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Chapter 9: Velvet And Venom
Dernière mise à jour:
2025-03-26 15:02:15
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His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 10: Check and Mate
Days later, Isla was sitting alone in the office of her new boutique, her manicured fingers eagerly skimming over the contract papers spread before her. From what she was seeing, her business proposal had won multiple grants, zero-interest loans, and exclusive sponsorships. One after another, the contracts bore the names of the high-profile investors and elite brands that had endorsed her. This was the kind of win she ordinarily would have spent years trying and failing to get the attention of, but like magic, it was lying freely on her palms.“Wait…is this for real?”Her expression hardened slightly as she queried herself. It was true that she had worked tirelessly for this, she had poured every element of her ambition into this dream business for some time now.But even so… this came way too easy.“Too convenient.”Just like that? Her brows knitted as she leaned back into the chair in contemplation. The rhythmic tapping of her finger against the desk echoed softly as she tried to
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-03-28His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 11: The Knife In the Smile
“Ugh God!” half-sleepy, with a half-repetitive beeping from her phone stirring her awake the next morning.With a sluggish roll of her hands, she picked up the phone and sat up slowly before finally lifting it to see a train of new notifications waiting on her screen.She blinked, letting her vision adjust to the light before swiping further."Isla Carter’s Success: Talent or Just Another Rich Man’s Wife?"That was the title of the main headline people were tagging her to. Her pictures with both Nate and Damien were placed side by side,, and under the main post, over a hundred thousand people had commented in less than three hours.A cold feeling ran down her spine, as her face started to get dark with foreboding. She swallowed, forcing herself to scroll further down.The main post she found beneath the pictures was worse;It painted her as nothing more than a former secretary who had merely married her way into success, someone whose achievements were not the result of talent but of
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-03-28His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 12: The Turn Of The Tide
Vanessa woke up feeling victorious. She stretched and yawned luxuriously. Today was yet another day to watch Isla Carter getting dragged through the filth of public scorn. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed wearing a smirk. And guess the best part of it all? Vanessa hadn’t even lifted a finger; it was someone else from the sky who had taken it upon himself to do the dirty work. With some effort, she pushed herself up and wanted to rearrange a pillow when a glow from her phone caught her attention. She paused with brows lifted. “More news, perhaps?” Another wave of disgrace for Isla? Well, she certainly wasn’t complaining. Vanessa picked up the phone with a quick flick of her wrist, bringing it closer, prepared to relish every detail. But the moment the words on the screen greeted her face her smirk died an instant death. It was like a dagger straight to the throat. She blinked, then blinked again, as a sudden fever began to descend on her, The headlines weren't ab
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-03-28His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 13: The Blackwood Feast
“We’re expected at the Blackwood estate for dinner,” This was the cold, impassive tone that Damien had used to suddenly inform Isla that they would be visiting his family by the evening of the same day. Isla blinked, momentarily stunned. The same Damien who never spoke of his family? He wants “her,” his fake contract wife, to go see them tonight. What could have happened?She studied him carefully, searching his face for any indication of what this meant to him. But his face remained as it usually was… carved in stone. Then as if sensing the silent question in her eyes, he made a dismissive gesture to add, “It’s just a formality. Nothing else.” But Isla was far from believing that. ~~~ The evening of the dinner arrived, and Isla found herself marveling with glowing eyes as their car approached the grand structure. Old money, prestige class, history; It all loomed in the twilight. Yet, despite the awe-inspiring sight a growing anxiety was disturbing her gut. Soon she will be f
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-03-30His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 14: Shadows and Storms
It was a Wednesday morning, and Isla was busy flipping through the latest sales reports in her boutique. All her focus was on the paper in her hand as she murmured something to herself, noting some patterns in the data, while also pausing to take a sip from the coffee beside her.“Ding!”That was the next sound she heard coming from the front door,“Very usual” A new customer, she reasoned with her face still on the paper “Welcome to….” She mouthed halfway and immediately stopped again.“Something was off”Something about the silence that followed after the chime. No new voice, no cheerful greeting, neither was there any of the typical footfalls of an uncertain shopper.Instead, what came next was the sound of heels against the floor, followed by the slow, exaggerated clearing of somebody's throat. The sound was smug, wrapped with a pretentious politeness.Isla hurriedly lifted her gaze. The sight of her ex-friend, Vanessa, made Isla stiffen in her seat.The moment their eyes met
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The drive back to Damien’s penthouse felt longer than usual. Isla had left for home immediately after the encounter with Vanessa as well as the surprising entry and defense of Clarissa.Her talk about the Blackwood defending their own had not left her the same.The moment Vanessa was gone, Isla left the boutique. Her focus was shattered. She needed to see Damien.Isla barely noticed buildings or the other cars by the roadside on her car drive back; her eyes were distant, and her mind was somewhere else. The thoughts that had started to disturb her since her second outing with Damien were rising to the surface again.She had gained too much from this marriage. The luxury, the protection, the status everything had fallen into place for her. But what about Damien?That question had remained even after his vague explanation about possessing what Nate can't take back. Now after what just happened at the boutique, the questions wouldn’t let go.It had sunk deeper, creating ringlets in he
