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CHAPTER 140
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2025-03-16 21:23:49
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Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 141
Audrey's POVThe chaos receded into the distance. The screaming sirens, the flashing lights, the yelling officers—all of them receded in importance before the one thing that counted. Lucas. His hold on me was possessive, his heat holding me fast as if he was too scared to release me. His heart thrummed against my cheek, confirmation that he was here, alive, intact.I lifted my head, our gazes meeting. His stormy blue eyes held something raw, something beyond relief. It was love. Raw. Unabated. The world could have ended around us, and I would not have noticed. I traced my fingers over his jaw, the rough line of it."We did it," I breathed. Lucas released a breath, his forehead against mine. I smiled, despite everything. "Right back at you."His arms clutched harder, his lips meeting mine. "Never again, Audrey." His voice was like he was making a promise over a sworn oath."Promise?" He did not answer anything. He only kissed me. It wasn't gentle. I wasn't careful. "I love you," he bre
Last Updated : 2025-03-17Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 142
AUDREY’S POV"Now what?" Lucas growled, his voice short.Michael took a breath. "The evidence Kendall had? Had already leaked when she was arrested." Chills ran down my spine. "What?" Lucas's face set in a line. "How much of it?"Michael's head jerked. "Enough to hurt. The media are running the story now. And now that Isabella is in the spotlight, news travels fast." My body coiled into sheer rage. My stomach turned queasily. "What does that have to do with anything then?""It has this to say," Michael said, "the world will, tomorrow morning at the latest, take for granted that Audrey Willows is a criminal." The world is going to believe Audrey Willows is a criminal. Lucas cursed under his breath. "We need to get ahead of this." Michael nodded. Both of us. I looked at Lucas. His expression was empty, but his hold on my hand did not loosen. He was not letting me go. I will not let them shatter you.”The way he'd spoken, the tone of his voice so hypnotic—made me have to believe him.Mi
Last Updated : 2025-03-18Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 143
Audrey's POV"We have an even greater problem.” I followed Lucas behind Michael into the penthouse living room, where television was already arranged. A news anchor was reporting, and the words gave me shivers down my spine."Lucas Kent's secret lover, Audrey Willows, is accused of corporate corruption. Top-secret documents suggest she embezzled millions working for Kent Enterprises. The shocking news has us all wondering—did billionaire CEO Lucas know about his mistress's corruption? And did he attempt to cover it up?" I sat back on my heels. They weren't after me alone.They were after Lucas as well. Lucas cursed, running his hand through his hair. "They're trying to turn this into a scandal of such magnitude as to ruin me."Michael agreed. "And succeeded. Stock is plummeting, board members are up in arms, and investors are pulling out. If this continues, the damage might be too vast to repair." My stomach knotted. "All because of me." Lucas's eyes leaped to mine. "No, this is due t
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Audrey's POVI knew what he was asking for. In private. I swallowed and consented. "But I wanna talk to Lucas.”I just need to speak with your mom first.” "Okay.”"How long?” "How long is it?” My throat closed. I tried to tell you! But you were with Isabella. "You didn't want to destroy my life?” His voice broke, pain. "I missed it all. All of it. Guilt-stricken, I choked on it. A wave engulfed me. "I was doing what I believed was right."Lucas burst out laughing harshly. "The right thing?" His cheeks were flushed with fervor. "Audrey, I deserved to know. No matter what was happening between us, no matter what you believed was good for me, you owed me that much: to tell me!"I sobbed. "I was frightened."Lucas stepped back. "By me?" "No," I struggled. "By losing him. By losing it all. By taking him away from me." His face split. "Audrey, I'd never—" He gulped for air.There was silence between them. Thick, crushing silence.Lucas was facing away from me, his shoulders heaving up and do
Last Updated : 2025-03-18Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 145
