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Ress AmahThere was an error with the previous chapter and I apologize for my carelessness. Please simply remove the book from your library and add it again to see the corrected chapter.
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A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 64
Something was off and that was why Iris’s eyes flew open at 3 am. She lay in bed a bit disoriented, trying to figure out why she was forced awake. She turned to her side where Luca should be fast asleep, but it was empty, and she was lying on what should have been half of his side of the bed. She reached out to touch the empty bed and it was cold. He had been up for a while. She couldn’t go back to sleep knowing that Luca was somewhere awake, and it bothered her that he had been gone for a while and didn’t tell her. Her mind began to wander against her will and she began to pick up on his weird behavior these last few days. There was something odd about the way he seemed cautious like he was hiding something, and she didn’t know if she felt good or bad about it. She shook her head to clear the thoughts that wanted to make her suspicious. She couldn’t doubt Luca and she didn’t want to.“Maybe he went downstairs to work. He complained earlier he had a lot to do” She muttered to he
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 65
“I don’t like it, Ally. My guts tell me that something is wrong, but he won’t tell me anything.” Iris complained to her friend.Alanna had called Iris through face time, and she could not help but confess her worries to her when she pointed out how distant she looked and felt. “I’ve told her she’s worrying too much but you know Iris. She tends to overthink things a lot” Hailey argued from where she sat beside Iris as the both of them peered into the phone to look at Alanna.“I don’t overthink things. You know I barely worry…”“But you do” Alanna teased, and Iris glared at her. This was not the time to joke. She was serious but they kept underplaying her worries and it was starting to piss her off.“He has been acting suspiciously. He leaves the house without telling me at odd hours and wouldn’t talk to me when he gets back home. He’s become defensive whenever I ask him where he keeps disappearing off to.” Iris insisted.Iris was frustrated. Her friends didn’t understand her worries.
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 66
Iris felt the colour drain from her face as soon as she heard those words. She saw the regret in his eyes immediately the words slipped but it didn’t matter. Didn’t they say one said things they truly meant in the heat of the moment? Was this how Luca thought of her? As nothing more than a pretender? Everything she thought had been a lie?“You are hurting me” She whispered instead of voicing out the numerous things she wanted to say. “Luca, let go of me.”Her voice came out stronger and more demanding, enough to get him to loosen his grip and she stumbled out of his reach.Her lashes fluttered to stop the tears were quickly flooding her eyes, but she couldn’t stop them.“Iris” Luca called with a strained voice and tried to walk towards her, but she held out her hand to stop him before he could approach her.“It’s fine. I understand my place now” She choked out, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.“No, Princess. That’s not what I wanted to say. I was angry and you kept pushing me.
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 67
Iris was stuck. She didn’t know what to do and all efforts to draw a connection between the letter and the bank statements were futile. She couldn’t go to Luca to ask him because then she would be admitting to going through his things without permission and it would only increase the rift between them.It's been one long and excruciating week since she found the letter and also one week since Luca left the house in the middle of the night. Iris didn’t know what to make of it. She didn’t know if to be happy or more worried. Luca halting his night visits didn’t mean the problem had automatically disappeared. “Are you okay?” Luca asked and she looked up to see him with a frown on his face as he stared at her. “Yes. Why?” She asked, looking around the room and wondering if she had missed something he said while she was buried in her head.“You’ve been quiet and keep poking at your plate. Do you not like your food?” He asked her and she hated how formal he sounded. Since their argument
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 68
“Mrs Rutherford” Josy called, pulling Iris out of her head again for the seventh time in the last ten minutes. “I’m sorry. Tell Mr Henry that I’ll see him next week to discuss the progress for the new book in the series” she told the young employee who gave her a curious stare before she left the office. Iris let out a shaky breath and sat back in her chair before she placed her hands over her eyes. Since that day when she had followed Luca, she had grown more curious about the topic of his discussion with that stranger. Not just curious, but a sort of fear had also taken over and it was messing with not only her head but her daily life. She would spend the day lost in her head because she was trying to put the half pieces together so they would make sense. She got so lost in her thoughts that she would forget where she was or even end up not doing things she was supposed to be doing and her employees were starting to notice. There was no amount of critical thinking that could
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 69
“Are you okay?” Iris’s head snapped to the front seat where Ace was seated facing her, a frown from worry on his forehead.“Yeah. Just thinking” She told him with a small smile. He looked like he wanted to press further but decided against it and turned so he was facing the road after giving her a curt nod. Iris’s thoughts were a mess the entire ride home and to make matters worse, it was silent. It was a comfortable silence, yet her mind was another story entirely.She wished the radio was on to distract her but at the same time, she appreciated the silence. It let her think.Iris couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation she had with the strange woman whom she had yet to learn her name over the phone.The taunts in her voice as she dared Iris and questioned the trust level in her and Luca’s marriage was something she couldn’t get out of her head.And the date. The date seemed to be the most important element in this situation. The woman had told her not to trust Luca. She said
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 70
Luca was avoiding her again, not that it should be any surprise to Iris. It was Luca’s go-to behaviour to avoid her whenever he was angry.Iris was buried in between files while Luca was in his study. She wasn’t going to push him any further this morning.She could still feel the brunt of his harsh words last night and while she was trying not to be angry at him, it didn’t mean she wasn’t affected by those words last night.Iris heard footsteps approaching her in the library and she lifted her head to see Loren. Iris's eyes zeroed in on the envelope in her hand and she felt a chill creep up her spine.It was a similar envelope to the one with the October 13th note and she did not like the feeling at all.That meant that the woman knew where they lived, and she was not comfortable with that information.“This came in for you just now,” Loren said, placing the letter in her outstretched hand.“Do you know who delivered it?” She asked, inspecting the sealed envelope but not opening it.S
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 71
Luca felt trapped. For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss of words. This was the first time he felt tied. He had no idea where to start or what to say to make his confession look dreadful that what it was.Luca always prided himself as a strategist. He always had a plan and never went with his guts but it was different today. He didn’t know how to proceed without hurting Iris more than he already did. She meant so much to him that the sight of her tears was his undoing.Luca had never felt so strongly about anybody like the way he felt. Seeing her hurt felt like he was the one suffering a worse fate. He hated it and would do anything to make sure she never shed a tear but how does he solve this when he was the cause of her tears?Luca closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh. He could already picture the memory from that night, and it was still so vivid like it was happening before his eyes.He clenched his jaws so tight they caused a headache. He didn’t want to recount
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