Revenge amnesia upgraded to his brother novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Norah’s POV

Lucien pulled me into a private lounge on the yacht’s third deck.

The door clicked shut, muffling the noisy party outside.

Inside, the air was thick with his scent–cedarwood and a hint of tobacco.

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RESE

“Norah,” he said, his voice low but sharp. “If you ever wear something like that again, don’t even think about leaving the estate.”

I twisted out of his grip and stepped back, putting space between us. “Lucien, you’re too controlling.”

“My woman isn’t a show for other men to stare at.” He moved closer, step by step, until my back hit the cold mirror wall. Then his mouth came down on mine, hard.

The kiss made my head spin.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was at the door.

I shoved him away, turned, and quickly straightened my dress. Lucien’s face was pissed, but he went and opened the door.

It was Juliette. She stood there holding two wine glasses, a fake smile on her face as she walked in.

“Mr. Constantine, Ms. Hawthorne, sorry to interrupt. I was out of line earlier.” She held one glass out to me.

I took it. Her eyes challenged me.

“But, Ms. Hawthorne,” she went on, swirling her wine, “I’ve heard some interesting rumors.” She stopped looking at me, pulled out a tablet, swiped the screen, and handed it to Lucien.

“Mr. Constantine, this is a market report on East Coast haute couture. Thought you might find it interesting.”

Lucien glanced at me, his eyes wary, but he took the tablet.

A weird smile tugged at Juliette’s lips.

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I leaned over to look. It wasn’t a market report. It was a bunch of photos. Of me.

With different men, in different places. Looking way too close.

Toasting a blond guy at some event.

Standing shoulder–to–shoulder with some artist type in a gallery.

A man holding a car door open for me next to a sports car.

Every shot was set up to look intimate. Like I was flirting. Or more.

I saw Lucien’s face

I laughed.

go cold.

“This is your report, Juliette?” I took the tablet from Lucien and pointed at one photo. “Your photoshop guy sucks.”

Juliette’s smile tightened.

“Look,” I zoomed in. “These pearl earrings? They’re three–year–old. I gave them to Sophie before I left Paris. And the lighting here–the edges around the figure are all blurry. Clearly fake.”

I swiped to the next. “This one’s even worse. The background is afternoon sun at the Met, but the light on me is from some indoor ceiling lamp. They didn’t even bother with a decent shadow. And this necklace? See any shadow on my skin? No. Because it’s not really there.”

I zoomed in closer, pointing at a hand on the screen. “And the worst part here–to make it look like I’m linking arms with that guy, they stretched my left arm. Juliette, does my hand look deformed to you?”

I stepped closer, right into her space. “Who sent you here with this trash to mess with me? Your boss? Or your lover?”

Juliette was speechless for a second, but she didn’t panic. Instead, she smiled even wider, looking pleased.

“Fakes won’t work, huh? Then how about the real thing?”

She grabbed the tablet back, her fingers flying across the screen, then shoved it toward us again.

“These should be real enough, right?”

New photos. Clear, sunny shots. A fancy single–family house in some upscale Washington neighborhood.

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Chapter 157

In the pictures, Mateo and I were talking on the front lawn.

When Lucien saw Mateo’s face, his expression turned thunderous.

“I was just showing him a property,” I said quickly.

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“Really?” Juliette gave a light laugh, zooming in until one detail filled the screen.

In the photo, the wind had messed up my hair. And Mateo was reaching out, his movement natural and kinda intimate, tucking a strand behind my ear.

I heard a faint crack as Lucien’s grip tightened on his wine glass.

Juliette seemed to love his reaction. She kept swiping.

“I like this villa too. Checked the records–the deed is under Mateo Vega.”

“Ms. Hawthorne, you’re a lucky woman. Mr. Vega personally picked out your love nest.”

I lifted my head, staring straight at Juliette. These angles were sneaky, the kind you only get from long–term stalking. Whoever was behind her was no amateur.

“Juliette, you’ve sure put a lot of effort into my private life. Since when did you spy on me?” I demanded.

think you

you could

“I…” She glanced nervously toward the door where two bodyguards stood.

Lucien stood up. He knew this was more than just messing around.

“We just didn’t want to see you get fooled!” Juliette burst out, sounding cornered.

“We?” I pounced on the word, moving closer. “Who’s ‘we‘?”

Juliette realized she’d slipped up and immediately shut her mouth.

She shoved the tablet right in front of Lucien. “Look at this too!”

She tapped another photo. It was a signing ceremony for a property deal. In the photo, Mateo and I sat side by side.

On the ring finger of Mateo’s left hand was a wedding band.

A perfect match for the one on my finger.

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