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From Heartbreak To CEO's Protected Bride

Chapter 2 

Word Count: 848    |    Released on: Today at 10:30

scrubbing her skin until it was raw. But she couldn't wash away the feeling of violation, th

as off. The lie from Ms. Hayes echoed in her

. She ignored it, the sound drilling into her skull. Her anxiety wa

re. She had to find him

Ryder Stone, had posted a story an hour ago from a place called "The

zer, her movements sharp and jerky. She was do

he'd imagined. A stoic bouncer in a tailore

," Julia said, her voice

on didn't change. "He

ken her to meet his parents once, a stiff, formal dinner. "His mother's birth

or a long moment, then nodd

ring dresses laughed and drank, their voices a low, confident hum. Julia felt utterly out of place, a ghost haunti

amiliar, arrogant sound that used to make her heart flutter and now made her sto

ounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She was abou

Ryder asked, swirling the amber liquid in his gl

seemed to narrow to the space bet

y her? Are you kidding me? I just enjoy how pa

ft her lungs in a silent gasp. Her entire body went cold, a deep,

continued, his voice dripping with contempt. "I'

till stringing her

curb," Branson said, sounding smug. "But for now? She does whate

way" ex-girlfriend. The ghost Julia t

r three-year relationship. The "surprise," the "future"-it was

f this betrayal. The irony was so bitter it made her want to vomit. Her en

s lies. She clenched her fists, her fingernails digging into her palms, the shar

frond aside and wa

son looked up, and a flicker of surprise crossed his fac

ing thing. "Branson. Everything

hifted uncomfortably, their

expression cold, a silent, damning confirmation. T

ilted, the edges of her vision blurring. She swayed on

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From Heartbreak To CEO's Protected Bride
From Heartbreak To CEO's Protected Bride
“The hospital's final notice cut through my life like a razor, demanding a fortune I didn't have to keep my mother alive. I was desperate, clinging to the hope that my boyfriend, Branson, would finally step up and marry me to secure our future. When I rushed to his hotel suite, desperate for his support, a man pulled me into the darkness. I thought it was Branson, but the rough, possessive touch and the stranger's scent told a different story. I was trapped in a haze of panic and exhaustion, surrendering to a force that wasn't the man I loved. The next morning, I woke up alone to a cold text message: Branson had left for an emergency meeting. The horrifying realization hit me like a physical blow-I had been betrayed, used, and violated by a stranger while my supposed partner was nowhere to be found. When I finally confronted Branson at his club, he laughed at the idea of marrying me, calling me a pathetic "placeholder" and a "money furnace" while he waited for his ex to return. My world shattered into a thousand pieces. How could three years of devotion turn into such a cruel, calculated lie? I walked away, but I couldn't let my mother die. I needed a husband, and I needed one now. I turned to a stranger, a powerful executive named Julian Sinclair, and offered him a transaction: a marriage of convenience in exchange for my mother's life. He didn't ask for love, only for me to play the part of his wife. I signed the contract, never realizing that my new husband was the man who had just bought my entire company-and that our dangerous game was only just beginning.”