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A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 29.
When Luca finally closed the file he had been buried in, Iris felt like she was going to die from hunger. Sure, she hadn’t been hungry when she had been forced here by Hailey but as entertaining it was to watch him work, it also made her hungry.“I didn’t expect it to take that long. Shall we?” Luca apologized before standing up from his chair. He didn’t bother with his suit jacket again which was much better if you asked Iris.“It’s okay. I was the one who came here without notice” She told him, standing up to take the hand that he offered when he came to stand beside her.His hand curled around hers, fitting perfectly. Luca changed attitude like he was changing clothes, easy. He didn’t have the scowl he had earlier anymore. Infact, Iris wanted to dare herself and the universe and say he looked eager to have lunch with her.“We will have lunch at the company’s cafeteria. Don’t worry, they serve meals that could rival most high end restaurant” Luca announced as they left the office.“
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 30.
Iris turned in her bed restlessly. She had been unable to sleep for two days straight and she was starting to feel the consequences of her actions. She still had the lunch from two days ago on her mind.Her relationship with Luca had backtracked so much, they now felt like strangers once again and it was all her fault. She shouldn’t have brought up Helen when she did after they had begun to make little progress.Since Luca walked out, he had gone back to ignoring her which was worse than when they just got married. At least then, he teased her from time to time. Now, she just felt invisible to him as he acted like she didn’t exist.Her alarm clock started to ring so she had to get up and begin to prepare for work. She dragged herself up from the bed, wincing at every movement she made. Her body ached like a bitch and she didn’t even do any exercise yet it felt like she was run over by a truck.Her nose felt stuffy as well, her head was banging and she felt nauseous to the point that e
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 31.
Iris was dumbfounded as she stared at Berta with what could be described as a horrified expression. She didn’t want anything to do with Jace. He rubbed her the wrong way and now she was being told that he was here while Luca was at work.He was definitely up to no good because Iris would never believe that someone capable of sleeping with his cousin’s fiancée had positive things at heart.“I don’t know what he is doing here but he insists he must see you. Should we turn him back?” Berta asked and Iris could see that she was also not a fan of Jace but could she turn him away just like that?“I don’t know how I feel about this visit. Does he come here often?” she asked, trying to decide on what decision would be best for this situation.“I’m sad you are considering turning me away, dear sister-in-law. I guess I must have done something to offend you without meaning to” Jace suddenly appeared, squeezing himself through the small gap between Berta and the door.“Berta, please excuse us. I
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 32.
Iris was going through some files and making notes of some last-minute changes when the telecom on her table began to ring. With her eyes still scanning the files, she reached to pick up the call absentmindedly thinking it was Hailey calling her for the millionth time that morning.“Hailey, I’m busy. What do you want again?” She practically whined into the receiver while she signed the document and picked up another one.“Are you busy” She shrieked and almost threw her phone away when Luca’s deep baritone came through the phone. She wasn’t expecting him to be the one on the other end of the phone.“Luca” Her eyes fluttered close with embarrassment and she could practically see the amusement swirling in his eyes even though he was not in front of her. “I was a little bit startled. I thought it was Hailey calling”“Are you busy? I need you in my office now. There is something we need to discuss urgently” The corner of her eyes crinkled in confusion“Why don’t you just tell me over the p
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 33.
They landed in America at about 4 am and Iris was dead tired. They had taken Luca’s private jet so she had time to sleep but she couldn’t close her eyes even for a minute. From her seat’s window, she could see that there were cars along with security waiting for them.It reminded her again of Evelyn's words about how they never move without security so it was obvious she would be dramatic about their coming. With the amount of cars lined up, it felt like she was the president of a top country. That was how extra her mother-in-law was being with the welcoming.Her legs were weak when she finally got up from her seat and she almost stumbled but Luca was fast as his grip wound tight around her upper arm to steady her before she could fall.“Are your legs asleep?” He asked still holding onto her.“I think so. They didn’t feel this tired when we flew to London. I don’t know why they won’t cooperate now” She mumbled in distraught. Her legs felt like jelly to the extent she feared she would
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 34.
Iris groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She hasn’t opened her eyes yet but she felt better than she did before she went to sleep. The bed held a fierce competition to hers back at home. It was so warm and it moved as well.Her eyes flew open and she was met with the sight of skin and she flew back in panic. She had been lying on Luca with her face tucked into his neck. Her cheeks burned with humiliation and she shamefully looked up to see Luca watching her.His face was blank and there was no way to tell what he was thinking. She cussed herself internally for sleeping so carelessly when she was sharing a bed with someone and she bet she made him uncomfortable the entire time but why didn’t he wake her up to adjust?“Luca, I...I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She stuttered as she tried to say something.He shrugged and got off the bed and Iris saw the drool on his shirt which made her feel more humiliated “It doesn’t matter. You should shower and come down for lunch. We missed breakf
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 35.
