All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Mistress Contracted Wife: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Drake’s POVI sat in stunned silence, the words of the old woman sinking in. Flashes that had plagued me for so long ones that had been mere fragments of confusion-suddenly sharpened into focus. My head pounded, and blistering pain seared through my skull, but this time, I did not pass out. I knotted my fists, the knuckles white, as I fought to breathe through the pain, to make sense of everything I heard.It was no longer disjointed flashes but a whole, vivid scene unfolding in front of me. I was a child again, playing with the old lady, who was my grandmother. Her wrinkled hand lay affectionately on my shoulder as she read stories to me. I felt the look of warmth in her eyes and love in her touch, and then all of a sudden everything became pitch black. My mind had gone blank, and the memories faded, as my grandmother said they were.But now, they were coming back. It was all coming back."You were always so full of life," the old woman cut through the storm in my head. "Even after y

Valerie’s POVI sat amidst this seclusion of trees, which gently swayed with every oncoming wind. It was the place we would come to whenever life was easy and we could break loose from the world and just be with one another. I thought he was the man I would spend the rest of my life with, the man who promised me the world. But now, that world seemed torn from my grasp.He had accused me of sleeping with another man. The words cut me deeper than I thought possible. After everything we’d been through, after all the trust I’d placed in him, he had believed the worst of me. The heartbreak of it made me small like a fragment of myself had been shattered beyond repair.A twig snapped behind me. I jerked out of my reverie and whipped my head to the side, heart racing. I hadn't expected anyone to find me here, at this quiet, secluded spot.There was a figure standing just beyond the line of trees. Tall, broad-shouldered, familiar.Drake.I didn't know what to say, or what to feel for a long,

Ron’s POVI stood like a statue in the doorway, my eyes darting back and forth between Valerie and Drake as shock paralyzed me where I stood. The tension in the room was already thick, it seemed to close in even tighter as the silence drew out. For one fleeting instant, it almost appeared that my mind couldn't grasp what I was looking at. Of all the things I might have expected this morning, this surely wasn't among them.What are you doing here, Drake? " I finally asked, confusion and suspicion rife in my voice. The air was alive with tension between the two men, a silent rivalry between us had bubbled just below the surface for so very long.Drake crossed his arms, leaning back from them slightly, a smirk forming across his lips. It wasn't an expression of amusement but one of defiance. He was in no mood for pleasantries now, not with me. "Why do you think I'm here?" Drake retorted in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your darling Valerie here thought I was like one of those men she

Valerie’s POVI stood behind the counter, the soft hum of the old woman's store filling the space around me. Light filtered through the large windows at the front, casting gentle beams on the rows of antique and odd trinkets lined up on shelves. I absently polished a wooden jewelry box, lost in thought. It was a quiet day, like most days, where only a few customers trickled in, browsing the shelves with curiosity but hardly ever purchasing anything.I had grown used to the slowness of the store, such a good contrast to the chaos of my life before. Working here gave me peace, a strange, unsaid calm that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves. The old woman had become even more silent than usual, busying herself with inventory and pricing in the background. I could feel it in my bones that something was weighing on her mind, but I wouldn't dare approach the subject. The old woman simply wasn't the type to share unless it seemed utterly necessary.My thoughts drifted off to the un

Drake’s POVI had been up all night wrestling with my decision. The old woman’s request to move into the Chase mansion bothered me, but after hours of turning it over in my mind, I couldn't find a logical reason to refuse. She had her motives, but I couldn't deny that she held power, she knew things about my father, about the family legacy that no one else did. She had been such a fixture in this town that the very walls of her shop seemed to hold secrets.But agreeing to her conditions wasn't enough for me. If I was going to make this work, I needed something more something that would give me some kind of control over this situation. And that was when my mind turned to Valerie.Since we’d crossed paths that day at the store, Valerie had remained in the back of my mind, a fixture that I found particularly aggravating. No, what annoyed me was simply the fact that she had looked at me, not in fear, or awe, but almost in disdain. Like I was just one more man she couldn't stand to be nea