Secret Billionaire’s Contract Bride: Marrying My Enemy’s Lover

Chapter 71

*Damon”

Flying between LA and Vegas was tough, especially when I didn’t get to spend as much time with Adelaide as I would like. Now with the movie starting she was extremely busy. They had different call times every day. Some days she left at 3 AM and other days her shooting days would start at 7 PM. But we made it work.

We were two and a half weeks into filming and we hadn’t missed out on date nights. They were still special and sacred to us and this time Adelaide had stuck to her promise. I was proud of her and that she was building for herself. She had wanted this for so long and it didn’t hurt that her father was bitter.

And though I hated to admit it, I loved that she was smiling more with Corinna around. Though my relationship with her was still frosty, I felt sorry for her. My brother was not an easy man to deal with. I would liken him to the Grinch but with no redeemable qualities.

This divorce was going to weigh on Corinna but my wife was making sure that she gave her sister the best fighting chance. The lawyer we have right now for her was good but Adelaide had her reservations. Unfortunately, the best lawyer for Corinna was at Roberts and Cohan-the law firm that Angela worked at. And it was safe to say that my wife didn’t want to

take our business there.

She was still unsure about Angela even though I had assured her that she meant no harm. But I was willing to keep her mind calm so I made sure to step away from Angela. I was still friendly with her but I had set some firm boundaries in place. My wife came first above everyone else and that included me.

I had been mindlessly scrolling on my phone when I came across something that made me do a double take.

“There’s no fucking way.” I hissed under my

breath.

I sat up in my bed and scrolled through the article. There in big bold letters was the title that had my blood boiling. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

‘Director Adelaide Steyn in a dramatic love affair with movie lead Gabriel Alcoretz?’

Underneath the article was a picture of Gabriel and Adelaide at the conference she had attended for the movie. His hand was on top of hers on the couch and he was staring at her like like I stared at her. There was a sense of awe written all over his features. I didn’t know what the hell this man was doing with his hand over my wife’s but I didn’t like it.

—

I read the first paragraph of the article and that was enough for me.

*Rumors have been swirling around that the two got extremely close on the first day of shooting. And inside reports even said that they looked like they were about to kiss. Now all of this is simply speculation but many even sensed sparks between the two during MediCon when Gabriel-

I ripped my eyes away from the screen not wanting to read anymore. She was my wife and the public knew she was married. There was a big fat rock on her hand that told any male who tried to get close exactly that.

I didn’t want to keep making up assumptions in my head and so I called the source. I laid back down on my bed and rested my back against the headboard.

It was about 8 in the evening and she had just gotten back from shooting because she had texted me only ten minutes ago telling me she was home. The phone rang once and she picked up instantly.

“Hey baby,” her face illuminated the screen. “I missed you today.”

The anger that had been hard-set around my heart melted just the slightest bit at the sight of her smile. How could I ever truly be mad at this woman? In my eyes, she was perfect in her umperfect way.

“Hey,” I grunted trying to see how best I could start this conversation without setting off more fires between us. We had just weathered through a storm similar to this and I didn’t want to drag us back.

“What’s wrong?” Her smile dropped.

“II sighed. “I saw something today and it kind of made me mad and I don’t want to be mad but I just.. it’s just not sitting right with me.”

She looked like she was walking somewhere till she finally sat down on our bed. She rested her head on the pillow and stared at me with concern in her eyes. She knew that it was rare that things got to me to the point when they affected my mood.

But when they did it meant that it had to be somewhat serious enough for me to have to say something. I didn’t want to dampen her mood, especially when she looked like she was coming off a good day, and I—

“Damon, you’re scaring me.”

“Sorry,” I blinked. “I just saw this article a few minutes ago and it was talking about you and Gabriel. It was saying how you two got really close at filming and how they think you two have some kind of love affair going on. I know you obviously aren’t dating the guy-you’re married after all.”

She was silent for a few seconds but those few seconds felt like an eternity.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust my wife. I didn’t trust him.

Adelaide was a stunner and she was one of the most authentic and internally beautiful people you would ever meet. Her heart was like sunshine and it always managed to touch those around her. You couldn’t help but be drawn into her pull.

“I told you on the beach, you’re the only man I see.”

Her explanation was sound but it didn’t do anything for me.

“Did anything happen during filming?” My tone came out a little accusatory and I realized my mistake when my wife. frowned.

“Are you asking if I cheated on you with my male lead in front of dozens of crew and cast?”

Oh shit….

I really should have thought that one through.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m only asking if the article is true.” I was really putting my foot in my mouth here. I was choosing death and I was digging my own hole at this point. “No wait, that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, I think it’s exactly what you meant, Damon. You are asking if a trash tabloid news outlet wrote the truth about me cheating on you while I was at work filming.”

When she said it like that it sounded as terrible as it had in my head.

“I was showing them a scene where they needed to show emotion. We acted it out, and I gave Tiffany her notes, that was all. That was it.”

“Are you

sure?” If I could have slapped myself at that moment I would have. My mouth had a mind of its own at this point.

I could see the hurt in her eyes. I knew that this was bringing back painful memories from our fake marriage days. I had done this to her once before and I had promised myself that I would never do this again. But here I was again, accusing her. I was allowing my own insecurities to get in the way of us again.

“Adelaide…”

“I am not cheating on you.” Her face was completely void of any emotion. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I have never and will ever cheat on you. I said my vows to you and I have kept my promises. I love you, Damon. And I want you to trust me. The same way I have trusted you with Angela.”

“Don’t bring Angela into this. We aren’t talking about her right now.”

“Is it not the same thing though? Is she not a thorn in our relationship too?”

“How? Am I working with her? Am I getting close to her and acting out live scenes with her?”

“No, it’s worse because you see her willingly-outside of work-related things.”

“She’s my friend.”

“And she wants to screw you. How can you not see that?”

“And how can not see Gabriel wants to fuck you?”

She gaped at me, “What do you want from me, Damon? He is my male lead. I can’t run from him.”

“Then quit!” I bellowed.

It was only when the words left my lips that I realized what I had just said to her. The look on her face was a sucker punch to the gut.

“I need to go.” Her voice was barely above a whisper at this point.

“Adie-”

But it was too late. The call cut and I was left staring at myself.

Had I just ruined my marriage?