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-01His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 16: The Contract Exposed
Isla stopped by the Hazel Brew Coffee shop after work on the evening of Friday.Just as she settled in waiting for her order, she suddenly noticed the squinting eyes of an elderly man a few tables away. His white narrowed brows and parted lips hinted that he recognized her.Isla could not help but squint back, then, realization struck them both at the same time."Mr…Mason?" she murmured in disbelief."Isla!" he echoed with a surprised grin breaking across his face.Isla could not help but let out a short, incredulous laugh.Mason Hart was her former boss from the Crimson Lounge, the name of the bar she had served years ago before graduate school. “Never thought I would see you in the headlines, kid. You always kept to yourself back then.”The old man jokes. Isla forced a smile, suppressing the discomfort that always came with mentions of her public status. “Guess life has a twisted sense of humor.”Coffee soon arrived, and by then Mason’s initial amusement faded slightly, replaced
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-02His Enemy, My Husband Chapter 17: When The Devil's Knock
The morning after the marriage contract got leaked, Damien's mansion was swallowed by an eerie silence. Even the air and walls seemed to know something fragile had shattered beyond repair.Isla was standing by one of the windows, arms folded, eyes vacant, staring at nothing. Across from her was Damien, who was sitting on one of the couches with a cup of coffee in his hand. Once in a while, he would take a sip. As always, his expression was blank as a slate.After a few minutes had passed and without the slightest warning, Damien suddenly rose to his feet.The abrupt movement sent Isla’s head flinging toward him in startlement.“We’re going out,” He announced calmly but with a tone that bore finality.Isla frowned, her lips parting slightly in confusion. Going out? A pause stretched between them before she found the voice to ask,“To where?”Damien didn’t answer. He turned away from her, one hand slipping into his pocket as he started to stride toward the exit. Then, from the top of
Dernière mise à jour : 2025-04-03
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Later that afternoon, Damien was back in the office. His posture was relaxed but not completely. His eyes, though focused on the document before him, hadn’t truly read a single word in the last half hour. They were as distant as that of a man present in a room but miles away in thought.He ground his teeth.For the last few minutes since his return, he had been thinking about his last parting words to Isla at her boutique after the slightly heated exchange between them.“Don’t forget this is just a contract. No personal feelings.”The words echoed in his head again, like something someone else had said. He dragged a hand across his face. What was he even thinking when he said that? Isla’s face when he uttered those words was still very much clear in his head, her silence, her distant eyes. He remembered it all too well now. And it stung more than he expected. He hummed and said nothing else.His thoughts now went farther back to earlier that same morning, back at the mansion. Damie
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It was 11:43 PM and the entire estate was now swallowed by silence.Yet back in her room, Isla was still awake sitting upright at the edge of the bed, with her back arched forward. The duvet remained untouched behind her.And her right hand was holding up her phone at eye level as the screen reflected in her tired weary eyes. She was staring at the message box specifically, the space where Nate’s strange text earlier that evening had once been.The single message that bore just his name.Just “Nate.”Of course, she had since deleted it, but the memory of it still disturbed her head like a stubborn echo.But why?She had not stopped asking herself that question since she came back from work hours ago. No typo, no follow-up text. No missed calls. “Nothing”Just that one name. Sent deliberately. As though meant to say something without saying anything at all.What was his motive now? What was Nathaniel planning?She didn’t know what to make of it, but she knew that bitch that was l
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Isla stared back at Isabella. Her posture did not change, but the meaning behind her unsolicited history lesson did not go unnoticed. It hung in the air like poison. Isla controlled her expression and tried not to let it show on her face. She folded her arms slightly, offering a cool smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and in an equally dry tone she responded, “Well, lucky you still remember.” There was a pause; Isabella lifted one of her brows as if she were amused or unimpressed. But in the end, she said nothing else. The quiet animosity between the ladies stretched taut, heavy like a cloud of rain that refused to burst. Getting to her boutique later that morning, Isla entered her office, shut the door, and lowered herself into her chair with an attitude to speak of restraint. She was in a fight with herself, her head, and her mind, trying not to think of the last few minutes back home and, as a matter of fact, the last 24 hours. Trying not to think of Damien and his
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Isla stared at Damien for a little too long.She allowed his question to hang in the air at first because of the speed with which he had caught her off guard and secondly, because she could not seriously believe he was asking her that. So he really wanted to know if she would be okay with him bringing in his mistress…or old friend rather than living in a space that was supposed to be theirs. In the end, she gave a small shrug.“Why are you asking if it would bother me?” Her tone managed to remain smooth, but there was a glint in her eye. “I thought personal feelings weren’t allowed.”Damien didn’t blink. His eyes, however, stayed fixed on her like he was trying to read her mind as usual.“I’m simply being polite,” he finally replied coolly.Isla’s face twisted, her nose wrinkled, then she shook her head at once.“No,” She blurted. “No, you’re just being cruel.”Then without waiting for what he would say next, she turned around sharply to resume her procession to her room, disappear
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