Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 381

Xavier's eyes darkened as his long fingers tapped rhythmically against the tabletop. He studied Summer thoughtfully. Knowing her as well as he did,

he knew Summer was never going to just let this go.

Xavier's voice dropped into a deadly warning. "Summer, if you try anything stupid, I won't hold back."

Summer didn't even dignify him with a response.

Despite choosing to protect Lilith and threatening Summer in front of everyone, the moment Xavier and Lilith slid into the privacy of his luxury car, the atmosphere shifted.

He turned to her, demanding coldly, "Why did you pay Tiffany to throw boiling soup at Summer?"

Lilith shook her head frantically. "Xavier, I swear I didn't!"

Xavier rubbed his temples, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. "Lilith, do you still not get it? You are my wife. I love you, which is why I defended you in there. But it's just the two of us now. Are you seriously still going to lie to me?"

Lilith lowered her lashes as fat tears began spilling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Xavier. I was just so terrified. You haven't touched me in weeks, and I was so scared you were regretting us. I felt so insecure and inferior. I know I'll never be as good as Summer. And..."

Lilith looked up at him with utter heartbreak. "It killed me to watch you suffer! She shouldn't have used Leo to help your worst enemy steal your project! You poured so much blood and sweat into that deal. My heart broke for you, and it just made me hate her so much more."

"I'm sorry, Xavier. It's not that I wanted to lie. I was just so terrified that if you knew the truth, you'd be disgusted by me and stop loving me. I'm so sorry."

Lilith broke down into pitiful sobs. Seeing the slight swell of her pregnant belly, Xavier let out a heavy sigh, his tone softening instantly.

"Alright, stop crying. I haven't touched you because I was afraid I'd lose control and accidentally hurt you. You're carrying our two precious babies; we have to be incredibly careful."

"Don't ever do something this foolish again. Summer isn't worth dirtying your hands over. If I were truly going to fall for her, it would have happened sometime over the last seven years."

"Besides, I promised you back at St. Jude's Children's Home that I would love and protect you for the rest of my life. I swore I'd only ever have eyes for you until the day I die. That will never change. Keep that in mind, and don't ever forget it again."

Lilith had felt a momentary surge of sweet triumph. She realized Xavier truly didn't care about what she had done. Even if Summer's face had melted off,

Xavier still would have shielded her from the fallout.

But hearing his final sentence made Lilith's stomach drop into an icy abyss. A suffocating wave of panic swept over her, turning her sweet victory into toxic ash.

Xavier's devotion to her stemmed entirely from that sacred childhood promise made at the orphanage.

But she wasn't the girl from his memories.

Ever since she discovered that Summer had never undergone plastic surgery—that Summer was the true owner of that stunning face—she had been plagued by nightmares of Xavier realizing he had claimed the wrong woman.

Summer was the one he had spent years searching for. Lilith lived every single day in crippling paranoia, waiting for the proverbial guillotine to fall.

She never knew when or where the blade would finally drop.

So, was that little girl actually Summer?

No one except Maeve Vance knew which orphanage Summer had originally come from.

While Xavier was busy coddling Lilith,

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