The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 46

“You sit there glued to your phone, waiting for her messages, always defending her, but what does she do? She’s off having fun at some reunion, not a care in the world!”

Brianna’s words landed one by one, each like a knife twisting in Jotham’s chest.

She was right. He’d only ever used Ramona, and though he’d never treated her poorly, here they were at a critical juncture for the company, and Ramona had chosen this moment to be petty.

Maybe Brianna was right—he really had misjudged Ramona.

Brianna didn’t wait for him to reply. She scooped up her laptop and marched off to the study.

It was several minutes before Jotham followed. When he found her, Brianna was hunched over the desk, quietly crying.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

Seeing her like this, so vulnerable, so broken, made his heart ache.

Brianna had always had it the hardest, sticking by him through thick and thin. She’d borne the pressure from her parents, kept their marriage a secret, even had his child in silence. If anyone had suffered, it was Brianna—far more than Ramona ever had.

Now, with the mess Ramona had left behind, Brianna didn’t hesitate to roll up her sleeves and fix things. They were the real team, the real couple.

“Brianna, once we get through this, once things settle down, I promise—I’ll convince my family. My parents, my grandmother, all of them. I’ll make sure they finally accept you.”

He pulled her into his arms, repeating his promise as he gently stroked her back, wiping away her tears.

Jotham’s grandfather, Alaric Holt, had made it clear in his will—Brianna was not to be allowed into the family. He’d even put all the Holt assets in Jotham’s grandmother Liliane’s care to enforce it.

If their relationship became public now, Liliane would, as the doctors advised, transfer the entire Holt fortune to the family foundation. Jotham and everyone else would lose everything. He had to work even harder—get Holt Group listed, secure enough capital and influence so that his parents couldn’t stop him, and with Liliane’s age, eventually, when her mind faded, their time would come.

Brianna could sense his sincerity, and soon a small smile broke through her tears.

“Jotham, just don’t let me lose. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Jotham nodded solemnly, cupping Brianna’s face and kissing her.

But as he closed his eyes, another image flickered—Ramona. A shudder ran through him. Abruptly, he pulled away from Brianna, suddenly at a loss.

“What’s wrong?” Brianna, unsettled by his rattled expression, looked at him with concern.

“It’s nothing, I just remembered… I have an important meeting tomorrow. Ramona’s supposed to be leading it.”

He turned away, avoiding her gaze.

Any project Ramona handled, no matter who else was assigned to it, the clients only wanted her. No one else would do.

Tomorrow, the client’s team was coming. Without Ramona, something was bound to go wrong. And the company couldn’t afford another hit.

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