The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88 The Door Eve Would Not Open 2

25 Points

The image of Kimberly and Leah, always polished, always poised, always venomous, flashed through her

mind. She knew they were capable of cruelty, of entitlement, of delusion. But this… this was bigger than their childish obsession with who Ryan loved. This was corruption, power, legacy, and reputation colliding under one spotlight.

The kind of scandal men like her father whispered about behind closed doors.

Eve exhaled slowly.

She didn’t want to think about any of it right now.

Not tonight.

Not when she was building warmth with her hands, not when the scent of herbs and butter had begun to

fill the kitchen, not when her thoughts wanted to drift back to Ryan and the quiet intimacy they’d shared.

So she refocused.

She washed her hands again, set a pan on the stove, added a small pat of butter and a drizzle of oil. The scent rose immediately, comforting, familiar. She began peeling garlic cloves, just about to smash them

when,

The doorbell rang.

The sharp sound cut through the kitchen like a blade, startling enough that she almost dropped the garlic.

Her first instinct, a deeply ingrained one, was to go and open the door without question. She had done it all her life: respond, obey, accommodate. It was a reflex built into her bones.

But halfway across the living room, she stopped.

Something cold and heavy settled in her chest.

No.

No, she wasn’t that person anymore.

She wasn’t the girl who lived behind the restaurant.

She wasn’t the girl opening doors for people who meant her harm.

She wasn’t the girl being thrown around at the Ashbrook mansion like a disposable ornament.

Not anymore.

She had too many enemies.

Too many people who saw her as an obstacle.

Too many who fantasized about her disappearing.

Chapter 88 The Door Eve Would Not Open 2

And she had too much to lose.

+25 Pointe

She approached the door more cautiously this time, her footsteps slower, her fingers brushing the wall

beside the door as she pressed the small intercom button.

Her voice was calm, steady.

“Yes? Who is it?”

The answer shot back like a slap.

“Open the damn door, you stupid whore!”

Kimberly.

Of course.

Eve closed her eyes briefly, inhaling sharply.

Kimberly’s voice was unmistakable, sharp, acidic, threaded with insecurity masquerading as superiority. It

was the kind of voice that rattled people who didn’t know her. But Eve knew her too well.

She pressed the button again, her tone flat. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Kimberly shrieked. “I want you to open the door so I can teach you some manners! Who

the hell do you think you are, talking to Luan like that at the butcher shop? You think you can disrespect

her and get away with it?”

Eve almost laughed.

Almost.

Instead, she leaned her forehead gently against the door, her eyelids lowering as if Kimberly’s noise were

an unpleasant storm she was patiently waiting to pass.

Of course, Luan ran to Kimberly.

Of course she had gone crying to the woman who still clung to the fantasy that Ryan belonged to their

little social circle.

Eve pressed the button again.

“You can remain outside until Ryan returns,” she said evenly. “Maybe he will let you in. I won’t.”

“You bitch!” Kimberly screamed. “Ryan will come back to his true love. You think you’ve won something? You think he cares about you beyond whatever blackmail your father used?”

Eve didn’t flinch.

Didn’t breathe.

Didn’t let the insult penetrate.

She was tired.

Chapter 88 The Door Eve Would Not Open 2

Truly tired.

And these delusions, these childish, rehearsed fantasies Kimberly clung to, were exhausting.

Ryan had never chosen Luan.

Not once.

Not even when Eve left him.

Not even when the world gave him the perfect excuse.

Instead, he had been searching for Eve.

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