Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO

Chapter 17: Together

With that, Ruby turned and left the study, the heavy feeling in her chest only growing as she walked down the hallway.

She quickly glanced back at the study door before heading toward the front door. The lie she had just told Stefan hung in the air, a weight she couldn’t shake. How long could she keep pretending? How much longer could she wear this mask before everything collapsed around her?

As she walked to the door, the weight on her shoulders didn’t feel as heavy, not for a moment. Rayna’s presence in Zeden might just be the distraction Ruby needed — a brief reprieve from the tension that had been building up ever since she’d taken on Ivy’s identity.

She had to admit, though, a small part of her wondered if Stefan had suspected anything — if the questions he asked were anything more than casual curiosity. But she pushed the thought aside for now. Tonight was not about Stefan. It was about a friend, and Ruby needed that normalcy more than anything.

She stepped out the door, feeling the cool air of the evening as she headed to her car. The evening, with its dinner plans and complicated emotions, still awaited her, but for now, she had a few hours to escape, to breathe, and to pretend that everything was normal. .com

As she drove away, her mind still raced with thoughts of the threats, the blackmail, and the lies she was living, but at least for a few hours, she would be someone else. With Rayna, she could be herself again. She could forget about the chaos — even if just for a little while.

Ruby pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, her nerves a tangled mess of anticipation and relief. She had texted Rayna the details of where to meet, and now she was finally here, ready for the reunion she hadn’t realized she’d needed so badly.

She parked the car and made her way through the lobby, her heart racing with the thought of seeing her best friend again. It felt like forever since they had last spoken in person, and yet the connection was still so strong. The weight of everything she was hiding seemed a little lighter when she thought of Rayna — someone who had always been there for her, no questions asked.

She reached the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The doors slid open and Ruby stepped inside, taking a deep breath as the elevator hummed upwards. She was almost there.

When she reached the door to Rayna’s room, Ruby’s hand hovered over the handle for just a moment, collecting herself before she knocked softly. f\ree webn ovel(.)com

"Coming!" came Rayna’s voice from inside, followed by the sound of footsteps. The door swung open, and there stood Rayna — just as Ruby remembered her, with a wide grin on her face and a glint of excitement in her eyes.

around her

as she let Rayna wrap

opened. She clung to her friend as if Rayna were the only thing keeping her from falling apart. It wasn’t just the physical comfort — it

so much," Ruby whispered, her voice thick with emotion as

a soft frown formed as she noticed the exhaustion in Ruby’s eyes, the anxiety in the way she held

what’s wrong?" Rayna asked gently. "I know you’ve been quiet, but this doesn’t feel like just a ’quiet’ thing. Is this the reason you didn’t come back after the wedding? You look

everything she’d been holding inside couldn’t be contained anymore. She took a shaky breath, steeling herself to tell Rayna

married, Rayna. It was me," Ruby began, her voice barely

are you talking about? I

but me," Ruby said with a shaky breath and Rayna looked at her confusion evident in her

asked and then waited for

she’s gone. She disappeared, just like that on her

do you mean, take her place? What happened? If she left, why didn’t they cancel the

she’d been feeling before the wedding. She just left a note and we could all tell she left because of Stefan’s sight. To avoid Stefan getting heartbroken, more than his sight had broken him, his mother, Elizabeth, asked me to step in. When I refused, she offered to pay and also threatened my

into her expression. "Wait... you’ve been living as Ivy all this time? Pretending to

on her chest. "Every day for the past three days. And it’s been hell. But

silent, waiting for Ruby to

not Ivy," Ruby said, her voice trembling. "They’ve been sending me messages,

that’s... that’s horrible. I can’t imagine how terrifying this must be for you. But we’ll figure

away from everything that’s going on now. I’m so exhausted," Ruby cried abd Rayna drew her close, enveloping her