Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 30

For him, Summer had always been willing to do anything, to sacrifice anything.

So why was she fighting him like this? Why was she outright refusing to drop the charges?

Was it some kind of female intuition? Had she sensed the connection between him and Lily?

But how could she?

They had been married for seven years, and Lily had been abroad the entire time.

Sure, he had hugged Lily at the airport, but it was a crowded terminal—he hadn't done anything explicitly inappropriate.

Could she really have figured it all out from just one look?

Xavier couldn't believe female intuition was that terrifyingly accurate.

Lily gently placed a hand on Xavier's chest to calm him down, then stepped forward and grabbed Summer's hand. "Summer, I know you're mad at him and you're jealous of me. But there really is nothing going on between us. You have to believe me."

"Let go of me."

"Please, stop acting like this, Summer. He loves you so much. He even showed me the wedding dress and the ring he personally designed for you. They're stunning. You're going to be the happiest bride in the world."

"I said, let go!" Summer snapped in disgust, yanking her hand back forcefully.

"Ah!"

Lily shrieked, stumbling backward as if she had lost her balance, teetering dangerously close to the edge of the stairs.

"Lily!" Xavier yelled, his face draining of color as pure panic seized his trembling pupils.

In that split second, Lily was the only person in his eyes and his heart. He violently shoved Summer out of the way and lunged forward to catch Lily in his arms.

Caught entirely off guard by the violent push, Summer was thrown backward. Her lower back slammed brutally against the sharp corner of the stairwell handrail.

A blinding wave of agony washed over her, making her vision go black. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead. Her legs nearly gave out, and she had to grip the railing with a deathly tight hold just to stay upright.

Watching her limp away, Xavier suddenly realized she was genuinely hurt. Was that from when he...

Pushed her?

He hadn't even realized he'd done it.

He hadn't even noticed.

Seeing Xavier staring after Summer with a flicker of guilt in his eyes, Lily frowned. She didn't want him looking at Summer. His eyes belonged solely to her.

She needed Summer to witness firsthand that her husband's heart and eyes were entirely consumed by another woman. She wanted that imposter to feel completely inadequate.

"Sss..." Lily let out a sharp hiss of pain.

Right on cue, Xavier's attention instantly snapped back to her. "Lily, what's wrong?" Summer was entirely erased from his mind once again.

"My stomach..." Lily whimpered, her perfectly arched brows knotting in a picture of beautiful agony. She clutched her belly and added weakly, "It hurts so much."