Iris stormed out of the house, panting as anger crowded her senses. She passed Lia and Leah when she met them in the hallway, too pissed off to even say hi to a friend she was looking forward to seeing. She shouldn’t have allowed Evelyn to push her into coming here.She had allowed herself to lose control in front of Vera, something she had promised herself would never happen but she couldn’t just stand there and allow her to run her mouth and say those things about her and her mother.Yes, she had taken the words quietly like an obedient fool all these years but it didn’t mean that she had to continue taking shit from Vera and her daughter. Her mother made the mistake not her and she shouldn’t have to pay for it.Ace stood upright with a frown when he caught sight of the anger simmering underneath the surface of her expression. She ignored him as well and got into the car without waiting for him.She looked at the time on her phone and saw it was too early to go home. It was barely a
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 36.
“Iris, dear. I have something for you” Iris took a pause from packing her bags when she heard a knock on their bedroom door and Evelyn’s voice followed shortly. She walked over to the door and pulled it open instead of calling for her to come in. She saw Evelyn standing there with a wide smile on her face and she was holding what looked like a jewellery box in her hand. “You don’t have to knock, Mom” Iris said to her and opened the door wider so she could come in. Luca exited the closet and looked surprised to see his mother in their room. His eyes went to the box in her hand and a flash of recognition passed his eyes but he said nothing and instead walked over to the bed to take his phone and was about to walk out of the room when his mother stopped him. “Luca, wait. I want you to be here when I give this to her” Evelyn requested with a soft smile before focusing her gaze on a confused “Come, dear. Take a seat with me” Evelyn called to Iris after she took a seat on the couch in t
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A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire EPILOGUE
Iris was still on her bed when she heard the bedroom door open. She didn't want to wake up yet because it was her birthday and she wanted to sleep in for once while Luca did what he did best, spoiling their children. They had three kids now. Autumn was seven now and was the exact copy of her mother. Sometimes, Iris would find herself lost in her thoughts, staring at her until she was called. Their boys, Axel and Kai were 4 and 1 respectively and perfect carbon copies of their father. Iris felt like a stranger in their house and even Autumn behaved just like Luca, it was scary sometimes. "Princess?" Luca called, climbing onto the bed. She stretched and felt her bones crack before turning to see him. A smile graced her face when she saw their youngest in his arms. Kai's eyes widened and a smile wider than Iris's own graced his face and he giggled while stretching his arms for her so she could take him. She pulled herself up and reached out to take him, wincing when his fingers cur
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 105
Iris was so comfortable laying on Luca’s chest while his breath fanned her face and his hands traced meaningless patterns on her back which made her shiver every two seconds.She didn’t want to move because that was why bliss and perfection were to her. Luca had fucked her into oblivion that even when she woke up, her legs were still shaking even though she had yet to stand up.She didn’t hate it though. It was the best way for her to wake up but Luca had other plans. He said he had something she needed to see so they couldn’t stay in bed longer as she would have liked instead of being in the back seat of the car as they drove to their destination which he also wouldn’t tell her.“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me where we are going?” She asked again and Luca rolled his eyes, taking them off his phone to stare at her again.That was also part of the reason why she was mildly irritated. He had forced her out of his arms and still wouldn't give her any attention.“Sorry, Princess.
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 104
Iris kept turning. It was very late and yet she couldn’t get herself to fall asleep. The sleeping pills Jasmine had given her did nothing to help and she was certain that it kept her awake instead of doing its job.Her eyes watched the moon and followed the owl that flew past it. She had left the window blinds open, hoping the calming view would make her fall asleep but all she had done was count the number of stars she could see and try to trace outlines with them.At the back of her mind, something nudged her. She knew what was keeping her awake and what she needed to do but something was holding her back, pinning her so she wouldn’t move towards what her body craved.She crossed her heart and made up her mind, sitting up and flinging the covers which felt heavy instead of comforting against her skin and threw her legs off the side of the bed, getting on her feet and making her way out of the room.She was sure her guts were strong but they failed her as she stood in front of their
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 103.
