The Wife You Buried Is Back from Hell novel Chapter 1335

She and Gian had gotten their marriage license, but calling them husband and wife was a massive stretch. They were essentially just roommates who had signed a peace treaty.

Even after making it official, they slept in separate bedrooms. The only time they really interacted was when their schedules accidentally overlapped.

Occasionally, they'd go back to visit their parents and put on a flawless performance of marital bliss. But even when they held hands or hugged, there was always an underlying, forced stiffness to the movements.

Once the curtain fell, they retreated back to their separate lives, treating each other with suffocating politeness.

But ever since that night at the ski resort, everything had shifted.

The moment they crashed into the snow together, the searing heat of his palms burning right through her ski jacket—it had sent her heart into an absolute panic.

Then came the unbearable tension of sharing a hotel room. The way he silently tucked the blankets around her in the middle of the night. Waking up to his steady breathing just inches from her face.

And the way he looked at her... That hidden, undeniable tenderness in his eyes felt like a stone dropping into a perfectly still lake, sending violent ripples straight through her chest.

Kirsten realized, to her utter horror, that she was getting used to Gian.

She was used to him smoothly stepping in to take a drink for her at parties. She was used to seeing him standing in the rain with an umbrella, waiting for her to get off work. She was used to the breathtaking spark in his eyes whenever he smiled at her.

She stared at his long, elegant fingers wrapped loosely around his champagne glass, and a sudden, terrifying thought forced its way into her brain.

The cheering from the ballroom finally began to die down.

Gian looked away from the crowd and turned to Kirsten. Seeing her staring blankly at his hands, he raised a single, arrogant eyebrow. "What? Finally falling for my hands?"

Kirsten flinched, feeling like she had just been caught red-handed.

She took a deep breath, like a soldier marching to her death, and looked him straight in the eyes. "Gian. Look. Danielle and Alexander are having a massive wedding. It's going to be gorgeous."

Gian raised an eyebrow, easily following her train of thought. "Yeah. It is."

"They're going to pull out all the stops. Half the industry is going to be there."

Kirsten bit her lower lip.

"We're... We're already legally married anyway. Why don't we... Why don't we just tag along and throw our wedding at the same time as Danielle's?"

The second the words left her mouth, the entire terrace seemed to go completely dead.

A few of their friends who had been casually eavesdropping instantly held their breath, their eyes snapping toward the pair. Even the air felt like it had frozen solid.

Gian's entire body went rigid.

He stared at Kirsten, looking like he couldn't process what he had just heard.

His eyes, usually dancing with effortless sarcasm, were suddenly wide and frantic.

Seeing his shell-shocked expression, a wave of pure panic crashed over Kirsten.

Had she been too impulsive?

What if he said no?

Their marriage was fake. What if he was only doing this to shut his family up? What if he had absolutely zero intention of actually being with her?

She immediately dropped her gaze to the floor. "I-I was just throwing it out there. If you don't want to..."

Those two words felt like a freezing needle piercing straight into Kirsten's chest. It wasn't agonizing, but a dense, suffocating ache began to spread through her veins.

The tiny, fragile spark of hope that had just ignited in her heart was instantly doused in ice water.

So, that was it. He hadn't agreed to the wedding because he was in love with her. He agreed because she was his best friend. He just wanted to protect her pride.

Kirsten lowered her eyelashes, hiding the crushing wave of disappointment pooling in her eyes. "I know. Go do your networking. Don't drink too much."

Gian completely missed the devastating shift in her tone. Assuming she was just exhausted, he threw out a quick "Call me if you need anything" before turning around and vanishing back into the crowded ballroom.

Kirsten stood frozen on the terrace, staring at the empty space where he had just been for a very long time.

She slowly raised her glass and downed the rest of her champagne in one go. The cold liquid slid down her throat, leaving a bitter, acidic aftertaste on her tongue.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew exactly how pathetic and ridiculous her relationship with Gian was.

It was just a fake marriage to get their parents off their backs. A mutually beneficial alliance.

But the way he held her in the snow, the nights they spent sleeping in the same room, and the agonizingly tender way he looked at her... It had all tricked her into hoping for something real.

Turns out, it was all just in her head.

Kirsten let out a dark, self-deprecating laugh. She turned her back to the ballroom and walked straight toward the poolside bar.

She ordered a glass of whiskey, neat, and downed half of it in a single swallow.

The vicious burn of the alcohol hit her brain instantly, the dizzying heat finally strong enough to numb the freezing ache inside her heart.