The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49 Ashes in Her Chest

The silence in the house pressed against her skin.

Ryan had walked away, his footsteps fading down the marble corridor, and Eve stood motionless, her body trembling. The echo of his voice still lingered, cold and bruising.

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She waited until the sound of a door closing reached her ears before she dared to move. Her knees felt weak, her breath shallow. She turned and began walking down the hallway, the same path she had taken for three years, the same walls that had watched her suffer in

silence.

Her hand brushed the polished banister. The wood was cool under her fingers, familiar in a way that made her chest tighten.

She reached the guestroom, the room that had once been hers.

For a moment she hesitated, then pushed the door open.

The scent of lavender polish hit her first, mixed with the faint trace of her old perfume. Everything was exactly as she’d left it: the neatly folded blankets, the curtains drawn halfway, the lamp on the nightstand tilted slightly to the right. Nothing had changed, not even the

loneliness that lived inside these walls.

The moment she stepped in, her composure cracked.

She sank onto the bed, pressing her face into her hands. A low sob escaped her before she could stop it. Then another.

Memories came rushing, sharp, merciless.

Ryan’s cold voice telling her to keep quiet.

The nights he had touched her with precision but never warmth.

The way he had walked out of the room afterward without a word, leaving her staring at the ceiling, feeling smaller than air.

She had loved him once with every fragile piece of her heart. She had believed that if she was patient enough, gentle enough, he might one day see her. But he never did. She had been nothing more than part of the décor, an ornament in his carefully curated world.

Now she was back in this gilded cage, and it felt like dying all over again.

Eve pressed her palm to her small bump, breathing slowly. “We’ll get through this,” she

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<Chapter 49 Ashes in Her Chest

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whispered to the life growing inside her. “We’ll do what we came for, and then we’ll leave. I promise.”

But her words trembled; even promises sounded hollow here.

Her mind replayed what Ryan had said downstairs, the fury in his eyes when he saw her belly. The man who touched you… I’ll find him.

Who had told him she was carrying another man’s child? Who had twisted the truth into something ugly enough to destroy them all over again?

Kimberly, probably. Or Leah.

They had always been skilled at venom.

She thought of telling Ryan the truth, that the child was his, that despite everything he believed, she had never betrayed him. But then she remembered the way he used to talk about children during their marriage.

“Children don’t fix broken people,” he’d told her once, coldly, as they sat in the dim light of the living room. “They only trap them.”

He had insisted she stay on the pill. Insisted until she had stopped asking why.

If she told him the baby was his now, would he even believe her? Or would he think she’d stopped taking the pills on purpose, to trap him in a life he never wanted?

The thought terrified her.

She lay back on the bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling that had witnessed years of quiet tears. Her heart beat painfully against her ribs.

Then she heard it, voices in the foyer below.

Loud. Sharp.

A woman’s shrill tone cutting through the stillness.

“Where is that thieving bitch! Where is that gold-digging whore?”

Eve froze. Leah Ashbrook,

Of course.

She wiped her face quickly, stood, and forced herself to straighten her posture. She would not be found cowering. Not again.

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Eve’s stomach turned to ice

Leah continued, her voice trembling with righteous Nary “You’ll get rid of that thing token came to ensure you comply

For a moment, Eve couldn’t breathe

It took her a second to understand, Leah had brought a doctor to abort her baby

Her knees nearly gave out, but she steadied herself, forcing steel into her spine Youte insane,” she whispered.

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Leah smiled coldly. “Insane is letting filth

Eve’s fear burned away in a single flash of anger. She chuckled, a small, batter so haven’t changed, Leah. Still all bark, no bite. Funny how brave you are with me but are my father. If you’re really that tough, go face him. Tell him how you feel. Go on

Leah’s expression flickered, shock, then rage. She had never seen Eve talk back like M

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bastards in this family”

Eve’s fingers curled against her palm

Leah took a step closer “You have toy for what you and that excuse of a father did Te

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