Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 630

The lingering trace of a smile vanished entirely from River's face.

The wind swept through the trees between them, sending a few dead leaves spiraling to the ground at their feet.

After a long, suffocating silence, River let out a low laugh.

"I have to admit, I never expected you to be the first person to see through my little charade. You're as sharp as they say..."

Nora's chest tightened. She had guessed right.

He was the elusive second heir.

You could disguise a lot of things, but you could never truly fake your own voice.

"You have the Ivory Pill?"

River arched an eyebrow, clearly surprised that she cut straight to the chase.

There was no furious interrogation, no moral outrage.

Just a cool, calculated demand.

It was a reaction he hadn't anticipated.

"You want the pill?"

Nora didn't respond. She just kept her eyes locked on him.

River leaned casually against a tree, shoving his hands into his pockets as he gave a slow nod. "You can have it. But you'll have to agree to one condition..."

"What condition?"

Nora's voice remained steady, though her fingers curled tightly into fists.

"My terms are simple..." River looked right at her, the corner of his mouth curving upward. "Divorce Hudson Lancaster."

Nora froze, convinced she had misheard him.

"...Excuse me?"

"Divorce him," River repeated, his tone entirely casual. "You divorce Hudson, and I hand over the Ivory Pill. A fair trade. No tricks."

Nora stared at him for a long two seconds before she let out a scoff of disbelief. The demand was utterly absurd.

"Are you out of your mind?"

River's brow twitched imperceptibly. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak, the heavy thud of approaching hooves echoed through the trees.

They both turned instinctively and saw Hudson riding hard toward them.

That was fast.

River pulled his gaze away and smirked. "I'm giving you exactly three days to think about it, Nora. A divorce in exchange for the Ivory Pill. The choice is yours..."

He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And keep this conversation—and my identity—to yourself. If you breathe a word of this to anyone, you can kiss that pill goodbye..."

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You'll never see it in your lifetime."

A second later, Hudson arrived.

He vaulted out of the saddle before the horse had even fully stopped, crossing the distance to her in three long strides. His dark eyes instantly zeroed in on her ankle, then swept up to scan her face. "Are you hurt?"

Nora forced a reassuring smile, shaking her head quickly. "I just twisted my ankle a little. It's not bad."

Hudson didn't ask for details. He simply scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the horse.

He cast a cold, indifferent glance at River. "Did he save you?"

Hudson ignored him entirely. He gently placed Nora onto one of the plush lobby sofas before finally turning his freezing gaze onto Scarlett.

Scarlett felt an icy chill shoot down her spine under his stare, and she instinctively shrank back a half-step.

"Tell me what really happened."

Scarlett clamped her lips shut, trembling.

Seeing her stubborn silence, Spencer let out a heavy sigh and stepped in. "Mr. Lancaster, she was careless today. She claims the gun misfired and that she didn't mean any harm. I'll take her back to Chicago and—"

Hudson let out a dark, mocking laugh that cut him off. "So, you actually believe that?"

Spencer froze.

"Get her phone," Hudson said, tilting his head slightly toward Arthur.

Scarlett's expression turned to sheer panic.

She instinctively slapped her hands over her pockets. "You can't take my phone! That's an invasion of privacy!"

Hudson didn't even look at her. He just shifted his gaze back to Spencer.

Spencer didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, grabbed Scarlett by the wrist, pried her hand away, and snatched the phone from her pocket.

"Spencer!" Scarlett shrieked, furious and terrified. "What are you doing?! You're taking an outsider's side against your own sister?"

Spencer completely ignored her. He held the phone up to Scarlett's face to unlock it, then handed it straight to Hudson.

Hudson took it and instantly opened her call logs.

The very first name on the list was all too familiar: Liana Fairchild.