiffened, and his gaze dropped to my phone.“Yes.”The single word hurt more than a denial would have.“When?”“The morning after your father died.”“You told me you searched his office that morning. You never mentioned this.”“Because I never received the instructions.”“Then what did you see?”He exhaled slowly. “A sealed envelope on his desk. Your name was written on it. There was a note asking me to deliver it to you personally.”“Where is it now?”“I don’t know.”I stared at him. “You saw an envelope addressed to me, and you don’t know where it is?”“When I returned later that morning, it was gone. Your mother said there was nothing left in the office.”“And you believed her?”“I didn’t know what to believe.”“But you suspected something.”“Yes.”The admis

My father’s handwriting blurred before my eyes.When Damien tells you why.Why what?Why had my father left an envelope in his office? Why had he trusted Damien with something he never explained to me? And why did his final instructions seem determined to pull me closer to a man I was still learning to trust?I slid a finger beneath the envelope’s flap and carefully removed the letter.My dearest Elena,If you’re reading this, something has happened that has prevented me from explaining these things to you myself.I know you. You will want answers immediately, and you will probably blame yourself for not seeing the danger sooner. Don’t.You have spent too much of your life believing that keeping everyone happy is your responsibility. It isn’t. Hart Industries is important, but it is not worth sacrificing your happiness or your freedom.I swallowed hard.My father had always known me better than I wanted to admit.There is something you need to understand about Damien Blackwood. He cam

I stared at the bank statement until Richard Blackwood’s name blurred before my eyes.Three days before my wedding to Adrian, my mother had transferred money from an account my father created for me to the man who wanted control of Hart Industries.“Tell me why,” I demanded.My mother sat rigidly across from me. “Richard said the money was necessary to prevent the merger from collapsing.”“How much?”She told me.My stomach tightened. The amount was far beyond anything she could have taken without my knowledge.“And you believed him?”“I thought I was protecting the company.”“You protected it by giving my money to the Blackwoods?”“I intended to replace it.”“When?”She looked down.I pushed the statement toward her. “You don’t get to call it protection when you make decisions for me and leave me to discover the consequences.”Her eyes filled with tears, but I couldn’t bring myself to comfort her.“Did Richard ask for the transfer before or after you learned about the voting provisio

I stared at the scanned agreement, searching for something that would explain why my name appeared beneath a clause I’d never approved.The signature line was blank.That should have reassured me. Instead, the document made my stomach twist.Someone had prepared an agreement granting Blackwood representatives control over my voting rights before I had even walked down the aisle with Adrian.“Damien, look at this.”He took the laptop and examined the page carefully.“This isn’t proof that the agreement was executed,” he said. “But it proves someone prepared it using your name.”“Without telling me.”“Yes.”I pulled the laptop back toward me. “Could this be what Richard meant when he said I might discover things about my father?”“Possibly. But we shouldn’t assume your father was involved simply because Richard is threatening you with his name.”I appreciated that he didn’t try to offer an easy explanation. I needed facts, not another person’s interpretation of my life.I checked the em