From Substitute To Queen novel Chapter 112

Chapter 112

“He said, ‘I stayed up last night reviewing all your textbooks. How else could I teach you? That’s when I knew.”

The room was completely silent now.

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“I fell in love with him not because of destiny or fate. I fell in love because when I was at my absolute worst, he was willing to spend his nights studying high school textbooks just so he could help me through my pain.”

My voice was shaking, but I couldn’t stop now.

“I love his patience. I love that he memorized chemistry formulas he’d never need again, just for me. I love that he’d hand me tissues when I cried and never made me feel ashamed of my anger. I love how he called me ‘Sabi’ in this gentle voice that made me feel like I might actually be worth something.”

Looking out at the audience, I felt like I was speaking directly to him, even though he was not here.

–

“I love that he was willing to make himself smaller to fit into my broken world. That he’d do anything – anything at all heal, even if it seemed beneath someone of his position.”

My voice broke completely.

to help me

“Even if he never knows… in all those nights when he helped me with homework, he wasn’t just teaching me math. He was teaching me that I deserved kindness. That someone could see me at my ugliest and still choose to stay.”

The silence stretched for several heartbeats. Then the room exploded.

Thunderous applause filled the bar, mixed with sharp whistles and cheers. Someone near the back shouted “Encore!” and the cry was immediately picked up by others.

“More! More!”

I stood frozen, overwhelmed by the response. My colleagues were cheering the loudest, Stacey practically bouncing in her seat as she applauded.

The host appeared beside me, grinning widely. “Looks like you’ve got some fans. Want to give them another round?”

I shook my head at the host with a polite smile. “Thank you, but I think one performance is enough for tonight.”

The crowd groaned in disappointment, but I made my way back to my table.

It wasn’t until I was sitting down that the reality of what I’d just done began to sink in.

I reached for my wine glass and drained it in one go. Then another. And another…

Third Person POV

Jacob Morrison had been having a perfectly ordinary Friday night until he decided to duck into the Bar for a quick drink before heading home.

He’d just ordered his whiskey when a voice caught his attention from the stage. Jacob turned, his glass halfway to his lips, and

nearly choked.

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Chapter 112

No fucking way.

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Sable Crawford stood under the warm stage lights, microphone in hand, telling the audience about some uptight guy in expensive suits. Jacob knew exactly who she was talking about.

He’d known Caelan for eight years.

And right now, Caelan’s fiancée was giving a room full of strangers a very detailed account of their relationship.

Jacob pulled out his phone without thinking and started to record. This was too good to pass up. Caelan’s perfectly controlled image versus his apparently very enthusiastic private behavior?

This is going to be hilarious.

He recorded the whole performance of Sable, finished his whiskey in one gulp and headed for the exit, already composing the text message in his head.

Outside the bar, Jacob leaned against his car and pulled up Caelan’s contact information. His fingers moved quickly across the

screen:

Hey “King of Emotional Repression” – your fiancée just gave a very enlightening public performance about your “enthusiastic” private. behavior. Apparently the transformation from gentleman to starving wolf is quite… shocking? You’re welcome.

He attached the video and hit send.

Caclan’s POV

The ace of spades sat mockingly in my hand – a perfect hand wasted on a mind elsewhere. Peter’s private entertainment room buzzed with the low hum of conversation and the soft clink of ice against crystal, but I might as well have been sitting in a morgue for all the attention I was paying to the game.

I kept thinking about Sable and checking my phone every ten minutes.

“Look at our Lycan King.” Peter sneered. He leaned back in his leather chair, amber whiskey catching the light from the crystal chandelier. “You’ve been staring at those cards for five minutes. Either you’re plotting world domination or you’re missing a certain

doctor.”

I arranged my cards with deliberate precision. “She’s having dinner with colleagues.”

“Ah.” Leon nodded sagely from across the mahogany table. “And our territorial king is having separation anxiety.”

Peter’s grin turned predatory. “Look at him! Sitting here with us instead of following her around like a lovesick puppy. Who are you, and what did you do with Caelan Blackwood?”

“Fuck off, Peter.”

“Ooh, hostile.” He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Someone’s definitely missing his woman.”

I fixed him with my coldest stare.

“Speaking of women…” Leon began. “I’ve been seeing someone lately.”

Peter’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Do tell.”

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Chapter 112

Leon shrugged like it was nothing. Just some girl from a small town. Nothing serious.”

“Small town girl, huh? Peter leaned forward with interest. “Pretty?”

“Pretty enough. Good for passing time when I’m bored.”

Something cold settled in my stomach. “Leon.”

But he was already continuing, oblivious to the warning in my voice. “She’s sweet, I suppose. Naive. The type who thinks a few expensive dinners and some jewelry means we’re headed for something serious.”

Peter laughed. “And when you get tired of her?”

“Same as always.” Leon examined his cards. “A few designer handbags, some cash to help with her expenses, and she’ll disappear quietly. They always do once they realize they can’t actually reach my level.”

“You might want to be more careful with that attitude.” I said.

Leon glanced up from his cards. “Why?”

“Because I’ve seen too many men regret underestimating what they had. Sometimes by the time you realize something was worth keeping, it’s already gone.”

“Like what?”

I didn’t answer directly, but my mind went exactly where I knew it would. Darrell had once held Sable’s heart in his hands. He’d had her love, her trust, her devotion. And he’d thrown it all away.

Now he spent his days following her around like a pathetic shadow, begging for scraps of attention from a woman who looked at him with nothing but contempt. He’d owned a diamond and treated it like glass, only realizing its value after he’d shattered it beyond repair.

I’ll never make that mistake.

Every day I woke up grateful that Sable had chosen me. Every night I went to sleep planning how to deserve her tomorrow. She was the most precious thing in my world, and I’d burn everything else to ash before I’d risk losing her.

My phone buzzed against the table. All three of us looked at it.

A message from Jacob appeared on the screen, and my blood pressure spiked immediately.

Hey “King of Emotional Repression”…