Audrey's POVLucas was behind me, standing. Isabella collapsed dramatically.You stole me, Audrey. My fiancé. My future. My reputation.”Lucas wasn't mine." Her eyes flamed with anger. "Maybe not. But I was his fiancée. And I had an ace up my sleeve.” "The tabloids are already drooling over this scandal. But the headlines will be even sweeter. Because I'm going to ruin you, Audrey.”Her smile curdled. "Oh, sweetie. You'll just find out." And, before Lucas and I could stop her, she whirled around and disappeared down the sidewalk, high heels clicking.I closed the door on her, my heart thudding.Lucas cursed. I turned to him, shaking. "What do we do?"His jaw was clenched. "We fight back."The madness erupted the next day. I hadn't even taken the first sip of the second cup of my coffee before my phone began ringing non-stop. Headlines on the news. Facebook messages. Hate mail.The headlines were awful."Audrey Willows: Billionaire's Secret Child Mama—A Gold Digger's Ultimate Deception
Last Updated : 2025-03-18Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 146
Audrey's POVI shook my head, laughing. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you.”The world was a new world the morning after. Lucas and I sat at the kitchen table, Aiden happily munching pancakes between us.I looked at Lucas, my mind racing to keep pace with the reality of it all. Of how we were actually here. His fingers drew along mine. "Stop thinking," he said.I breathed. "I can't help myself." He smiled. "Second thoughts on making the choice to say yes?" I rolled my eyes. "No. Everything is just happening too fast.” I've already wasted enough time on you." I squeezed his fingers tighter. "I know.”"It's my lawyer." I pouted. "Why?" Lucas let out a sigh. "Because there is one last fight we have to fight."We were sitting in Lucas's office an hour and a half later, across from Daniel Harper, Lucas's attorney. Daniel's face was stern. "Isabella sued." I was queasy. "What for?" Lucas's jaw tightened into a vice. "Defamation, I guess?" Daniel nodded. "And breach of contract. She's suing for calli
Last Updated : 2025-03-18Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 147
Audrey's POVLucas held my fists tightly in his as we stood before the minister."I, Lucas Kent, take you, Audrey Willows. No regrets, no past, only us—our future. I teared up, but I did not cry.I breathed deeply and swallowed hard, shuddering as I read the words I have to speak:". I, Audrey Willows, take you, Lucas Kent, as my husband. Storm or peace, rain or sunshine, I take you. I will take you always. Lucas's grip tightened around my hands. The minister beamed. My breath stopped.Lucas leaned, his mouth on mine. "Mine," he whispered on my lips as he took the kiss, enveloping us. I trembled. I was his. And he was mine.Lucas hardly closed the door to his penthouse before his hands found me. "Lucas…. "He swept me into his arms, and took me straight into his bedroom. A blur is all: the way he undressed me naked, the way his fingers mapped me like mapping every inch of me into his head. It wasn't a desire. It was love. It was possession.And when he spoke my name, over and over, I kn
Last Updated : 2025-03-18Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 148
Audrey's POVMichael's threats still lingered in my head long after the phone had been slammed down. "You'll be sorry you ever met Lucas Kent." I shivered.Lucas caught the look in my eyes, because in a movement so quick I almost didn't see it, he framed my face, his head cocking to mine. "What did he say?" His tone was low and menacing.I swallowed. "He—he threatened us." His lips clamped down, his arms holding me in a squeeze before he released them."He's going to play games with your head." Lucas's voice was gentler, but the steel beneath was not. "But I am not going to sit back and watch him harm you, Audrey. Do you understand?”Michael got the vote, but this wasn't the last of it. And there was something that made me believe his next move would be worse.That night, Lucas refused to let me go anywhere without him.We dined in the penthouse, in private, but the tension hung thick.He was constantly checking his phone, expecting news, expecting something to come along. I leaned o
Last Updated : 2025-03-18
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Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 161
