Wife by Day, Boss by Night by Thalia Quillspeak

Chapter 162
Brian shut off the water and stepped out, wrapping himself in his plush terry cloth robe, his brows knit in a frown when he saw
Gracia hadn’t left.
“Brian...” Gracia began, her voice trembling as she looked up at him.
Brian was running out of patience, fixing her with a stern gaze. “Gracia, you’ve got two choices,” he said, his voice low and firm.
“First, you can keep enjoying the perks the Howard family has given you, basking in our favor.
Or second, if you insist on crossing this line and are so eager to get into my bed, fine. But after tonight, you’re to vanish from my
life. Now, call the bodyguard to get some birth control pills. Strip off and shower ten times. I’ll be back in two hours.”
Gracia’s face turned ashen. She didn’t want just one night. She wanted a lifetime! But she knew Brian too well. He was a man of
his word.
“I’m sorry...” she stammered in panic, “I won’t cling to you anymore. Today... Uriah...”
“If he told you to jump off a bridge, would you?” Brian cut her off sharply, his voice hard,
Gracia realized the seriousness of provoking Brian’s wrath. He had never said such harsh words to her before or hinted at
wanting her out of his sight.
Brian continued without waiting for her to come any closer, “You have one minute to take your key card and disappear.”
That was his final warning to Gracia, a last chance before he made her regret her boldness.

He had always seen Gracia as nothing more than Natalie’s understudy, never to be touched. He could give Gracia everything
she desired except for his heart.
He believed that Gracia, clever as she was, should understand that she basked in the glow of Natalie’s legacy, enjoying his favor
all these years.
He knew it was cruel to Gracia, but he had never promised to her, and keeping his distance was his line in the sand. She was in
it for his influence, and he for her looks. It was a fair trade.
But Gracia’s greed had grown. She wanted to step out of Natalie’s shadow, replace her in his heart, and become his wife. That
was never going to happen.
Tears shimmered in Gracia’s eyes as she met his gaze, fear taking hold of her. She rose unsteadily, cleaned her tears, grabbed
the key card from the table, and hurried out of his room.
Brian watched her leave, turned to pick up his phone, and opened his messaging app.
But he couldn’t find the words when he brought up Natalie’s chat. His thumb brushed over her profile picture, a silhouette against
the backdrop of the ocean and a setting sun in her black business attire.
Over the years, he had fooled himself into belleving that distance would diminish his feelings
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Chapter 162
for Natalie. Yet, the more he stayed away, the deeper he fell, the more he craved her presence. No one else would do.
When Natalie finished her hospital discharge, she settled in the backseat of Reid’s car and noticed that Brian had replied to her
message with a video.
Casually, she opened it, only to see a bare shoulder with the background of a bathroom, with the silhouette of someone
showering behind frosted glass.
Though the glass obscured the details, it was unmistakably the man she had touched the night before.

Brian had been with Gracia again.
She stared at the screen, a moment of blankness in her mind as the reality settled in.