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Chapter 030
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2025-03-09 22:23:38
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The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 031
With a suspicious tone, Mike remarked, "You're awfully quiet, Cath." "What do you not tell me?"I pretended to arrange the papers that were strewn all over Eleanor's desk while I kept my back to him. I shuffled my trembling fingers, forcing myself to keep my composure.I murmured softly, hoping the falsehood would lift the tension, "There's nothing to tell."He didn't believe it. I sensed that he was staring at me intently, analyzing every gesture and pause. Whether you were prepared to tell the truth or not, Mike had a way of revealing it by removing layers.He took a step closer and remarked, "You forget how well I know you." His steady, unwavering voice fell. "Cath, you're concealing something. I'm done allowing you to keep secrets, too.Holding the stack of papers to my chest like a shield, I turned to face him. "Why are you unable to simply trust me?" My voice was sharper than I meant when I asked."Trust is reciprocal," he retorted. Something changed in his look as his eyes stra
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-09The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 032
With a shaky but determined voice, I said, "Kaila, you've been lying to me."Kaila's head jerked up from where she was sitting at the dining table, drinking tea as if nothing were going on in the world. Calm and composed, she arched an eyebrow, but as she put down her cup, I noticed a tiny flinch in her palm."Cath," she said in a condescending tone, "you'll need to be more specific." Now, what precisely am I being accused of?Refusing to let her dodge, I took a step closer. I was still thinking about the letter Mike had discovered, its contents churning like a tempest. Everything had pointed to Kaila, with her secrets meticulously concealed under charm and partial truths."Avoid playing games," I snapped. Eleanor's letter, which was about Mia, had a connection to you. Didn't you already know the truth about Mike's daughter?She didn't flinch, but her eyes darkened. She stated calmly, "That's a dangerous accusation." Cath, exercise caution. You don't want to make a mistaken statement.
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"You were aware, weren't you?"Mike's voice was harsh and cutting, piercing the room like a razor. Startled by his unexpected appearance in the doorway, I turned to face him. His fists curled at his sides, and his shoulders were rigid. I knew I couldn't avoid this conversation because of the storm in his eyes."Mike, I—" I started, but he cut me off with a raised hand.His voice trembled with barely controlled wrath as he repeated, "Don't." "Avoid trying to explain just yet. Cath, I need your response. Were you aware of Mia? Were you aware that she was my daughter?With my heart thumping in my ears, I took a deep drink. This was the moment I had feared, when no matter how hard I tried to hide it, the truth would eventually clamber to the surface."I just learned about it," I said, my voice almost audible above a whisper.He laughed incredulously and bitterly. "Recently? Is that what you intend to use? Because it appears to me that you have been keeping this from me for weeks, if not l
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"Don't you know something?"Mike slammed the door behind him, his voice a mixture of desperation and reproach. His eyes were on me, cutting through the brittle composure I had attempted to preserve since Mia vanished.I was sitting on the couch, holding my phone in one hand, waiting for an update that was not coming, when I looked up. "Mike, I—"He interrupted me and yelled, "Don't lie to me." He ran a hand through his already unkempt hair and paced the room like an animal in a cage. "Cath, I see it in your face. I need you to tell me what it is that you are concealing. Right now.I was gutted when his voice broke on the final syllable. Speaking aloud felt like standing on a precipice and gazing into space, yet the truth was weighing down my chest like a burden I could no longer support.I trembled as I said, "I was going to tell you."Mike halted his pacing and narrowed his gaze as he faced me. "What is meant by that? What were you going to tell me?I forced myself to look him in the
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"Cath, you lied to me."Mike's remarks struck me more forcefully than any yell could. He spoke in a low, unidentifiable voice that was icy and full of pain that cut through the atmosphere like a razor.I grabbed the edge of the frame for support as I stood in the doorway of his study. With his back to me, he gazed out the rain-streaked window with stiff shoulders.I murmured softly, my throat dry, "I didn't lie." "I simply delayed telling you. There is a distinction.His expression was a whirlwind of incredulity and rage as he turned abruptly. "Avoid making things seem less serious than it actually is. You were aware. You concealed the fact that Mia was my daughter from me. I told you the truth about my own child, but you didn't trust me!"I wanted to keep you safe!" Desperate, the words escaped my lips before I could stop them. "I was also attempting to keep Mia safe. Kaila has been manipulating everyone by tugging strings. I had no idea how to deal with it without making matters wor
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-09The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 036
Jemma spoke the words, "Funny how betrayal always starts with someone you trust the most," with a tone full of phony sympathy. Her immaculately manicured nails tapping against the polished wood as she sat on the edge of Mike's desk, she was the epitome of casual malice.Mike was standing on the other side of the room, his jaw so tensed I thought it may break. He didn't immediately respond, but I could tell she had struck a chord by the storm that was building in his eyes.His voice was sharp enough to shatter glass as he continued, "Jemma, I didn't ask for your opinion.""Oh, Mike, hurry up." She crossed her legs and laughed a little, without amusement, as though she were getting comfortable for a lengthy conversation. "You can't really tell me that you're shocked. Cath had a secret all the while. She is liked by women who are long-term oriented. And you made things so simple for her since you are such a nice man.Mike said, "Enough," but Jemma could see the hesitancy in his voice, a
