Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Lovely wife 222 Chained "But why?" Cassandra asked. "1-why would they try to hurt me?" This is no longer like the simple scheming that she does with other people in the show business industry.

"I wouldn't know that," her manager said. "However... I am pretty certain that this wasn't a coincidence. They- perhaps even Mr. Horvath himself-must have created this trap." "Then what should I do now?" "I-I don't know. However, it is best that you talk to that-whoever it is that told you this idea would work." Almost immediately, Cassandra's expression changed. She looked at her manager. "You knew?" "Of course, I would know! I know that someone must have given you the courage to do something like that in exchange for something huge. Look-" her manager sighed. "Just please fix this. I will do my best to support you, but just please. please try to fix what you can fix." Cassandra's lips trembled. At the end of the day, Olivier actually left her hanging! He was the one who promised her everything, yet now that they announced their engagement...

Cassandra sat down heavily on the couch, her mind swirling. She pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead, willing the pounding in her head to stop.

Olivier and Celeste had been so convincing that night.

She remembered it clearly. It had been a private dinner at an exclusive restaurant. The couple sat across from her. Celeste especially looked so friendly. She had a glass of wine in one hand, her expression calm and steady. She had leaned in slightly, dropping her voice as if sharing a secret too dangerous to say aloud.

"They're already married," she told her. "Liam and Isabella signed the papers months ago. It's a business arrangement. Nothing more." Cassandra had blinked at her, struggling to process the information.

"They aren't planning to announce it," Celeste continued. "Too many complications. The media would dig into it. Shareholders would ask questions. The timing isn't right for them." She remembered how she had set his glass down carefully before continuing.

"I know you care about Liam," she said. "I know you have for a long time. That's why I'm coming to you." Cassandra had swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around her napkin.

Celeste smiled, just slightly. "This is an opportunity. For both of us." She had explained it so neatly, so logically. If she pushed now-if she created enough doubt-Isabella would be forced to step away. The marriage would be exposed as a fraud. Liam, humiliated and cornered, would need a softer, safer image to clean up the scandal. Cassandra. The woman who stood by him. The woman the public already believed had a connection to him.

"You're beautiful and talented, and you have real public sympathy," Celeste said. "You're the perfect solution." She had leaned back in her chair and looked at her like the whole thing was inevitable. Like it was already hers if she just took one step forward.

She and Olivier had promised her roles. Sponsorships. Media coverage that would bury her rivals. Stocks in a growing entertainment company. Connections she could never have gotten on her own.

All she had to do was help push the scandal forward.

All she had to do was believe.

Cassandra clenched her fists in her lap, staring down at the floor without seeing it. She had believed them. She had wanted to believe them. She had liked Liam. She thought-no, she knew-that if Isabella was gone, Liam would see her differently.

He had to.

Now, all of it was crashing down around her.

The engagement announcement. The public show of unity. Liam pulling Isabella into his arms, shielding her in front of the cameras, declaring war on anyone who dared touch her.

Cassandra felt her stomach twist painfully.

Successfully unlocked! Olivier had promised her a win. Celeste even tolu er at uns was noty out an arrangement that was set up by Liam and Isabella's grandparents to protect each other's assets and that before this marriage, Isabella was with another man that she loved. They told her Isabella was forced to marry Liam because of swill! Instead, he left her with nothing but a pile of broken promises and a future slipping through her fingers.

1/3 Chained And now, they weren't even answering her calls.

Cassandra grabbed her phone again with shaky hands. Her last few calls to Olivier had gone unanswered, but Celeste might still pick up.

She opened her contact list and dialed Celeste's number. It rang twice, then went to voicemail.

She clenched her teeth and dialed again, more forcefully this time.

If they thought they could just ignore her, they were wrong.

The line clicked, then went silent again. Straight to voicemail.

Cassandra stood up, pacing back and forth, her heart thudding heavily in her chest.

"They think they can just throwaway?" she muttered under her breath. "Fine. If they won't talk to me, I'll talk to everyone. I'll tell the press. I'll tell them everything. I'll tell them who planned this." Her thumb hovered over Celeste's number again, ready to dial one more time. Her manager approached from the kitchen, holding out a bottle of water. "Here," she said. "Drink. You need to calm down before you do anything stupid." Cassandra snatched the bottle without thinking. Her mouth was dry, her head pounding. She twisted off the cap and drank half of it in one long gulp.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and turned back toward the couch-but something was wrong. The room tilted slightly. The edges of her vision blurred. Her hands felt numb. She looked at her manager, blinking hard.

"What... why?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her manager looked at her, her face tight with something Cassandra couldn't name. "I'm sorry" she said simply. Cassandra tried to step forward, but her legs buckled. She collapsed onto the floor, her phone slipping from her hand and clattering across the tiles.

The last thing she saw before darkness closed in was her manager kneeling beside her, picking up the phone carefully and switching it off.

Why? Just why? Cassandra woke with a start.

The first thing she noticed was the light-too bright, almost blinding. She blinked hard, trying to make out the room around her.

It was bare. Cold. The walls were stark white with nothing on them. No windows. Only a single bed bolted to the floor. The thin mattress dug into her back.

She moved to sit up and froze.

Chains.

Her wrists were cuffed to either side of the bed with thick metal restraints. Her ankles were strapped down too. Panic flared in her chest. She tugged hard against the restraints, but they didn't budge.

"Help!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the sterile walls. "Is anyone there? Help!" She yanked at the chains again, harder this time, but it only made her wrists burn.

The heavy metal door across the room creaked open.

Cassandra stilled, her breathing sharp and uneven.

The door was thick, reinforced with bolts. She could see scratches near the hinges where others must have tried to claw. their way out.

Two men entered, both wearing plain white uniforms. They wheeled in a metal chair with thick leather straps bolted to its arms and legs. Cassandra's mouth went dry.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. She struggled against the bed, the chains clinking loudly. "Where am I? What the hell is this? Do you even know who I am!?".

Neither man answered. They moved mechanically, positioning the chair near the bed.

Seeing this, Cassandra kicked her legs as much as she could, but the restraints' held firm.

She heard footsteps then. Heavier. Slower.

Chained Her body went stiff as she turned her head toward the door.

A shadow stretched across the bright floor.

Her eyes widened.

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