All Chapters of The Wife He Replaced : Chapter 81 - Chapter 89

CHAPTER 81 Victor's pov The blue evaluation paper sat on the kitchen counter. Its bright state seal shone under the lights. I didn't look at it. I gripped a bleach-soaked cloth. I scrubbed the marble surface. I had done this in an hour. My right arm screamed in pain. The twenty-two stitches pulled against my skin.. I liked the pain. It kept me from staring at the clock. It kept me from smashing my fist through the window."Victor stop, " Rita whispered. She walked into the kitchen. Her voice cracked. She touched my wrist. Her small fingers were warm against my skin. "The counter is clean. The whole house is clean. You've been scrubbing since four o'clock this morning. Look at your hand. You're going to bleed."I dropped the cloth into the sink. The wet sound echoed in the room. I turned to look at Rita. My chest heaved up and down. My face felt pale. My eyes burned from lack of sleep. "It has to be perfect, Rita. If there's a thing out of place that psychologist will write it down.

CHAPTER 83Victor's pov The roar of the jet engines was a scream in my ears but the sound of my own pulse hammering against my temples was louder. The cold wind ripped across the tarmac carrying the smell of aviation fuel and wet concrete. Behind me on the metal steps of the plane Rita was clutching Aria tightly, The yellow strobe lights from the three SUVs cut through the dark mist painting her white dress in ugly flashing patches of amber."Victor, no " Rita choked out her voice barely audible over the wind. She reached down. Grabbed my shoulder, her grip frantic and trembling. "Don't go there. Please. It's a trap."I didn't look back at her. If I looked at the fear in her eyes or the way Aria was burying her face into her mothers neck I would lose my focus. I needed to be sharp. I needed to destroy my father."Stay on the stairs, Rita " I said, my voice low and flat. I gently pried her fingers from my jacket. Gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Keep the cabin door open. The second I

CHAPTER 85Victor's povThe golden desert sun poured through the glass windows of my new office. It warmed the wood floors. I didn't have a mahogany desk anymore. I didn't have the leather chairs or the cold marble statues that used to make my New York office look like a fortress. Instead there was a simple white table, a laptop and a wide view of the blue Dubai ocean.I adjusted my linen shirt sleeves rolling them up past my elbows. My right arm still ached a bit where the stitches had been.. The physical pain was nothing compared to the strange overwhelming lightness in my chest. For the time in my life I wasn't breathing in the toxic heavy air of my fathers empire. I was breathing in the scent of salt water and sweet jasmine from the courtyard below.The office door slid open with a click.Rita walked in with a plate of fresh fruit and two glasses of ice water. She wore a flowing blue dress that matched the sea outside. Her dark hair was tied back in a bun. Her skin looked healthy

CHAPTER 87 Victor's pov The thick white paper sat on the wooden table between our beach chairs. The black ink of my fathers signature looked like a stain under the bright Dubai sun. The wind from the ocean blew across the terrace. It rustled the edges of the pages. Nobody moved to touch it. I stood still. My hands were buried inside the pockets of my linen trousers. I stared down at the document. It officially put a price tag on our freedom. Four hundred million dollars. That was the cost of a monster's surrender."Victor, " Rita whispered. Her voice was rough. It shook with a mixture of hope and pure exhausting terror. She stepped closer to me. Her small fingers reached out to grab the sleeve of my shirt. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at my face. "Is it real? If you sign that... If you give him that money is he truly gone? Can he never walk up our driveway again? Can he never send his lawyers to take our girl?"I looked away from the paper. I turned to face her. The golden su

CHAPTER 89RitaThe warm sand shifted beneath my bare feet as I walked down the stone steps of the villa, the linen of my white dress brushing softly against my ankles. The sky over the gulf was a deep, burning orange, the sun sinking low into the water like a heavy coin. There were no cameras here. There were no reporters hiding in the bushes, no corporate lawyers watching from the sidelines with legal folders. There was just the quiet, rhythmic rumble of the ocean waves crashing against the shore, and the small group of people waiting for me under the wooden arch.Maya stood near the palm leaves, a small bouquet of wild frangipani flowers in her hands, her eyes already wet with tears as she caught sight of me. My uncle sat in a simple wooden chair, his arms crossed over his linen suit, a proud, protective smile softening his old face. And right in front of them stood Victor.My breath caught in my chest, a sudden, powerful wave of emotion hitting me so hard my knees trembled. He loo