The Billionaire's Insignificant Wife novel Chapter 128

Junior’s Unease

Daniel did not sleep all night.

He simply sat on the sofa, watching Alina cry through nearly the entire night. Doing nothing but looking. Listening to the sobs muffled by the blanket. Witnessing his wife’s body tremble with each shuddering breath.

Hour after hour passed in a silence that hurt.

Dawn arrived. Around four in the morning.

Alina’s crying finally subsided. Her body stopped shaking. Her breathing slowed into the uneven rhythm of sleep.

Daniel rose from the sofa with careful, deliberate movements. His legs were stiff from sitting motionless for hours.

He approached the bed with cautious steps.

Alina had fallen asleep curled into herself. Her face was still hidden beneath the blanket she had pulled up to cover nearly her entire body.

Daniel drew the blanket back slowly. Easing it down until Alina’s face came into view.

Her eyes were swollen. Her eyelids puffy from crying too much. Her cheeks damp with tears that had not yet fully dried.

Daniel touched that face with trembling fingers.

His chest felt tight looking at her.

Alina used to be the brightest person in this house. Among everyone, she was the one who smiled the most, who managed to look happy no matter the circumstances. Even when Margaret treated her with coldness. Even when Daniel himself had ignored her for five years.

Alina still smiled.

Still warm.

Still alive.

But now that face was pale. Empty. Broken.

And it was all his doing.

Daniel bent down. He pressed his lips to Alina’s forehead, his mouth trembling against her skin.

“Forgive me,” he whispered. His voice was hoarse. “I love you. Everything I did, I did for us. For our future together.”

Alina did not stir. Still asleep in the depths of her exhaustion.

Daniel drew a long breath. “I’m sorry for holding back before. For not admitting that I loved you. But I promise this time I will fight for it. I will keep you by my side.”

His hand moved to Alina’s cheek. Tracing the swollen skin.

The mark left by the hard slap he had dealt her yesterday when he forced himself on her.

The skin was reddened. A faint bruise had begun to form along her cheekbone.

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Daniel reached for the medicine in the bedside drawer. A salve for bruising and swelling.

He applied it with gentle strokes across Alina’s face. Careful not to wake her.

When he finished, he pressed one more kiss to her forehead.

Then he stood and left the bedroom.

Pulling the door shut behind him without a sound.

+30 Bonus

Daniel walked to his study at the far end of the corridor.

He went in and closed the door.

Stood in the middle of the darkened room. He had not turned on the lights.

Just stood there.

Staring at his tidy desk. The stack of documents waiting to be signed. The closed laptop.

All of it inanimate. None of it judging him.

None of it looking at him with eyes full of fear the way Alina had last night.

Daniel drew a slow breath.

He had to go to work. Even though it was still the small hours before dawn. Even though the sky outside was still dark.

Keeping himself busy was the only way to stop feeling so guilty.

To stop seeing Alina’s devastated face every time he closed his eyes.

To silence the echo of her screaming that still rang in his head.

Daniel took his jacket from the hook. Put it on with mechanical efficiency.

Then left the study and walked to the garage.

In the guest bedroom, Clarissa had heard the heavy footsteps in the corridor several minutes ago.

She knew immediately that it was Daniel.

No one else in this house walked with footsteps that heavy, that purposeful, at this hour.

Clarissa moved quickly to the mirror.

She had been ready since midnight. Wearing a slip of a nightgown that showed off every curve of her body. Light makeup that made her face look fresh and awake despite the hour.

A perfect plan.

Pretend she couldn’t sleep. Strike up a conversation with Daniel. Show him she cared. Remind him of what they once had.

Clarissa opened her bedroom door and stepped into the corridor.

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+30 Bonus

But the hallway was already empty.

Daniel’s footsteps had moved too far ahead.

Clarissa ran. Her bare feet made almost no sound on the cold marble floor.

But Daniel’s strides were too long. Too fast.

He was nearly at the stairs by the time Clarissa emerged from the guest wing.

She wanted to call out his name. But she couldn’t risk waking the entire house. Couldn’t risk anyone seeing her chasing Daniel in an outfit like this in the middle of the night.

She only ran faster.

She reached the front entrance just as Daniel’s car rolled out of the garage.

The red taillights moved away through the gate.

Gone.

“Damn,” Clarissa swore under her breath. She was panting. “Damn, damn, damn.”

Failed.

Her plan had failed.

But then a small smile crept across her lips.

At least there was one silver lining.

Daniel had not stayed long in Alina’s room.

He had left for work before dawn, nearly in the middle of the night.

Which meant they must have fought.

Which meant things between them were still broken.

Which meant Clarissa still had a chance.

She turned and walked back to her room with a lighter step.

The small smile still resting on her lips.

In Junior’s bedroom, the boy slept restlessly.

His body moved with discomfort beneath the blanket. His head turned from side to side.

His face was creased. His mouth murmuring words that made no sense.

Junior was dreaming.

A nightmare made of formless screaming. Of darkness. Of a fear he could not name.

“No… don’t…” he muttered softly. “It hurts… please…”

His voice grew louder.

3/6

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Clarissa, passing Junior’s room on her way back, heard it.

She stopped. Turned toward the door that stood slightly ajar.

Listened to her son’s murmuring.

Clarissa stepped inside quickly. Sat at the edge of Junior’s bed.

“Junior, sweetheart. Wake up.” She stroked his head. “You’re having a bad dream.”

Junior jolted awake. Eyes flying open wide. Breath coming in gasps.

“Mom?” His voice was small. Frightened.

“Yes, sweetheart. Mom’s here. You’re all right. It was only a dream.”

Junior threw his arms around Clarissa and held on tight. His small body trembling slightly.

“What was it about?” Clarissa asked, rubbing his back.

“I don’t know. Someone was crying. And screaming. But I couldn’t see who. It was so dark.”

Clarissa pulled him closer. “Just a dream, baby. It wasn’t real.”

Junior was quiet for a moment. Then, hesitantly, he asked, “Mom, do you think maybe I was worried about Alina?”

Clarissa went still.

Her hand stopped moving on his back.

She drew a quiet breath. Kept her voice carefully even.

“What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know. But it felt like I was worried about someone. And maybe it was her.”

Clarissa released the embrace. She looked at Junior’s face with a manufactured gentleness.

“It’s natural to feel that way, sweetheart. She looked after you once. So there’s a connection there. But you’re with Mom now. You’re safe.”

Junior nodded slowly. But his eyes were still uncertain.

“Why am I not allowed to see her?”

The question came out guileless. Not demanding. Simply wanting to know.

Clarissa offered a thin smile. “Because she’s very unwell right now. Mom doesn’t want Alina to hurt you. Once she gets better, you can be around her again.”

“What kind of sick?”

“Sick here.” Clarissa pointed to her own temple. “The kind that makes a person confused. Sometimes they do things they don’t even realize. It can be dangerous for a child like you.”

Junior sat with that. Processing it.

Then nodded slowly. “Okay. I understand.”

“Good.” Clarissa kissed his forehead. “Now go back to sleep. It’s still too early.”

4/6

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But Junior shook his head. “I can’t, Mom. I’m scared I’ll have another bad dream.”

Clarissa looked at him for a moment. Then smiled. “Then Mom will sleep here with you. All right? So you won’t be alone.”

Junior nodded. “Okay.”

Clarissa lay down beside him. Curled around him from behind.

“Sleep, sweetheart. Mom will keep you safe.”

Junior closed his eyes. He tried to sleep.

But something was off.

Clarissa’s embrace was warm. Soft. Comforting.

But it was not the same.