Contract Marriage With My Billionaire Boss (Venus and Aaron) novel Chapter 264

CMWMBB 64

CMWMBB 64

AARON

“About everything.”

The words hung between us: fragile and unavoidable.

Venus stood by the kitchen window, sunlight cutting across her face in soft afternoon lines. Outside, the kids were still playing-George pushing Sabine too high on the swing while pretending he wasn’t showing off, Iris watching with that careful half-smile she wore now.

Two days.

It had only been two days.

And yet it felt like we had lived a lifetime in between.

I leaned back against the counter, folding my arms loosely. Not defensive. Just steadying myself.

She turned fully toward me.

“Start talking,” she said quietly.

There was no anger in her voice.

Which somehow made it harder.

I exhaled slowly.

“Rick,” I began.

Her expression shifted immediately-confusion first, then something sharper.

“He was Andrea’s mole,” I said.

She blinked. “Rick? That Rick? The one who-”

“Yes.”

The word tasted bitter.

“He was feeding her information for months,” I continued. “Access codes. Schedules. Security rotations. She had listening devices planted in three of our properties.”

Her brows drew together. “You knew?”

“Not at first.”

I moved closer, not touching her yet, just narrowing the distance.

“I started noticing inconsistencies,” I said. “Small things. Conversations she referenced that she shouldn’t have known. Movements that mirrored ours too precisely.”

“And you didn’t tell me,” she said quietly.

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“I needed to know how deep it went,” I explained. “If I tipped her off, she would’ve tightened her circle. And then we would’ve lost the advantage.”

She didn’t look away as I finished explaining-Rick, how I prepped every room at the venue before hand although unsure she’d even make a move at the very place. I’d been with Andrea at some point and if anything I knew her to be is that she was full of herself. She thinks she’s always ahead and no one can catch up but really she’s just impulsive. I knew she wouldn’t resist the chance to gloat at her victory to Venus. And alas she did.

The divorce part though, I hadn’t even wanted it to be real but there was no way I could interfere with that, it’d make Andrea suspicious. But the filing never went through, so the divorce was still invalid.

Venus just stood there.

Processing.

“You didn’t even look at me,” she said softly.

The words weren’t sharp. They were small.

I frowned slightly. “In the conference room?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “You signed the papers. You stood up. And you walked out.” Her voice trembled. “You didn’t even look at me.”

I inhaled slowly.

“I couldn’t.”

Her eyes flashed. “Why?”

“Because if I did,” I said honestly, “I would’ve broken character.”

“That’s not what it felt like.”

I stepped closer.

“What did it feel like?”

She held my gaze.

“It felt like I lost you.”

There it was.

Not accusation. Fear.

“I knew there was a plan,” she continued. “I knew you told me to trust you. But in that room… when you wouldn’t even meet my eyes…”

Her voice cracked.

“I was scared.”

The word landed heavy.

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“I was scared you were choosing the plan over me,” she admitted. “Scared that maybe you’d realized I was too much risk. Too much chaos.”

Something twisted in my chest.

“That wasn’t it.”

“I know that now,” she said quickly. “But in that second? I didn’t.”

Silence settled.

“And the worst part?” she added softly. “I didn’t even know If I was allowed to feel that way. Because I was hiding things too.”

I nodded slowly.

“You were,” I said.

She didn’t flinch.

“I was calculating. Keeping secrets. Trying to outmaneuver Andrea on my own.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t innocent.”

She let out a small, tired breath.

“But when you wouldn’t look at me,” she said again, quieter this time, “it felt real.”

I stepped fully into her space.

“I didn’t look at you,” I said carefully, “because if I saw doubt in your face, I would’ve torn the whole thing apart.”

Her brows pulled together.

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“I wasn’t that strong in that room,” she admitted.

“Neither was I.”

She searched my expression.

“I needed you to see me,” she said.

“I saw you.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I needed to see that you saw me.

“If I looked at you,” I said slowly, “Andrea would see it. She was watching everything. Waiting for weakness.”

“And I was waiting for reassurance,” she whispered.

We stood in the quiet weight of that truth.

“The only part of the plan I couldn’t control,” I said finally, “was losing you for real.”

Her breath caught.

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“I was terrified,” I continued. “Not of Andrea. Not of the press. Of you walking away emotionally before the paperwork ever mattered.”

She blinked.

“I wasn’t walking away.”

“I know.”

“But you felt like you were,” she finished softly.

“Yes.”

She stepped closer, her hands resting lightly against my chest.

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“I hurt you too,” she said. “I drugged you. I kept secrets. I said things meant to push you away because I thought I was helping my daughter.”

“And I shut you out because I thought that would protect you.”

A faint, tired smile crossed her face.

“We’re exhausting.”

“Strategically gifted,” I corrected lightly.

She huffed a small laugh.

“I don’t want to survive like that again,” she said.

“Neither do I.”

She looked at me carefully.

“Next time we fight anything,” she said, “we fight it together.”

“No more solo missions.”

“No more not looking at each other.”

That one lingered.

“Deal,” I said.

She nodded slowly.

And this time when I stepped closer, there was no strategy in it.

No performance.

Just choice.

“I love you,” she said softly. “And I cannot imagine my life without you.”

The words landed like something sacred.

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“I promise,” she added, voice steady now, “to do better. To communicate. To not shut you out when I’m scared. Even if it’s ugly. Even if it’s messy.

Something inside me shifted.

Not tension.

Release.

“I wasn’t perfect either,” I said quietly. “I controlled too much. I protected instead of partnered.”

Her lips curved faintly.

“That’s a very diplomatic way of saying you were impossible.”

I huffed a small laugh.

“Probably.”

We stood there, hands still linked.

“And I love you,” I said.

Her eyes softened.

“I love you in ways that don’t scare me anymore,” I continued. “Before, I loved you like something I had to guard. Now I love you like something I stand beside.”

She blinked. Slowly.

“How do you feel,” I asked carefully, “about a second wedding?”

She stared at me.

Then she laughed.

A real laugh.

“You mean after all that drama?” she teased.

“I’m serious.”

She tilted her head. “A vow renewal?”

I nodded.

“I’d love that,” she said.

Something inside me decided before my brain caught up.