Meanwhile, doors swing outward into a corridor of burning neon lights that seethe with maddened intensity.Lucas's bodyguard had captured a group of men attempting to break into the boardroom. They had masks over their faces, but there was one man with a red tie in his hand—a detail which I'd seen in Michael's reports the last two years.I felt sick. "Lucas, is that you?" I stuttered into the receiver, speaking the words out loud.I received only mumbling answers over the phone. My tears began recalling Lucas's vow to stay with me, and I vowed to myself only that I would fulfill the vow to the very core of my soul. Soft knocking on the door of the safe room persisted. My throat had been grabbed and I pushed my ear into the door, pushed the door. "Who is that?" I shrieked, trembling.Low murmuring, soft breathing, "Audrey, I'm here. Open it."I was shocked and didn't want to open it for her. The voice was soothing, yet it wasn't anyone special—I didn't know who it was. My phone beeped
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 160
Audrey's POVI sat on the railing of our penthouse balcony as the city awakened askew under the wan, uncertain dawn. The sharp morning air did little to placate the storm raging within. Lucas had been so firm last night, so firm that he would shield us. Even now, I could not shake the disquieting fear that Michael's promises were far from over with us. I gripped my phone hard, reliving that anonymous text:"The truth is still hidden. Prepare for what comes next."It resonated within my mind like a curse. I could not help but wonder if it signaled another turn, another betrayal lurking just around the bend.Inside, Lucas walked into the room. His footsteps were measured, every sound sharp in the quiet stillness."They inform us that someone was seen outside the hotel last night—someone with a black hoodie. And now we receive new warnings from the estate."I shivered down my spine. "Do you think Michael's men have come back?"Lucas shifted his head slowly. "I don't know, but we must pre
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 159
Audrey's POVI sat quietly in our penthouse as the aftershocks of the boardroom battle slowly faded from my mind. The adrenaline high was gone, but my heart thudded angrily against the walls of my chest. The phrases Lucas uttered during the meeting still lingered in my mind, every sentence a mix of pain and protest. I could not shake the threat of Michael as well as the uncertain future that lay in wait for me.I gazed out the window at city lights burning below like false promises. The silence was heavy with my own hope and fear. I didn't know if our love, hard-won, could even shield us from the forces of darkness on the horizon.Lucas entered the room quietly. He sat with me on the old creaky sofa, his hand extended for mine. I felt his heat, comfortable and strong, and all was right in the world for that moment. But that moment was like glass.Audrey, he started, his voice barely above a whisper, "I couldn't help but wonder what Michael had said. I think he's got other ideas for us
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 158
Audrey's POVThe sun was up in the sky, but its light was miles away from me. My heartpounding as I remained there in the quiet of our bedroom, still warm from last night on my body. Lucas slept beside me, his even breathing a reminder of how much I longed for peace. But as I looked at him, doubt consumed me. I stood up quietly, not to disturb him, and moved towards the window. The ocean sparkled below me, endless and merciless. I looked around warily—someone was there. Within seconds, my world was turned right-side up. Lucas stood before me to take another step, his eyes taut with urgency. "Audrey, we must leave—now!" he commanded, his voice firm and gentle simultaneously.Guards let out low commands of warning as security cameras tracked our every step. I could sense a tempest building—a tempest that would tear all we'd built apart.In the car outside, Lucas's grip on my hand was tight, knuckles white. "Something has happened," he breathed rapidly. "The board… they're having an eme
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 157
Audrey's POVThe soft roll of the ocean was ringing in my head as I sat with Lucas on scorched sand. Blazing kisses and blazing vows had set the night ablaze, but now there was some unhappiness within me that churned a storm within, thudding my heart with an arrhythmic beat.Lucas had his arm across my shoulders and looked up at the moon that hovered above a sea that withdrew from it."Sometimes I think we can really leave it all behind," I told myself more than anything else. A tug in the heart—a mixture of hope and fear—warned me the peace was only temporary.I barely got the next word out before my cell phone rang in my hand. I answered it in hope. On the screen, a new message from an unknown number:"You can hide in love, but secrets always come to the surface."My gut roiled over, and I looked up as Lucas's eyes began filling with fear. "What did it say?" he snarled, his voice harsh but uncertain.I wrapped my hand around the paper into a fist, breathing nearly silently. "It says
