Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Stand-In Bride For The Billionaire: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Lily’s POVThe doctor did not look at me when he said it. That was how I knew it was bad.“Your brother needs the surgery within the next month, Miss Carter,” Dr. Patel said, staring at the folder in his hands. “His heart is getting weaker. If we wait longer than that, I can’t promise he’ll be strong enough to survive it.”I held on to the back of the plastic chair so my knees would not give out. “How much?”He finally looked up. “With the hospital stay and the care after, about three hundred thousand dollars.”I laughed. I didn’t mean to. It just came out of me, small and broken, because the number was so big it sounded like a joke. I worked mornings at a diner and nights cleaning offices downtown. On a good month, I made enough to pay rent and buy Noah’s medicine. On a bad month, I skipped meals so he didn’t have to.“Is there any help?” I asked. “A program, a charity, anything?”“Our social worker can give you some names,” he said gently. “But I’ll be honest with you. Most of those

Lily’s POVFor a second, neither of us moved.His eyes were dark gray, like his grandmother’s, and they were not soft or confused the way I thought a man’s eyes would be after weeks in a coma. They were sharp. They were studying me.His lips moved. His voice came out rough and broken, like it hadn’t been used in a long time.“Who...” He swallowed hard. “Who are you?”My whole body went cold. Did he hear me? How much did he hear?“I’ll get the doctor,” I said, and I pulled my hand out of his and ran for the door.“Help!” I shouted into the hallway. “He’s awake! Ethan is awake!”After that, everything happened fast. A nurse ran in, then a doctor, then what felt like the whole Blackwood family. Grandmother Eleanor came last, leaning on her cane, and when she saw her grandson’s open eyes, her hand flew to her chest.“Ethan,” she whispered. “Oh, my boy.”The doctor checked his eyes with a little light and asked him questions. Did he know his name? Did he know where he was? Ethan answered e

Lily’s POVMarcus came within two minutes. He was the thin man in the dark suit I had seen through the door the night before, and when he looked at me, his face gave away nothing.Ethan held up the blue pill. “Find out who ordered this,” he said. “And find out who hired her.”The nurse started to cry. “Please, sir, I was only doing what I was told. The agency sent me. They said the family doctor wrote the order.”“Which agency?” Marcus asked.“Bright Care,” she whispered. “Mr. Richard picked them. He said they were the best.”Nobody in the room said a word. I watched Ethan’s face when he heard his uncle’s name, and it didn’t change at all. Somehow that scared me more than if he had shouted.“Take her downstairs,” he told Marcus. “Keep her there until I call. And Marcus, nobody else knows about this. Not my grandmother, and not my uncle.”“Yes, sir.”Marcus led the nurse out and closed the door. Then it was just me, Ethan, and Duke, who had gone back to lying at my feet as if nothing h

Lily's POVThe bus dropped me at the bottom of the hill just after six, and I walked the rest of the way to the Blackwood house. My feet hurt, but my heart felt lighter than it had in weeks. Noah had laughed today. He had eaten a whole cup of pudding and told me the nurses were nicer than me.Then I saw the black car parked by the front steps, and the lightness went away.It was the same car that had been outside the hospital. Marcus was standing next to it, and he gave me the same small nod he had given me through the window. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to.Rosa met me at the door. "Mr. Blackwood is asking for you, Mrs. Blackwood," she said quietly. "He said to come up as soon as you got home.""Is he okay?" I asked.Rosa looked at the floor. "He seems fine. He's just very quiet."I climbed the stairs slowly. Each step felt like a mile. I kept thinking about the visitor book at the hospital and the name I had written in it. Lily Carter. My own name, in my own handwriting, fo

Lily's POVEthan pushed the blanket off and swung his legs over the side of the bed."Wait," I said. "You can't walk yet. The doctor said...""Then help me," he said.I hurried back and put his arm over my shoulders. He was heavier than he looked, and his legs shook with every step. Duke walked right beside us like he wanted to catch Ethan if he fell. It took us almost a full minute to cross the room, and by the time we reached the window, the gray car was already rolling out through the gate.All we saw were two red lights disappearing into the dark."Are you sure it was Richard?" Ethan asked."I'm sure," I said. "I saw his face under the lamp. He leaned forward and said something to her, and she laughed."Ethan didn't say anything for a while. He just stared at the empty road. I could feel his whole body go tight against my side."My uncle hates the Sinclairs," he said finally. "He told me not to get engaged to Vanessa. He said her father was weak and her mother was a snake. So why