Bound By Lies: The Substitute Wife

gh within minutes, clinging heavily to her body as the cold seeped deep into

l, turning the asphalt into a glossy black mirror that reflected the city's blur

one, struggling to wa

popped up alm

reminder from the hosp

ar into a heavy knot that made it hard to breathe. She bit down

ve by machines, and the cost of keeping those machines running for

suddenly cut t

retty girl. L

pickup truck. The stale stench of old beer mixed with cheap whiskey drifted toward her through the r

k H

d worked part-time, always leaving greasy fingerprints o

h still leaked through. She attempted to step around him while secretly grippin

large frame stepping directly into

e always got along so well back

ened around her like a steel clamp, cold and rough. The heav

go of

alize it felt like fighting against a wall. The smile on Rick's fa

just wan

ly and opened her mouth to scream for help, but Rick seized

idn't need to guess what it was-it had to be an aphrodisiac. Her eyes darted frantically around the

at a Rolls-Royce, motionless in the rain l

e of driftwood left

th, adrenaline surging through her ve

hi

and for a split seco

as e

the Rolls-Royce. She pounded desperately on the rear passenger window a

eas

early torn apar

lp

hammer slamming into his temples. The migraine had pushed him to the edge of his endurance. He had been forcing himself to maintain a steady breathing

make he

ritation. He didn't need trouble, and he certainly did

second, he op

treaked window, he

ely clinging to the last lifeline available to her. That raw, instinctive fe

splashed through puddles, sending water flying into the air. He reach

ic

or unl

ul hand grabbed her arm and pulled her quickly into the vehicle. The door slammed shut

faintly with tobacco smoke. It was utterly different from the cold, miserable wo

from the darkness, his eyes s

ed. Rick, who had been standing in the rain only seconds earlier, dis

is voice. "It's taken care of. But the weather is getting w

ched against the pounding in his head. He gritte

ur shift

respect, I really don't think it's a good id

id le

ence like a whip, sharp and furio

diately f

oment, neith

owered his head

oor closed sof

d inside the car did Chloe becom

lly sitting in a

heeks as she scrambled

really didn't have any o

't answer. Instead, a suppressed

d his restraint. To steady himself, he instinctively reached out and gripped her sho

breathin

l away, only to feel the hand

ace entirely, yet she could sense how agony tore at him-h

asked softly. "Do

etter assess his condition. At that exact moment, her own consciousness began to blur. Her

had fallen against him. When he turned his head, all h

ht this on

Chloe's slender waist, pul

ing the two figures tangled together in the bac

rounding her, the roar of rain outside swallowing the world whole, and her

a drowning person clinging to the only piece of driftwood left afloat. She tried to stru

ts, the events of the past few minutes felt so surreal t

face clearly, but the steady rise and fall of his

realization made him

advantage of the darkness, she gathered her belongings and slipped out of the car as

e sidewalk, the sharp ring of

eared on t

ici

tepsi