The Billionaire's Debt Bride

Chapter 6: The Lion's Den

The dress was a weapon.

Evelyn stared at her reflection. Crimson silk hugged every curve, the neckline daringly low. Diamond diamonds glittered at her throat—Ethan's diamonds.

If I have to play the part, she decided, I'll play it perfectly.

Ethan waited at the bottom of the staircase. When he saw her, he froze.

"You'll do," he said finally, his voice rougher than usual.

Two words. But the way he said them made her stomach flutter.

---

The Grand Imperial Hotel glittered like a palace.

Every head turned when they entered. Whispers followed them like shadows.

"Is that her? The new fiancée?"

"I heard her father is a gambler."

"How did someone like her catch Ethan Blackwood?"

Ethan's hand tightened on her waist. "Ignore them," he murmured. "They're vultures."

Evelyn kept her smile fixed in place.

Then she walked in.

The room didn't go quiet, but Evelyn felt the shift. A woman stood at the door—tall, elegant, with long chestnut hair and honey-colored eyes.

She looked exactly like the photos in Ethan's study.

Victoria glided toward them like a shark scenting blood. Her eyes swept over Evelyn with disdain.

"Ethan," she said. "Everyone's talking about your new companion. I had to see her for myself."

Evelyn extended her hand. "I'm Evelyn. Ethan's fiancée."

Victoria ignored it. "She doesn't know, does she, Ethan? That I'm Isabella's sister?"

Evelyn's blood ran cold.

"How does it feel," Victoria continued, "to be the replacement? To know that every time Ethan looks at you, he's really seeing my dead sister?"

The whispers grew louder.

Ethan stepped between them, his voice dangerous. "You're drunk, Victoria. Leave. Now."

Victoria smiled. "Run, little girl. Before he destroys you the way he destroyed her."

She disappeared into the crowd.

---

The rest of the night passed in a blur.

Evelyn smiled. She nodded. She shook hands with strangers.

But inside, Victoria's words echoed.

Replacement. Dead sister. He'll never love you.

Ethan wouldn't look her in the eye for the rest of the night.

---

In the limousine, the silence was suffocating.

"Was she right?" Evelyn asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Ethan didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Victoria is bitter."

"That's not what I asked."

He turned to look at her. In the dim light, his face looked tired.

"No," he said quietly. "I don't see Isabella when I look at you."

Evelyn's heart stopped. "Then what do you see?"

Ethan took her hand. His fingers were warm, real.

"I see a woman who sold herself to save her father. A woman who refuses to break, no matter how hard the world tries to crush her."

He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles.

"You're not a replacement, Evelyn. You're just… you."

Tears filled her eyes. "Ethan…"

But he let go and turned back to the window.

"Don't read too much into it," he said, his voice cold again. "I'm simply stating a fact."

The limousine pulled into the Blackwood Estate.

And Evelyn was left wondering—was the crack in his armor real? Or just another trick of the light?

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