Mr. Billionaire, Your Madness Belongs To Me!

"You seriously brought your adopted sister home, Ryan? What do you think Natalie will do when she finds out?"

For the first time in a year, Natalie Phillips could hear clearly again. She stood outside the club's private room when those words reached her. The smile disappeared from her face, and she suddenly couldn't move.

Caylee Edwards had returned?

"If none of you says anything, Natalie won't know," Ryan Edwards replied without concern. "Caylee has been away for more than a year, and she wanted to come home."

"She didn't miss home. She missed you."

Knowing laughter broke out among the people inside.

"Stop talking nonsense. Caylee is my sister."

"Your sister? Come on, Ryan. I watched her kiss you earlier, and there was nothing sisterly about it. She acted more like your girlfriend!"

Ryan frowned. "She surprised me, and it was over before I had a chance to stop her. Caylee is still young, so she doesn't always understand where the boundaries are. I'm not going to turn one foolish kiss into a serious issue."

Then Ryan seemed to remember something, and a warning entered his voice. "Nobody mentions this again. Natalie will arrive soon, so be careful what you say around her."

Someone cleared his throat before asking in a sober tone, "You're honestly going to ignore what happened, Ryan? Caylee paid someone to run Natalie over. Natalie nearly lost her life, and she still hasn't regained her hearing."

"Caylee was only nineteen at the time," Ryan responded coldly. "She acted without thinking and made one honest mistake. She was overseas for an entire year, and she has already suffered the consequences. She won't do it again, so why are we still talking about it?"

One honest mistake?

Disbelief swept through Natalie as she listened from the hallway.

Nothing about his excuse made sense to her.

One year ago, Caylee's obsession with Ryan had taken a violent turn. His rejection had pushed her over the edge, and she hired someone to strike her with a car. That crash had taken her hearing from her.

Back then, Ryan had been furious beyond reason. His punishment left Caylee so badly injured that she nearly died. Eventually, his parents intervened and arranged for her to be sent overseas.

Throughout the following year, Ryan spent an enormous amount of money bringing specialists from every corner of the world to treat her hearing loss. He even stepped away from his career so he could remain with her throughout the entire recovery.

Months of treatment brought her unbearable pain and exhaustion. Whenever she felt too overwhelmed to continue, Ryan would become teary-eyed. He always pulled her into his arms and whispered that he wanted Caylee dead for destroying her life.

For a long time, she had carried nothing but bitterness over what happened. Still, she had seen Ryan travel anywhere necessary to find the right doctors, and he had never left her side through all those difficult days and nights.

Somewhere in her heart, she had begun to believe that despite everything she had suffered, she had at least found a man who truly treasured her.

Her hand moved to the small velvet box inside her pocket before she even realized what she was doing.

Hidden inside was a custom-made ring for Ryan that she had secretly ordered.

Their wedding had faced one delay after another because of that pointless tragedy.

With her hearing restored, she had believed she could finally marry Ryan and begin the life she had waited so long for. Instead, he had welcomed Caylee home and dismissed everything she had done as though forgiveness should come easily.

What a cruel joke.

While resentment settled in her chest, a sudden vibration came from the phone inside her pocket.

Several minutes passed before Natalie regained enough composure to check the screen. Kathleen Phillips had sent her another lengthy message. Her mother repeated the same request as before and begged her to return to Klimery. She wanted Natalie to replace her stepsister Aimee Phillips in an arranged marriage.

Only an hour had passed since Kathleen sent the first message, yet this was already her second attempt to reach Natalie.

Marriage was supposed to unite the Phillips and the Warren families, but Aimee had somehow escaped rather than honor the arrangement.

Within Klimery, few families could rival the Warrens in wealth or influence. Nathan Warren was the man chosen to marry Aimee, and rumors painted him as someone merciless enough to ruin anyone who crossed him.

Once Nathan learned that the Phillips family planned to abandon the engagement and humiliate him, nothing could stop him from destroying them in a single night.

Out of options, Kathleen finally called Natalie and pleaded, "Natalie, Robert and I don't know what else to do. Please come back and save our family. I'm begging you."

Years earlier, Kathleen had married Robert Phillips with Natalie beside her. Never once during all that time had her mother begged her for help.

Although her stepfather had treated them reasonably well, she understood how much effort her mother had spent earning a secure position in that household. Nearly all her mother's attention had gone toward caring for her husband and Aimee over the years.

For that reason, she had always behaved exactly as Kathleen expected and had done everything possible to avoid causing problems.

Only twice had she ever gone against her mother, and Ryan had been the reason both times.

The first time happened years ago when Natalie left Klimery alone to be with him.

The second happened earlier that day when she refused to take Aimee's place at the wedding because she still planned to marry him.

Thinking back on her reply to Kathleen brought a weak and bitter smile to Natalie's face. She had proudly announced that her hearing had returned and that Ryan loved her more than anyone else. Natalie had also promised they would marry soon and insisted that he would help settle the Phillips family's crisis.

Her faith in Ryan had been absolute.

Pain tightened around Natalie's heart when she closed her eyes. Her fingers gripped the ring box inside her pocket, while she struggled to keep the ache in her throat from breaking into a sob.

Reality had finally shown itself. The everlasting devotion she trusted and the love that had become the center of her life were nothing more than lies. One painful discovery had torn the entire illusion apart.

Looking back, she could no longer tell which tender moments had been genuine. Had Ryan cared for her because he loved her, because guilt drove him, or simply because he wanted others to believe he was devoted?

After drawing a steady breath, Natalie entered her answer one word at a time. "Mom, I've changed my mind. I'll take Aimee's place and marry Nathan Warren."