The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87 The Door Eve Would Not Open

Eve’s POV

The late afternoon sun had dipped low enough to stain the kitchen windows a burnished gold by the time

Eve returned home, grocery bags in both hands, her heart still humming with the quiet triumph of the confrontation she’d survived, no, won, at the butcher shop.

The moment the cab had pulled away and left her standing before the tall, polished doors of her home,

Ryan’s home, theirhome, the rush of it all hit her again. The echo of Luan’s disbelief, the tremble in her fake

confidence, the way her face had contorted when Eve told her, plainly and without apology, that Ryan had chosen her… all of it replayed like a delicious melody.

She pushed the door open and stepped into the cool silence of the house, letting the crisp scent of the

interior swallow her. Ryan had changed the locks without telling her, again, and the thought made a small,

involuntary smile tug at her lips. He always did that. A quiet, territorial claim disguised as practicality. A message he didn’t verbalise:

This is our space.

And I protect what’s mine.

Eve didn’t mind. She loved the safety of it.

She carried the groceries straight into the kitchen, her steps light and full of purpose. She had plans, simple and domestic as they were, and she found comfort in the ritual of preparing a meal just for him.

Just for them.

The kitchen welcomed her with its warmth, its glossy counters catching the golden evening light. She set the bags down, pulling out the vegetables and herbs she had chosen with care, arranging them neatly across the counter the way she always did. Cooking had become the one steady, grounding thing she still controlled completely. It tethered her in a world that had grown too large, too sharp, too unpredictable

around her.

And today, she wanted this moment.

Something normal.

Something hers.

She washed the vegetables, sliced the asparagus, trimmed the baby potatoes, and let them rest in a small bowl of cold water. Her fingers moved with practiced ease, her motions fluid and graceful, but beneath

that calm, her thoughts were wild.

She kept replaying the scene at the butcher shop in her mind, Luan’s shock, the overheard gasps, the whispers that rippled across the room, the butchers’ attempted stoicism turning into barely-contained

amusement.

Chapter & The Dogi Eve Would Not Open

Eve didn’t usually indulge in pettiness. There was no time for ego when survival was your lifelong companion. But today… today had been different. Necessary. Liberating.

She relished the memory of Luan’s crumble.

• 25 Paints

Eve paused briefly, wiping her hands on a clean towel before she reached for the Wagyu she had ordered. The expensive cuts lay neatly wrapped on the counter, small luxuries for a dinner she hoped Ryan would enjoy after the exhausting weeks he’d endured.

The thought of him softened her smile.

She could still feel the ghost of his touch from the night before, still feel the ache he had left in her body, the softness he’d carved into her chest. Last night, he had stripped her of fear in a way only Ryan could. And now, she was building something for him with her hands, something small and intimate in return.

This is what a family feels like, she thought.

Simple moments wrapped in meaning.

She turned to switch on the television, letting the familiar background noise fill the room as she worked.

The screen flickered to life, tuned to the news station Ryan often watched, though not with pleasure. He

watched it the same way someone watched an enemy, fully aware, fully prepared, fully braced.

The headline caught her eye immediately.

ASHBROOK INTERNATIONAL UNDER INVESTIGATION, INSIDER TRADING CLAIMS MOUNT

Eve froze mid-motion, her hand hovering above a pot she had been about to fill with water.

The news anchor’s voice was calm but carried a weight Eve could feel in her bones.

“Authorities have opened a formal investigation into allegations of insider trading tied to the Ashbrook

Group. Sources claim, ”

Her heart thudded.

She turned up the volume.

On-screen, clips from the stock exchange played, followed by footage of stern-faced officers walking into

the Ashbrook building with stacks of files.

“… insiders report allege tampering of financial records, misuse of confidential information, and conspiracy to manipulate stock prices. Representatives for the Ashbrook family deny the allegations, calling the report ‘a baseless attack.”

Then came the part that made Eve’s breath hitch.

“Sources say the Ashbrook family has attempted to suppress several media outlets from covering this

story…”

Eve swallowed hard.

Chapter 2 The Door Eve Would Not Open

Trying to shut down the news again.

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