Chapter 146 Chapter One hundred and forty-five
ARA
I thought my husband was crazy when he first proposed the idea of becoming his arranged fiancée.
I was changing my mind. He wasn’t just crazy, he was crazy raised to the power of a hundred.
This man was keeping his mother on the top floor of the VIP suite in one of the nightclubs he owned!
“Super brilliant idea,” Sasha mumbled beside me, peering out the tinted window as neon lights streaked across her face.
“Brilliant? Come on! I know he pays you handsomely, but not enough to flatter him,” I told her.
Thayne wasn’t riding with us, which meant Sasha and I were finally free to gossip without his dangerously perceptive ears catching every syllable.
Unfortunately, Stuart was driving. And Stuart’s face was locked in its usual permanent scowl, the kind that made strangers apologize for things they hadn’t even done.
“Mrs. Slade,” Sasha said, shifting toward me, “do you think Slade Senior would ever think to look for Liliana in a dirty nightclub owned by his own son?”
I opened my mouth to argue. Then paused. Okay. That actually made sense.
“It’s brilliant, okay,” I admitted reluctantly.
Sasha beamed like she’d just won an award.
“Just in case you forgot, Sasha,” Stuart cut in dryly, eyes fixed on the road, “your job is to monitor public reaction to both press releases from earlier today.”
He wasn’t even trying to hide the provocation in his voice.
Sasha gasped theatrically and jammed her fingers into her ears.
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you!”
Stuart’s jaw ticked. “Fuck you,” he murmured.
I bit back a smile.
Their bickering was oddly comforting, a chaotic soundtrack to the storm brewing around us.
Outside, the city shifted. Street vendors disappeared slowly. Traffic thinned until I could only count three vehicles, ours included.
Neon signs began to dominate the darkness like artificial constellations.
We were close. Only minutes separated us from the club. Only minutes from Liliana.
I exhaled slowly, watching my reflection in the window. I tried to relax my tense shoulders and restless fingers. My eyes were carrying too many thoughts at once.
I had chosen this. Meeting Liliana over joining Thayne to see Neil.
Neil could wait. But Liliana…
Liliana might be the key that unraveled everything.
The car slowed, tires crunching over gravel as the towering silhouette of the club came into view, music vibrating faintly even from outside, bass pulsing like a distant heartbeat.
Sasha leaned forward.
“Well,” she said softly, “no pressure or anything.”
Stuart pulled into the private entrance and killed the engine. Silence rushed in.
My hand hovered over the door handle.
This wasn’t just a visit. It was confrontation. Memory. Truth. And possibly…. pain.
I swallowed, then pushed the door open.
“Let’s go meet my mother-in-law.”
Sasha hissed. “No! You can't just go in like that. You're pregnant, and pregnant women do not come to clubs.”
“I agree,” Stuart chimed in from the driver’s seat, far too quickly.
“Hello?! It’s too late to do anything about my pregnancy, Sasha.”
“No! I wasn’t saying… I didn’t mean…” She trailed off, flustered, her hands flapping uselessly in the air.
Her panic was contagious enough to make me pause.
Then movement caught my eye.We both turned our heads toward Stuart at the same time.
Was he—
Oh God. He was absolutely, unapologetically, removing his jacket.
Then his tie. Then rolling up his sleeves with a level of focus usually reserved for military operations.
Why were things being so weird right now?
“Eh-hem,” Sasha cleared her throat loudly. “Maybe wait until we get inside the club for the strip show, Stuart.”
Stuart didn’t even blink. “This is tactical preparation,” he said flatly.
“For what?” I asked slowly.
“Take my coat,” he said, passing his coat to me. “Please, put it on. It will hide your stomach. Like it or not, you're now a celebrity, and anyone who sees you in there and recognises you will start asking questions.”
Sasha’s eyes widened.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “He’s right.”
I stared at both of them.
“I hate when he’s right.” She said, rubbing her forehead.
I frowned, taking the jacket from Stuart who reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a baseball cap, sliding it across to me.
Then a pair of oversized glasses. Excuse me, were we doing a money heist?
Sasha immediately dove into her handbag like a magician reaching for props.
“Lip gloss off. Hair up. Coat on. We are de-glamorizing you immediately.”
“This feels illegal,” I muttered as Sasha aggressively wiped my lips.
“It’s survival,” she corrected, loosening my hair from the tight bun sitting on my head and letting it fall. Then she helped me wear the jacket.
It turned into a seriously oversized dress on me.
Stuart stepped out of the car and walked around to my side, opening the door with unexpected gentleness.
The bass from inside the club thumped louder now, vibrating through the pavement, through the air, through my bones.
I hesitated, but Sasha took my hand and led me forward.
Stuart went in first. Two minutes later, he returned, offering Sasha and me his arms like we were stepping onto a red carpet instead of sneaking into a nightclub.
No one spared us a second glance as we entered the building and headed straight for the elevators.
“Sasha will record everything while I keep communication channels open with Mr. Thayne and the others,” Stuart said as the elevator began its quiet ascent.
I hummed my response.
The numbers blinked upward, and my heartbeat followed.
When we reached the top floor, Stuart guided us down the hushed corridor to the last door in the left wing.
From his pocket, he produced a card and swiped it against the lock.
A soft hiss followed, and the door unlocked quietly.
Stuart stepped aside, gesturing for me to go in first.
I inhaled deeply and crossed the threshold.
Liliana was already waiting. Of course she was. Thayne must have called ahead.
But something about her immediately unsettled me.
She looked… whole. Not like the hollow woman I had first met in the hospital care home, the one whose gaze floated past people as though reality was a distant country.
Her hair was brushed, glossy. Her posture straight. And her eyes —
There was focus in them. Awareness.
When she spoke, her voice carried across the room with startling strength.
“Hello, Ara.”
My mouth fell open..Beside me, Stuart froze.
Liliana sighed, waving a dismissive hand. “Wipe that look off your faces. I know you’re not Lola.”
Confusion wrapped around me. I blinked, trying to steady myself. Something was wrong here. Terribly wrong. But I couldn’t yet name it.
“How are you doing, Liliana?” I asked carefully. “We decided to stop by today… you know, to check in.”
An amused chuckle slipped from her lips.“It’s alright,” she said softly. “You can stop pretending to be Lola now. We’re all safe.”
My brows knitted. I could hear Stuart shifting nervously behind me.
“I don’t follow.” I said.
Her gaze lingered on me, as if she knew all my darkest secrets.
“You’ve been such a good actress, Ara,” Liliana said. “I appreciate what you did for me.”
A slight pause.
Then the ground shifted beneath my feet.
“But I was never sick in the head,” she continued calmly. “It was all an act I had to carry on for a very long time.”