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A Substitute Bride for the Billionaire 75
The hit Iris was waiting for never came as Jace was pulled roughly and thrown off her so hard, that he slammed into a car with a loud thud followed by a sickening crack.Iris opened to see Luca in front of her panting hard. His eyes were ablaze with anger and his hands were clenched as he stormed over to Jace and picked him up by the collar of his shirt.Luca delivered a punch that had Jace’s head turning to the side, and he slammed against the car again with a wheeze as Luca didn’t bother holding him up.Luca had been on his way to a meeting with a client, but the client had to cancel because of an emergency so Luca had no other choice but to return to the office.He had seen Jace from behind holding someone and wanted to stop him, wondering what had gotten into him that he was hurting someone in the company’s building, but nothing could ever prepare him to see it was his wife Jace had pinned down and was strangling.Luca turned back to his wife to see her drop to the ground almost l
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Iris could hear voices as she struggled to open her eyes. The voices were hushed, and it sounded as though they were far away, and she was submerged underwater.She tried to make out the voice but it was inaudible. She wanted to open her eyes, but it wouldn’t budge.Her eyelids were heavy, and her body numb but she was aware of the heat in her hand. Someone was holding her hand, brushing her hair and whispering into her ears words she couldn’t make out yet.She felt lips brush her forehead and it only made her desperation to wake up grow but the person hadn’t noticed her struggle yet as it was all happening in her head.Iris moaned and that seemed to get the attention of the person by her side. She wanted to desperately open her eyes, but she couldn’t.Her whole body was on fire, and it felt like she had been run over by a truck. She tried to tighten her hand around the one holding hers to let them know she was awake.Her hands didn’t do much, but they twitched, alerting the person th
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“You okay?” Luca asked for the millionth time in less than an hour as he escorted Iris to the car.She was finally getting discharged, and she was eager to leave the hospital and lie in her own bed, but Luca was crowding her.They were almost joined at the hip because Luca had his hands around her waist as he led her to their car. He hadn’t been to work for the four days she had stayed in the hospital to be monitored.Iris rolled her eyes at her husband and decided not to give him any reply. She had found it cute at first but now he was getting on her nerves and the small smile tugging at the corner of his lips made her aware that he knew what he was doing.Iris took a deep breath of fresh air that wasn’t laced with disinfectants and doom as they stepped out of the hospital building.Luca opened the back door for her and guided her gently to enter the car even though she didn’t need the help.Luca Rutherford was waiting for her hand and foot. That was something she refused to pass up
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Iris walked Alanna to the door. She wanted to go with her to the airport but her friend refused and insisted that she stay home to recover more even though she was fully better and was back to her normal state of mind.“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you to the airport?” Iris asked her again while they watched the security men load her luggage into the trunk of the car.Luca’s parents had left three days back and had offered for Alanna to take their private jet with them but Alanna wanted to spend the week with her so she declined but she had to leave today because she had her internship and she only took a week off.“No, girlie. I’m fine and can make it myself. It was good seeing you again” Alanna said, grasping her hand “I’m glad you are happy. Luca loves you and you are surrounded by people who care for you so I’m no longer worried about you”“You are the best person I know,” Iris murmured against her neck as she hugged her.“I know” Alanna replied with a smirk as they
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“Mom, you didn’t have to.” Iris whined even though a smile was threatening to break out from behind her pout.“No, my dear. You both need time to yourself after what happened and someone suggested it and I decided it would be a great gift and also an apology from me to you” Evelyn insisted.“I told you a countless times already that none of what happened was your fault and you do not need to apologize for it. If it’s an apology then I won’t accept it because you did nothing wrong” She scolded with a frown. Evelyn still insisted that what happened with Jace was her fault and she would not allow her to blame herself for an adult’s mistake.“Okay, fine” Evelyn spoke hurriedly “Take it as a gift from me then. I didn’t set it at a particular date so you both can take your time and pick a date that is convenient after you have settled things in the company”“Thank you, Mom. You keep spoiling me with gifts even though I have never given you anything” She said with a fond smile as her eyes te
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Nuel? Nuel, the runaway fiancé? Iris turned back to the Hispanic male at the door with a glare of her own. The man studied her with mild confusion before rudely brushing past her almost shoving her out of the way with his shoulders as he approached Hailey who was still frozen and in shock with his sudden appearance.The man was good-looking. Iris couldn’t deny that, but what he had done to her friend would never make him look less disgusting in her eyes, which was why Iris held so much venom for the man in front of her friend with a half-baked regretful expression.Iris wanted to pull him from Hailey and shove him out of the house but she knew it wasn’t her place. This was their matter and she would only interfere in Hailey needed her help but that didn’t mean she was going to leave this douchebag alone with Hailey just because she wouldn’t say anything.So she leaned against the door, arms folded across her chest as she watched whatever was about to unravel before her eyes. Iris wat
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Iris stood by the door and watched as Hailey packed the important things she would be needing at her place. Hailey was quiet as she moved around her bedroom, mindlessly picking things and stuffing them in the mini travel bag that was opened on the bed.Iris could see that she was still shaken by the incident that had just occurred and she didn’t blame her. It didn’t happen to her, and she was also affected by what happened. Iris wished she could take away Hailey’s worries for a minute. She hated how fragile Hailey looked and she was one of the most bubbly people Iris had ever come across so to see her like this made her heart ache.As she moved to step into the room so she could give Hailey another hug, Ace came up behind her to tap her on her shoulders and she turned to him instead.“He has been taken care of” Ace told her with a grim expression, eyes glancing towards Hailey who wasn’t paying attention to their hushed whispers.“Good. Thank you.” Iris told him with a grimace “She w
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Luca had finally caved to her constant pleas which were actually nagging than pleas and allowed her to resume work last week, but she hadn’t even been able to go back.Hailey’s mental state plunged every single day and Iris was worried at the alarming rate at which her health was deteriorating. Hailey got worse with each passing day.She tried to hide it from Iris by claiming she was fine but Iris was not fooled at all. She had caught Hailey numerous times in bad conditions before she would contort herself and act like everything was okay when it was far from it.Last week, Iris had walked in on Hailey standing in front of the mirror with a blank look on her face. Iris had stood behind her in front of the mirror for over twenty minutes, but Hailey didn’t notice her.The lost look in her eyes made her appear lifeless and it scared Iris to the extent she had to shake her out of her thoughts. Hailey tried to play it off and claimed she was thinking about work, but Iris called her bullshi
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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
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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.
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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