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 156
Audrey’s POVSea salt surrounded me as I walked along the beach of the private island, my feet sunk in the warm golden sand. Blue waves caressed softly, like the kiss of a lover. Everything was so calm, so like a dream—a false guarantee of the next storm. Lucas? Not even close to being calm. He was a couple of feet off, looking at me with that infuriatingly smug grin, his top half-shirt open, the golden sheen of the setting sun on his chiseled chest. He had something concealed behind his back."What are you hiding?”"So impatient. Aren't surprises supposed to be fun?I folded my arms. "Not if you're the one who does the surprising." Lucas flashed a smile and moved in on me, gradual and deliberate, the type of pace that got my heart skipping a beat faster. "You hurt me, Audrey. Suppose I told you it was a gift? Something that I specifically picked out just for you?"My gaze flew down to his hands, but he quickly moved to fold them behind his back again. "Lucas," I cautioned."Oh, you c
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 155
Audrey's POVLucas didn't move. Because he knew. I stepped forward carefully. "Yes, I do." I took another step forward. "What do you want, Isabella?" She laughed. I breathed in. She was furious, out-of-rhythm. One misstep, and this would end in blood.Lucas stepped forward with me. "Isabella, listen— She shoved the gun into Lucas. Her face twisted in rage. "Say it." He looked at her. "I never loved you." A scream was torn from her body. "You liar." And she turned on me. I had no chance to defend myself before she fired. Bang. Lucas caught me before I hit the ground. "Audrey!" His voice frantic, his hands on my wound.Isabella smiled. "See? Now we're even." And then, before anyone could stand up and take her— She put the gun to her head. Lucas strained. "No—" Bang. Her body crumpled to the ground. Silence. The world ended. I felt the thudding of my own heartbeat, racing. Lucas was trembling, with me in his arms. Then there were voices. Guards rushing in. Somebody called for an ambula
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 154
Audrey's POVIt was to be a calm night.But calm was something we still needed to learn.Lucas had me wrapped around him, hugging me, as we lay on the bed, his arm wrapped around my waist to stop me from squirming. His body heat was not intended to soothe me, but the grip in my chest would not ease up. Something was amiss.I was in bed, staring up at the ceiling with my mind elsewhere. I couldn't sleep with her face in front of me, her own face contorted in anger. We might have been physically out of the room or not, but we weren't finished with her section yet.And desperate people, if there was one thing that I had learned so far, weren't to be underestimated. Lucas rolled onto his side next to me, his gentle kiss following the line of my shoulder."I cannot sleep. My mind will not rest."His eyes grew softer. "Tell me." I hesitated. "What if she comes back? What if she has something much worse planned?"Lucas drew in a breath, pushing back my hair with his fingers. "She won't hurt
Faking Love, Making War: The CEO’s Dirty Secrets CHAPTER 153
Audrey's POV I trembled in fear as Lucas's words hit me. "Isabella." I knew she would never let us be. That woman was never bad, but now? Now, she had crossed a line that I wasn't sure she could ever turn back from. I grasped the sheets, struggling for breath. "She was scheming with him? The hoodie guy?" Lucas brushed his hand through his hair, his teeth clenched. "Security cameras filmed her entering the hotel with me. They were careful, but not careful enough." Anger and fear fought for dominance within me. Isabella had already done as much as she was capable of ruining me—to accuse me, shame me, try to destroy me. Now she's involved with my son. That was unacceptable. Lucas's eyes grew darker as if he could see directly into my mind. Not you, not Aiden.” His fists tensed in my arms. "You won't have to.". Lucas Kent was done playing games. I shut the TV down quietly. Aiden had padded into the doorway, in pajamas, and scrubbed at his eyes. "Mommy?" I scooped him up and hel
