Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO

Chapter 13: I Know Who You Are

Ruby shut the bedroom door behind her, pressing her back against it as she exhaled slowly. The tension in her shoulders refused to ease, no matter how much she tried to convince herself that she had handled the situation well.

Her mind replayed the conversation with Stefan over and over, searching for any cracks in her story. Had she said too much? Had she convinced him, or had she only fueled his suspicions further?

"Can someone really change that much?"

His words echoed in her head, sending a fresh wave of unease through her. Stefan wasn’t the type to accept things at face value. Even without his sight, he noticed the smallest details, his intuition seemed to be razor-sharp. Perhaps that was why he had asked Ivy so they could postpone their wedding?

She had tried to justify her changed behavior by tying it to his blindness, and for now, it seemed like he was holding back. But for how long? How many more slip-ups before he stopped questioning and started digging? fr\eewe.bn(o)v\el.c(o)m

Pushing off the door, she moved to the vanity, staring at her reflection. The face looking back at her wasn’t Ivy’s, yet she had to be Ivy in every possible way. The weight of it was suffocating.

"How long can I keep this up?"

She let out a bitter chuckle. "You have to, Ruby. You don’t have a choice."

But maybe... she didn’t have to do it alone.

Her eyes flicked toward her phone. There was one person who could help—someone who had as much to lose as she did if this plan fell apart. Stefan wouldn’t question things as much if his mother backed her up.

Her fingers hovered over the screen before she dialed the number. The phone rang twice before Elizabeth picked up.

"Ruby," Elizabeth greeted smoothly. "Why are you calling?"

for a second, then got straight to the point. "It’s Stefan.

this, but I was hoping

her voice hushed. "It’s not just what he said—it’s how he’s acting. He keeps testing me, waiting for me to slip up. I almost did today. If I make one more mistake, he’ll know something’s wrong. Also,

told you this wouldn’t be easy, Ruby. Stefan

stepping up, he might stop being so suspicious since it’ll be coming from you. There’d be no reason to doubt his mom who he

him believe that

confirmed. "If you reinforce it, he’ll

when she realized what Ruby meant and how smart the idea seemed. "Not bad.

wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment or a

it," Elizabeth said. "But be careful, Ruby. If Stefan ever does find out

swallowed hard.

see. But about Ivy’s friends. I’m

responding

ended, but Ruby

to help, but could she really trust her? Or was she just another

certain—if this went wrong, Ruby wouldn’t be the only one to

first. Or maybe not. She might just up and leave just as Ivy did and leave their

the bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about things to do to get Stefan to relax around her when her phone suddenly buzzed.

she saw the screen, her

was a message from

I know

breath hitched. Her fingers tightened around the phone as she sat