The Billionaire's Accidental Bride

CHAPTER NINE

Past Comes Knocking I stared at the phone. Cole plucked it from my hand and declined the call. “Don’t engage,” he said. “He won’t stop,” I whispered. “He plays dirty.” Cole’s gaze hardened. “Then I’ll play dirtier.” The next morning, a manila envelope waited at our front door. No return name. Inside: printed screenshots. Texts. Dates. Hotel check-ins. Damien had hired a private investigator. One page stood out—a timestamped photo of me storming out of a Vegas chapel… alone. Cole cursed under his breath. “He’s blackmailing you.” I nodded. “He wants me to leave you.” “Too bad,” he growled. “You’re not going anywhere.” We burned the photos. But it didn’t end there. By afternoon, a tabloid headline read: "Fake Love? Billionaire’s Bride Exposed!" Cole slammed his phone down. “He leaked it.” Panic surged. “My reputation can’t survive another scandal.” He paced. “Then we get ahead of it. We show the world we’re more real than ever.” “How?” He turned, eyes blazing. “We give them a show.” That night, we held hands in front of the paparazzi. We kissed. Hard. Long. And the world watched. But back in the limo, my hands shook. “This is spiraling,” I whispered. Then Cole pulled me close. “Then let’s spiral together,” he said— Right before kissing me like he meant it.