MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

chapter 4

Katrina pov

what is she doing here I asked my self still looking at her My eyes were completely glued to the door, staring at her in sheer, unadulterated shock. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, each beat sending a wave of ice-cold dread through my veins. The opulent chandelier above seemed to flicker, the bright lights suddenly feeling too harsh, exposing the fragile web of lies I had spent the last two months spinning.

As she walked in, I just stared at her. I couldn't look away, even if my life depended on it. There she stood, the real Stacy Roberts, looking effortlessly elegant and perfectly poised, completely contrasting the storm of panic raging inside my chest.

The sudden intrusion immediately broke the comfortable family dynamic. When Cove’s mom, Mrs. Anna, and his sister, Sophie, saw the unfamiliar woman standing boldly in the entryway of their private sanctuary, their expressions shifted from warm hospitality to deep confusion. They stepped forward almost in unison, their defensive high-society instincts kicking in.

"Please, who are you and what are you doing here?" they asked at the same time, their voices echoing sharply off the high stone walls.

The woman took a graceful step forward, a polite, almost mocking smile playing at the corners of her lips. She looked directly at the family, her eyes briefly sweeping over my frozen form before she spoke. And she replied, "I'm Stacy."

My breath caught completely in my throat. The name fell like a bomb in the middle of the room. My mind short-circuited. *This is it,* I thought, a wave of dizziness washing over me. *The masquerade is over. She is going to expose me right here in front of everyone.* I braced myself for the screams, the accusations, the inevitable moment when I would be dragged out into the streets as a fraud—the murderer’s daughter who tried to steal a billionaire's life.

But before the chaos could erupt, my husband spoke.

Cove stepped forward, his expression completely calm, his deep, authoritative voice slicing through the thick tension in the room. He didn't look shocked. He didn't look angry. Instead, he placed a reassuring hand on the small of my back, a gesture that usually made me feel safe, but right now made me feel physically sick with guilt.

"Babe, Mom, and Dad, Sophie... she is my friend, and I invited her to join dinner with us since she bears my wife's name," Cove explained smoothly, his tone entirely casual as if this were the most normal arrangement in the world.

The revelation hit the room like a sudden wave of relief for everyone else, but for me, it was a brand new nightmare.

"Wow," they replied, the tension instantly draining from Mrs. Anna and Sophie's faces. A chorus of polite, surprised chuckles followed as Cove's family processed the bizarre coincidence. To them, it was just a charming, amusing little story—a quirky twist of fate that their beloved daughter-in-law shared a first name with one of Cove's new acquaintances.

I was just looking at them, my jaw slightly slack, my mind entirely unable to process what was happening. My gaze drifted slowly from Cove’s smiling family back to the woman standing by the door. I stared at Stacy, searching her face for any sign of the desperate best friend who had begged me to take her place. But there was no desperation left in her. She just smiled at me—a small, knowing, triumphant smirk that sent a shiver of pure terror down my spine. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was playing a dangerous game, and she had somehow managed to get close to my husband without my knowledge.

Slowly, I looked at my husband. Cove was looking down at me with nothing but warmth and love in his eyes, completely unaware that the woman he just introduced as a "friend" was actually the rightful owner of the identity I was wearing. Why hadn't he told me? When did they meet? Was this about the job application she had brought to Horizon Dynamics?

"Come, please, join us," Mrs. Anna bustled, breaking my spiral of thoughts as she instructed the maids to set another place at the long, mahogany table. "Any friend of Cove's is welcome, especially one with such a beautiful name."

Stacy gracefully glided into the dining room, taking her seat directly across from me. The proximity was suffocating. So, we started eating. The clinking of silver utensils against fine porcelain felt incredibly loud in the heavy atmosphere. The conversation flowed around us—Cove's dad asking about the latest market shares, Sophie talking about her upcoming charity gala—but I couldn't hear a word of it. I didn't talk anything. I couldn't. I was terrified that if I opened my mouth, my voice would tremble so badly it would give everything away, or worse, I would scream.

Under the cover of the table, my hands shook violently. I forced myself to move, pulling my hands away from my lap. I just brought out my phone, keeping it hidden beneath the edge of the expensive tablecloth. My fingers flew across the screen, typing a frantic, breathless message to Stacy's mother, Mrs. Lucian.

*Stacy is here eating with us,* the text read. *She's at Cove's parents' house right now. Cove invited her. What is going on?!*

I hit send, my heart hammering as I quickly slipped the device back into my evening clutch before anyone noticed my distraction. I didn't even wait for a reply. I knew Mrs. Lucian would be just as shocked and powerless as I was in this exact moment.

I just began eating again, forcing myself to cut the expensive steak on my plate, chewing the food without tasting a single bite. The dinner was incredibly quiet from my end, a stark contrast to the loud, agonizing thoughts crashing around in my skull.

As I watched Stacy confidently converse with Cove, laughing softly at his jokes and tossing her blonde hair back with an effortless charm, I felt a sharp, twisting pain in my heart. It wasn't just the fear of being caught anymore. It was something much deeper, something that terrified me far more than the threat of poverty or the whispers of the townspeople. It was jealousy. It was heartbreak.

I looked at Cove, seeing the polite, attentive way he listened to her speak. Over the last two months, I had fallen desperately, hopelessly in love with him. He was caring, he was loving, and he was the first person to make me feel like I was worth something. But looking at the two of them sitting across from each other, a devastating truth settled over me. She fit into his world perfectly. She was a true socialite, born into wealth and power, while I was just a placeholder—a temporary actor in a high-stakes play.

A dark, suffocating question began to burn in the depths of my soul, drowning out the remaining warmth of the evening. Why did my husband invite Stacy to dinner? Did he suspect something? Or was the real Stacy already weaving a web around him, slowly pulling him away from me before she ruthlessly took her position back as Cove's wife?