Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO

Chapter 44: Lawsuit

The room fell silence and for a moment, Stefan just sat there, the words echoing inside him. Leave? Would Ivy do something like that?

His jaw tensed slightly. Is it because she’s tired of being by my side? The thought stung more than he expected.

What could she be sneaking out? What could be in the box? Was she truly leaving him? Was his blindness getting to her? Had she always wanted to leave or was it a recent development?

Could it be true? Stefan thought, different thoughts and scenerios filling his head.

Fear was already gripping his mind, playing a truck on his head when her words "I got you" replayed in his head and then he remembered everything that had been going on in the past week.

How drastically she had changed. The warmth in her touch. Their sex the night before. The way her lips trembled when she whispered that she didn’t want to stop. The way she clung to him like he was her anchor.

No. That woman—who held him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded—was not someone who would run away. If she wanted to run, she would have done so a long time ago.

He shook his head firmly. "It’s probably a misunderstanding," he said finally.

Martin hesitated. Though he wanted to say it was possible, he decided against it.

"I understand it could be a misunderstanding, but should you call her? Just to be sure?" he asked instead.

Stefan sighed. "Fine. If that’ll ease your mind," Stefan said as he handed Martin his phone so he could help him dial her line.

Martin took the phone and dialed Ruby’s line before returning the phone to Stefan.

She picked up on the third ring, her voice light and teasing. "Already missing me, Mr. Winters?" she said with a chuckle. "I haven’t even reached the salon yet."

Stefan’s lips tugged into a smile, relief blooming in his chest. "Just checking."

"Don’t worry," she said softly. "I’ll be back soon. You don’t have to call me evert second," she teased.

He held the phone to his ear for a second longer, as if trying to memorize the sound of her voice before letting out a chuckle. "Alright. Take your time, babe."

After the call ended, he leaned back and turned his head to Martin.

"You see?" Stefan said with quiet certainty. "It was nothing. My Ivy would never leave me."

nodded, still slightly unsure but

woman who had, in just one week, turned his world into something far gentler than he’d

Ruby frowned as she sat behind the wheel, the engine humming softly as she drove down

Why did he call?

had sounded normal—warm, even—but still, something about the timing didn’t sit right. Her mind kept going back to the maid she’d seen by the corner of the garage.

"Of course she did. That had to explain it," she muttered

at her chest. Not because she was doing something wrong—but because she hated lying to him. Even if she

me about the

cleaning? Old stuff I want to throw out? None

at a red light. Whatever. If he asks, I’ll just say whatever

as the car moved

making her way to the elevator. Her heart was still thudding a little faster than normal. Maybe because of Stefan’s unexpected call. Maybe because she knew she had to say goodbye to her best friend

third floor and walked down the corridor to room 306. Lifting her hand, she knocked

later, the door creaked open, and Rayna stood there, barefoot in her sweats, her curly hair piled messily on her head. But it wasn’t her appearance that caught Ruby’s attention—it was the worried frown on her

together immediately. "What’s wrong? Are you

Ruby barely had time to set the box down before

sold a story from an unverified source," she began, her voice tight with panic. "And now

stunned. "What?

said the article defamed them. They

god, Ray..." Ruby sat down on the edge of the bed.

to her. "Not really. I need to go back—like now. Handle it. My assistant’s freaking out and I’ve already got legal breathing down

"But... how are you even going to do

"There’s a flight in three hours. I just need to be

this is insane. How could someone just go behind your back

She seemed bright. Creative. But now I’m not even sure she’s the one who got

in her jaw, the way her shoulders sagged under

wasn’t the type to panic easily. If she looked this shaken, then it had to be

crossed the room to hug her. "I’m so sorry,

back tightly. "I didn’t want to drag you into this.

first place. Maybe if you’d been over there,

back down to Ruby’s car with the box Rayna