Iris laid her head against the window, mind fuzzy as the car raced towards the Taylor’s mansion. The loud blaring of the sirens from the police cars trailing behind and in front of their car prevented her from thinking. She thought she knew what exhaustion was but she didn’t until now. The past few days had been hectic with compiling all the evidence Selene had against Vera and pulling strings to make sure her arrest was sure and nothing would be done by anyone wanting to interfere.Since she couldn’t bury herself in her thoughts, she was aware of the heat teasing her fingers as they tingled in anticipation of touching Luca’s hands lying in the space between them.He was on the phone, typing away furiously and Iris wondered if she should just use the opportunity to brush her fingers across his hands while pretending it was a mistake.Her decision was made for her when Luca absentmindedly lifted his hand to trace his fingers lightly over her hands and she flinched away from his touch
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 102
Iris sat in front of the mirror in her hotel room in a pensive mood. They had arrived in New York yesterday with Selene and were staying at the penthouse in the Rutherford’s latest hotel and it was a beauty to behold. It was a four-bedroom penthouse which Iris knew would cost a fortune for a night.A knock came on the door and she softly told the person to come in. Ace peeked his head through the tiny hole.“Are you ready? We have to leave soon. Luca is waiting for you” He told her before disappearing, closing the bedroom door behind him.Iris sighed again. Luca had given her the master suite while he took the bedroom opposite much to her disappointment. She knew he did it because of their recent sleeping arrangement but he should have asked her if she wanted to stay with him but he went ahead to softly tell her to get a good sleep while gesturing at the bedroom before he disappeared into the opposite room.Since they started sharing a bed, it was the first time she had slept in a new
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 101.
“Princess” Iris heard Luca call from behind her closed door. She peeked above her computer where she stayed working on some manuscripts that the new assistant had sent her. Iris had not yet gotten used to working with Lucy who took over Hailey’s position.To her, it felt weird seeing her instead of Hailey, but the girl was nice and knew how to give her space, space that Hailey had no problem invading. Iris missed Hailey sticking her nose in her every business but now, it was so quiet in the office because Hailey had been her only friend there.“Princess? Are you sleeping?” Iris hated the uncertainty in his voice but there was nothing she could do. Something was holding her back from telling him she wasn’t angry at him and just needed time to sort out her feelings.“There is someone you need to meet. I know you don’t want to see or talk to me at the moment, but you would really like to meet her” He spoke, this time grasping her interest.She frowned in surprise and racked her head to s
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 100.
“Are you okay?” Alanna asked from where she sat beside her while Luca sat opposite her. She could feel his eyes on her the past twenty minutes they had been sitting in the court’s waiting room but she kept her gaze on the floor, adamant not to meet his lingering eyes.She snapped her head up to meet Alanna’s worried gaze and she gave her a reassuring smile “As okay as my nerves would allow me to” She replied and dared to cast a glance towards Luca’s direction where she saw him looking at her as expected and she quickly looked away to meet Alanna’s knowing gaze.“You don’t have to do it if you are not okay with it. They can’t force you to testify and it won’t stop Helen from being locked up forever. They have solid proof against her” Alanna said, holding onto her arms.Iris shook her head in refusal “No, I have to. It’s going to be some sort of closure for me” Iris replied, her voice thick with so much emotion but she was glad the tears didn’t appear.She had finally been able to get a
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 99.
Iris never meant to keep standing by the door with her ears pressed against them after she disappeared behind them before Luca could get to her.She couldn’t find the courage to face him. She had not been able to sort out her emotions. They were conflicting and dangerous and it messed with her head and her thoughts.When she moved out of Luca’s room, she had hoped it would give her the room to fix her thoughts and decide where her head was.Iris wanted to leave the house altogether but she wasn’t stupid enough to think it would be possible.Luca may think she didn’t notice but she had. There was an increase in the guards around the house; sometimes she could hear footsteps parade the hallway in front of the room.She knew when Luca left, the familiar heavy steps fading away into the hallway and Ace’s own which never left.She sighed in defeat and removed the black dress she was wearing. She had said her final but was reluctant to one of her best friends today so her head was a mess.I
A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 98
The ride home was stifling. Iris kept her gaze on the road the entire ride and when the car rolled to a stop in front of the house, she was out of the car before anyone could say a word.Luca ran after her but her legs were faster. He hurried up the stairs just as she entered the hallway and opened the door.“Princess” Luca tried to stop her before she disappeared into the guest bedroom but failed. Maverick and Ace gave him that pitiful glance that he had come to hate but he waved them off.“Is she close?” He asked Maverick before the bulky man could step out of the room with Ace.“Yes. She should be here in a few minutes” Maverick replied and gave him a nod before they disappeared.Luca leaned on the wall across the guest bedroom and folded his hands over his chest as he stared at the closed doors.She was particularly more sensitive today since it was Hailey’s burial ceremony and he understood so he would give her the space she needed no matter how much it killed him to see her in
