《The Ultimate Cure: A New Husband》全部章節：第 181 章 - 第 190 章

All eyes were on Adriana. She clutched the gift—once meant for Chris but now forever useless—and took heavy, measured steps toward him.By all logic, she should have been happy. His legs had recovered. That was supposed to be good news.But the question gnawing at her was when exactly they had healed.Had he lied to her? And if so, for how long?Had he been able to stand even before she and Francesco broke up?A wave of panic surged through her. She instinctively glanced toward the guest seating—and her eyes locked with Francesco's.He sat there, wine glass in hand, calm and composed, watching her as if he had already foreseen this very moment.Adriana's mind flashed back to the end of last year, when Francesco had invited them to the estate. He had deliberately mishit the tennis ball, goading Odysseus toward Chris. Back then, she thought it was deliberate revenge for her betrayal.Now, it seemed… maybe it had been a test. A test of Chris's feigned disability.If that were tru

Adriana pushed open the door and was immediately hit by a fragrant scent. She switched on the lights and froze for a moment, then stepped back and glanced at the door number.Yes… it was her home.From the entrance onward, the floors were carpeted in red rose petals, soft and delicate underfoot. Everywhere she looked, fresh flowers and diamonds glittered in the lamplight.Adriana didn't feel any romance. Instead, a cold dread settled in her chest.She hadn't given Chris the electronic lock code, nor had she handed over a key. Yet here he was, not only capable of installing surveillance and cameras in her home but also moving in and out freely.Barely three minutes after she returned, just as she reached for her phone to message Francesco, a knock sounded at the door.Through the exterior monitor, she saw Chris.She opened the door. "What are you doing here?""Not in a good mood?"Chris noticed her detached tone and glanced inside. The arrangements appeared untouched.Adriana

"A-Adriana?"Alex's voice trembled with unease; he hadn't heard a reply for a long moment.Adriana wiped the tear streaks from her cheeks and closed the window."Alex… thank you."Hearing the deliberately distant address, Alex felt a bitter pang. He understood her—six years of lies were unbearable for anyone. Chris had no right to deceive her, and in this, they were equally culpable."Adriana, don't do anything reckless. Life is still long," he urged."Of course… I'll live well," she replied, her voice steady. Then she hung up.She sank to the floor, stunned. The shock of the truth had frozen her emotions; she felt neither sadness nor anger. Her inner world felt hollow, her body numb, as if she had vanished from existence. She had lost more than six years—she had lost a version of life that might have been whole.Chris… was truly cruel.She leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, sitting silently until the moon sank and dawn's first light crept in. Only then did she slowly

Chris's expression darkened slightly. "I'm not interested."Dean ignored him, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "Mom prayed every day in her diary for a certain bastard child to die. Chris… you should never have been born."Before their parents died and before reading their mother's diary, Chris had been Dean's closest brother—the most important person in his life. But after seeing those pages, the truth hit Dean like a punch to the gut.Chris's mother had been a hostess who seduced their father, and Chris was the result. She had made a scene, and the outcome was this "bastard."Dean's childhood memories were filled with arguments between their parents. Later, he was sent abroad for a year, used as leverage by their father to threaten his mother. When he returned, there was a new little brother in the house.At first, he had been thrilled—at least he wouldn't be alone when the parents argued. Because his mother disliked Chris, Dean had overcompensated, showering him with care, want

The day after moving into her new home, Adriana agreed to meet Chris.They arranged to meet at the coffee shop on the ground floor of the Sanctity Research Lab. When Adriana walked down, Chris had already ordered two cups of coffee."Adriana, I'm sorry," Chris said, his voice low, the furrow between his brows never fully relaxing. He hadn't slept a wink all night, yet he didn't look fatigued."Apologies are only useful to acknowledge the harm you've caused me. Beyond that, they're meaningless," Adriana said flatly, dropping a sugar cube into her coffee.For the past six months, the word Chris said most often was "sorry."Saying "it's okay" wasn't easy. Those words had to travel from the stomach to the lips, passing through the heart—it wasn't simple to speak them aloud. One could fool others, but never one's own heart.Chris reached for her hand as she stirred her coffee. "I'll make it up to you… okay?"Adriana lifted her gaze, her tone calm and indifferent. "I want ten percent