His Unwanted Bride: The Substitute's Secret

Chapter 5

Word Count: 648 | Released on: Today at 15:42

held it, and tapp

t, stripped of all pleasantri

My grandfat

s a summons. An entry in a

thing else-a question, a word of concern-died instantly. She fel

have the energy to navigate anything else tonight. Any unex

single wor

ements mechanical. She retrieved the garment bag and the velvet jewelry box from the sm

rns on the FDR Drive. The chaos of Manhatta

when she arrived. Silent

own. She turned on the shower, making the water as hot as she

nternal freeze that no amount of hot water could touch. She leaned her forehead against

ubtle, her hair pulled back in an elegant chignon. She

beautiful, poised, a perfect porcelain doll. But the fragility in

a bed of black satin. She fastened the necklace. The stones

lose, followed by the sound of footsteps headi

eadying breath and w

in the

red tuxedo. The severe black and white made him look

a slow, deliberate appraisal, from the

pine, her shoulders pulling back. She fe

, a silent acknowledgment that his instruction

irety of his review for her h

mall, practiced smile in return, a

en them. He went to the bar and poured himself a glass of water. As he drank, his free

tegizing. Planning th

The doorman announcin

glass down wi

walked toward the door

spering against the floor, on her w

Chapter End

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His Unwanted Bride: The Substitute's Secret

Hui Hui Romance

“Elianna was nothing more than a substitute wife, pushed into a cold, transactional marriage with billionaire Adrien Leach after her perfect older sister, Ivette, suddenly ran away. For a year, they lived as strangers sharing a zip code, which was exactly what Elianna needed to hide her darkest secret-a severe, trauma-induced phobia of physical touch that left her trembling and terrified at her husband's slightest proximity. But this fragile, loveless balance was completely shattered at the annual family gala. Just as Elianna swallowed her panic to play the dutiful wife, Ivette unexpectedly returned. The golden child burst in, demanding her rightful place beside Adrien, while their own mother looked at Elianna with familiar, crushing disdain, ready to cast the understudy aside. Hiding in the shadows of the balcony, Elianna felt the suffocating weight of her past closing in. She waited for Adrien to terminate their contract, fully expecting him to agree that she was just a pathetic, temporary placeholder who couldn't even bear to be touched. Instead, she heard Adrien's voice cut through the dark, delivering a ruthless warning to the sister who thought she had won. "It's not a deal, Ivette. I married her because I'm in love with her." Standing frozen behind the glass door, Elianna's blood ran cold as she realized her fake, business-deal marriage was hiding a terrifying secret of its own.”