Semua Bab The Bride He Refused to Lose : Bab 1 - Bab 10

Lorrie stared at the black card in her trembling hands. *Lorenzo Dimitri wants a wife.* The elegant, sweeping calligraphy seemed to mock her very existence.She had heard his name before. Everyone had. Lorenzo Dimitri was the billionaire owner of Dimitri Holdings, a mysterious tycoon whose face rarely appeared in the media, and a ruthless businessman rumored to possess dangerous, far-reaching connections. Some called him a financial genius. Others called him a monster.No one called him kind."No..." she whispered, shaking her head as the reality tried to sink in. "There has to be some mistake."The man standing in her living room remained entirely expressionless. "There is no mistake, Miss Elmundo. Our boss specifically requested you."Lorrie’s brows furrowed, her panic morphing into sheer bewilderment. "Me? Why me? I'm nobody.""That question can only be answered by Mr. Dimitri," the man replied smoothly, his lips tightening into a thin line.Suddenly, Carlos rushed forward, throwin

Lorrie barely slept. Every time she finally managed to close her eyes, the crushing weight of reality snapped her awake, reminding her exactly where she was.The Dimitri Mansion. The heavily guarded fortress of one of the most feared men in New York. Her husband's home.No, she corrected herself, staring up at the ornate ceiling. Her *contractual* husband's home.Glancing at the other side of the massive king-sized bed, she found it completely empty. The silk sheets were crisp and untouched; Lorenzo hadn't slept there at all. A strange, tangled knot of emotions settled in her chest—a confusing mix of profound relief, sudden disappointment, and utter frustration.What had she honestly expected? That he would suddenly morph into Prince Charming? The man had literally written a rule forbidding her from falling in love with him. He wasn't romantic, he wasn't kind, and he was undeniably cold. He was also arrogant and annoyingly handsome.With a frustrated groan, Lorrie buried her face in t

Lorrie stood frozen in the center of the vast room. Her father's sudden disappearance, her mother's worsening illness, and Bianca's high-society humiliation—it was all compounding into an unbearable weight crushing down on her chest.She suddenly missed her tiny, cramped apartment with a fierce, aching intensity. At least there, her problems had made sense. They were bills she couldn't pay, leaks she couldn't fix. Here, everything felt dangerous, terrifyingly complicated, and utterly exhausting.Lorenzo pocketed his phone, his expression smoothly shifting back into its default mask of cold indifference. "As of today, the security detail around the perimeter of the estate will double."Lorrie's brows furrowed. "Because of my father?""No," he replied bluntly. "Because of my enemies. And because your father has a distinct talent for creating problems."She bit her lower lip, looking away. "He made mistakes."Lorenzo looked down at her, his gaze unforgiving. "Mistakes are forgetting an a

The ride back to the Dimitri Mansion from the hospital was wrapped in a dense, heavy silence.Lorrie leaned her temple against the cool tinted window, endlessly replaying the afternoon's events in her head. Lorenzo had paid every single astronomical bill. He had arranged for the top oncology specialists in the country. Yet every monumental act of kindness came wrapped in the exact same razor-sharp, clinical explanation: *You're an investment.*She couldn't decide which was worse—a man who helped out of love, or a man who completely upended her family's tragic fate without expecting a single shred of gratitude.Beside her, Lorenzo was already deeply engrossed in another encrypted phone call, his voice low and commanding. "Double the security detail at the docks." A short pause as the person on the other end spoke. "No mistakes. I'll deal with the Romano matter personally tonight."He ended the call with a swift swipe across the screen and immediately caught Lorrie watching him. His ste

The final, lingering note of the orchestra faded into the cavernous rafters. Polite applause erupted through the grand ballroom as Lorenzo smoothly released Lorrie's hand, stepping back."Thank you," she said quietly, her heart rate finally slowing after the intense waltz."It was part of the act," he replied, his voice flat.The words landed harder than she expected, a cold splash of reality. Of course. Every single touch, every lingering look, and every display of unity between them was just a line item in a contract.Lorenzo adjusted his sterling silver cufflinks, his gray eyes sweeping the perimeter. "We're not leaving yet.""I figured as much.""Stay close to me."She folded her arms over her chest, tilting her head. "Is that genuine concern I hear, Mr. Dimitri?""It's efficiency," he countered, his gaze never wavering from the crowd. "If a threat tries to approach Mrs. Dimitri, they will have to approach me as well. I prefer to centralize my variables."Lorrie let out a soft sig