Page 110 of Playboy Billionaire's Fake Marriage

She’s wrong. I cry. I cry so much it’s the only way to keep my tough outer shell together.

“Stella!” Bonnie’s voice snaps me back to the moment. “Is it Ryan?” When I don’t say anything, she panics. “It’s Ryan, isn’t it? Oh God, is he hurt? Has something happened to him?”

“Bonnie wait. He’s not hurt okay. It’s just... “I sigh again. “This is all so messed up, Bonnie.”

“What is it?”

“I... I’m leaving him.”

“What! But I thought you two were finally making things real?”

“We were, but...” How do I even say this? The tears make it hard to speak.

“But what? I swear Stella if you don’t spit it out this second—”

“He’s... He’s Harriet’s father.”

“What the fuck?”

“I found the signet ring, Bonnie. It belongs to Ryan.”

Bonnie shrieks, “Oh hell no! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Christ on a cracker, there is no fucking way you’re telling me the truth!” I hear another string of curses, and then Ethan’s strained voice comes through the phone.

“Stella?”

Feeling guilty for dumping my problems on his wife in her current condition, I murmur “Hey Ethan, I’m so sorry. I’ll... I call back later.”

Bonnie’s shout rings clear through the phone on speaker. “Don’t you dare just drop that bomb and fucking leave me hanging!”

“Baby,” Ethan tries to intervene, “Stella’s right. I can get her back on the phone after we get you to the hospital.”

“Did you not hear what she just said? Ryan is Harriet’s father!”

Ethan’s confusion cuts through the tense silence that follows. “Come again?”

Bonnie’s response is a string of curses, leaving Ethan to seek clarity from me. “Stella, what is she on about?”

“I found the ring,” I manage to say through the tears.

“What ring?” Ethan.

“The ring! The signet ring!” Bonnie yells. “The same one from that night. It belongs to Ryan.”

Another heavy silence. And then then finally gets it. “Fuuuck! It can’t be. There must be another explanation.”

I hear Bonnie’s voice, “Ethan, remember I told you Vivian described a big blonde guy with a very specific ring at the Greenhouse party.”

“But how can you be sure it’s the same ring?” Ethan insists.

I explain, the pieces connecting in a way I wish they didn’t. “Vivian painted it. Hundreds of times. The ring I found matches the one in her painting exactly. It was in Ryan’s bathroom,”

“He’s Harriet’s father,” Bonnie says again, her voice leaving no room for doubt. My sobs renew at her words, the reality of the situation crashing down on me.

Ethan’s voice comes through, low and urgent, “Stella, Bonnie told me Vivian was also tied up and beaten, and the man got off on her pain. I’ve never known Ryan to be violent, not even while roaring drunk. Do you really think he could do something like that?”

“I... I don’t know,” I stammer, feeling adrift. “Everything I thought I knew about him... it’s all just... gone.”

“He’s your husband, Stella,” Ethan states, and somehow, it sounds like an accusation. “You’d know if he was capable of something like that.”

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