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Eleanor's voice sliced through the tension in the room like a blade: "If you don't stop being so stubborn, you're going to lose her."With one hand clutching the back of the chair he had been pacing around for the past 30 minutes, Mike froze in mid-step. He cautiously turned and looked into his mother's serene yet sharp eyes.He yelled back, his voice tinged with annoyance, "This isn't about being stubborn." It has to do with trust. Cath broke it."And you're saying that you've never betrayed someone's confidence?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow in response. Mike was irritated by the severity in her tone, even though she was sitting on the couch with her hands folded neatly in her lap."You know it's not the same," he added, raising his voice.Eleanor calmly remarked, "Don't yell at me, Michael," using his entire name, which instantly stopped him. You're upset, and that's perfectly acceptable. However, do not conflate moral superiority with injured sentiments. Like Cath, you have made mist
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-09The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 038
"Kaila, do you think this is over? You have no idea who I am.Although I spoke steadily, my heart was pounding furiously inside. Kaila folded her arms and leaned nonchalantly against the wall, smirking, her satisfaction pouring like venom.With a mocking tone, she remarked, "It's cute how you think you can fix this." Mike is almost out the door already. He simply isn't aware of it yet.With every ounce of defiance I could conjure, I squared my shoulders and looked her in the eye. "That is not for you to decide. Kaila, this isn't your life. I own it. And just because you like to see people suffer, I won't let you ruin it.The sound of her laughter reverberated off the walls of the warehouse, hollow and cold. "Oh, Cath. How naïve of you. After everything, do you really think you can get him back? Following all the falsehoods?Even though her comments were pressing down on me, I chose not to show it. Mike had given me the pendant I wore as a present back when trust wasn't yet damaged by
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The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 050
"Are you certain of this?" Cath's hand shook a little as it was in mine, and her voice was quiet."Have I ever had more confidence in anything?" My gaze was fixed on hers as I asked.Although she smiled, a glimmer of uncertainty was visible on her face. "I just didn't think we'd get here after everything."I grabbed her hand more tightly and drew her in. This isn't about where we've been, Cath. It concerns our destination.The garden was drenched in amber and gold hues as the sun sank, creating the ideal atmosphere for the moment I had been waiting to give her—a genuine beginning free from fear, manipulation, or contracts. Even though it was just the two of us at the time, the little gathering of relatives and friends who had gathered around us demonstrated how far we had come.The officiant started talking, but I hardly heard him. The way Cath's eyes gleamed with unshed tears, how her breath caught when I put the ring back on her finger, and how her lips trembled into a grin that bro
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 049
As I reached for her hand, Cath narrowed her eyes suspiciously and remarked, "You're hiding something.""Avoidance? Me? My lips formed a smile that I hoped would disarm her as I pretended to be innocent."Mike, you're awful at lying," she shot back, reclined on the park bench. Her silky waves of hair turned to liquid gold when the sunshine caressed them. Her eyebrows were raised in interest as she took a quick look at the canvas bag I had insisted on bringing.I joked, staring into her eyes for a little too long, "Perhaps I'm just full of surprises."The sound of her laughter was beautiful and light. "If that is the case, I am undoubtedly anxious."My heart was a frantic thumping inside. I had been anticipating this moment, which kept me up at night organizing every little detail. Despite this, I was afraid as I sat there next the woman who had completely changed my life for the better.I knew she loved me, so it wasn't rejection. but of not knowing how to express to her how much I lo
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 048
Cath's voice was quiet but roiling with rage as she replied, "She thought I wouldn't find out." "Once again, she underestimated me."Her face was shadowed by the low light as I sat across from her at the kitchen table. She was holding a manila folder, the edges of which were worn from her overly firm grasp. Pages of evidence, each more damning than the last, were included within."She didn't simply undervalue you," I leaned forward and remarked. "She undervalued us both."Cath scattered the contents of the folder across the table after opening it. She continued, her voice trembling with barely controlled rage, "This is everything." "The falsehoods, the offshore accounts, the phony charities. For years, she has been defrauding her investors. You know whose name appears on half of it?I felt sick to my stomach when I looked through the papers. Kaila had exercised caution, but not enough. A few thoughtless errors—a traceable email here, a signature there—ruined her attempts to conceal he
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 047
"You mean you knew what?"Cath's piercing, incredulous voice broke the tension. With her arms folded tightly across her chest, she stood in the center of the living room, gazing at Jemma as if she had never seen her before.Jemma's face remained unflinching, but she was unable to conceal the fact that her fingers were twisting the gold bracelet around her wrist. She calmly answered, "I didn't think it was my place to say anything.""Where do you live?" I quickly retaliated, intervening before Cath could. "Jemma, you've been interfering in our lives for months. Don't act like you've discovered boundaries all of a sudden.Jemma's eyes narrowed as her attention strayed to mine. She yelled, "I was defending this family." "With the way you've been destroying it, someone had to.""Dismantling it?" Cath's voice raised, shaky with rage. "Can you hear yourself at all? All the things Mike and I have battled for, all the obstacles we have surmounted, and you— Shaking her head incredulously, she
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 046
"Do you believe she will ever pardon me?"The silence in the room was broken by Cath's voice, which was gentle yet heavy with a vulnerability I wasn't used to hearing from her. With her hands gripped tightly together, she sat at the edge of the bed and gazed down at the faded carpet as if it held the solution to her query.I said, leaning against the doorframe, "Mia's a kid, Cath." "Perfection is not necessary for kids. They require affection. And you've given her that every day, even during difficult times.Cath's eyes met mine as she turned her head slightly. "What if it's insufficient?"I walked over to her and firmly replied, "It will be." I knelt down in front of her and held her hands. "Me and you? We will ensure that it is.We were silent for a time. I could see the cautiousness in her eyes relax slightly as the silent hum of the city outside filled the void between us.A tiny voice then resounded along the corridor. “Mom? Mike?”Cath suddenly straightened, a look of concern re
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 045
"You don't think I'm telling the truth?" Cath's voice was low and tremulous, yet it was piercing enough to cut through the room's silence.Her words hit me like a challenge as I looked up from the coffee mug I was holding. Her eyes, which I used to believe I understood better than my own, were filled with an inexplicable mixture of hurt, rage, and perhaps even a glimmer of hope.I put the coffee down and stated slowly, "It's not about believing you." It's about determining how to proceed. Together.Cath gave a nasty, nearly barking chuckle. "Companions? Mike, do you even understand what that means?Her accusation stung more than I anticipated. I wanted to protect myself and fire back, but I refrained. She was not mistaken."Then demonstrate for me," I responded steadily. "Cath, tell me what you need from me. I'll do it, whatever it is.The tension between us stretched like a wire ready to break as she paced the tiny living room with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "It's not t
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 044
"Mike, why do you always flee when things get tough?"Long after Cath had bounded out of the park that day, the question continued to haunt me. I didn't have a solid response back then, and I wasn't sure I did now. A critical and merciless reflection of myself gazed back at me from the café window. The city outside shifted as though nothing had happened, as though my whole universe hadn't been upended.I swirled my coffee because it was something to do, not because I intended to drink it—it had gone cold an hour ago. Something to help me stay grounded when my thoughts were racing.In actuality, Cath was correct. When things got tough, I did run. I was afraid of the potential of something real, therefore I had fled from her, from us. I now had to consider whether it was too late to repair the damage I had caused.I had been struggling for days with the decision to see her. It was the sensible thing to do, I kept telling myself. Express regret, provide an explanation, and attempt to pre
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 043
"Cath, you lack the courage to interrupt me. You didn't.The arrogance that only Kaila could summon echoed in my ears as she spoke. Like a villain who always thought they had already won, she stood in the doorway of my living room, composed and unflappable.I kept my arms crossed so she couldn't see the quiver rising in my chest. "Kaila, you are not allowed to make that call. No more.Her chuckle was piercing. "Really? following all that I have done for you? For this household? You believe you can simply leave?""I don’t think," I responded, taking a step forward. "I know."Her eyes narrowed as she swiftly recovered from the little moment of hesitation in her smile. What about Mia, too? To play this little game with me, are you truly willing to risk losing her?I grounded myself by taking a deep breath. It was this. I had been postponing this moment for years because I was frightened of the consequences. This time, though, Kaila had gone too far, and I wasn't going to allow her to des
The Billionaire Bride of Convenience Chapter 042
"You don’t deserve her, Cath."I froze as the words struck me like a slap. The shrill, poisonous voice of Kaila cut through the café's silence. Her elegant designer suit and flawlessly done hair contrasted sharply with the turmoil she was bringing into my life, making her a picture of deliberate control as she stood across from me.I carefully put down my coffee cup so she wouldn't see my shaking hands. "What are you talking about?"Uninvited, she slid into the seat across from me and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Mia. You're not worthy of being her mother.My chest erupted with anger, but I made myself remain composed. "I have given Mia my everything. Everything. You're not allowed to enter here and—"She interrupted, dismissively waving a manicured palm. "Save it," she said. "You have deceived her, tricked her, and pulled her into a chaotic life. Is that really what's best for her, in your opinion?I gasped. Despite her gentle tone, Kaila's remarks had a weight that made my s
