Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO
Chapter 108: Maybes

Chapter 108: Maybes

The sound of the front door clicking open echoed faintly through the quiet house.

Stefan sat up straighter on the couch, the soft leather creaking beneath him. He had been waiting for hours, listening closely for every small sound—hoping, waiting, imagining the moment Ethan would walk in.

His fingers drummed restlessly on his knees. The low hum of the wall clock and the occasional wind brushing against the windows were the only company he’d had all evening.

The moment he heard footsteps approaching after he heard Ethan getting out of the car, he rose to his feet.

"Ethan?" he called, his voice calm but edged with tension.

"Yeah, it’s me," Ethan replied, his tone light as he stepped further into the living room.

Stefan’s expression tightened, though his eyes scanning Ethan’s face. "So, how was the date?" f.r(e)e\webn.ovel.co\m

Ethan chuckled softly. "No need to act like you care about how the date went. I know that’s not what you’re really interested in."

Stefan didn’t reply right away. His jaw clenched just slightly, and he lowered himself back onto the couch.

"Fine, you got me there. So, tell me," he said finally, voice low, strained.

Ethan exhaled and walked toward him. "You were right," he said simply. "Rayna... she’s indeed Ruby’s best friend."

Stefan’s entire body stiffened as he processed the words he’d heard. The weight of it settled like stone in his chest.

"Why and how do you know that? Did she by any chance say it?" Stefan asked quietly.

"Though she didn’t use her name," Ethan replied. "But she talked about her... a lot. And the way she spoke about her—protective, emotional—it wasn’t just casual. I asked if she meant it when she said she was taking care of a pregnant friend and she went on to tell me how they’d been friends since childhood. Apparently, the three of them grew up together until Rayna and her parents moved then she remained friends with just Ruby. She’d even said when we met in Zeden, it was her she went to visit and that I wouldn’t believe she was locked and hidden in her room because her friend was hiding her."

Stefan’s hands tightened into fists against his thighs. Then why had Ruby said they’d just met online? Was it because talking about another best friend could blow their cover? Did that mean Rayna had been in his house? Was this by any chance connected to Martin and Mara telling him Ruby had been carrying a box?

He thought and shook his head to focus when he heard Ethan speaking again.

"And there’s more," Ethan added, hesitating for just a second. "That gown... the one we ordered for Ruby. The one she said she wanted to wear after you got your sight back..."

Stefan turned his head toward Ethan, though his eyes focusing on Ethan’s. "What about it?"

Ethan’s voice lowered. "Rayna wore it to the date."

The air grew heavy, so heavy it felt like even breathing was hard.

Stefan’s heart clenched, hard and fast, like someone had driven a nail through it. That gown... he remembered the night she’d touched the fabric with such care, her fingers brushing it gently. She’d smiled then—one of those soft, shy smiles she gave only when she thought no one was watching but he’d seen it that day in one of those moments he was grateful for.

"I’ll wear it when you can see me again," she had whispered.

But now... someone else had worn it. Her best friend.

It was such a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but to Stefan, it felt like something had been ripped out of him.

"She gave it to her?" he asked quietly.

"I don’t know," Ethan replied. "Rayna didn’t say how she got it. But... she wore it. And that tells us something, doesn’t it?"

Stefan leaned back, his head resting on the couch cushion. His mind felt like a storm—thoughts crashing into each other, emotions bleeding into one another. Pain. Confusion. Regret. And something deeper—loss.

Maybe she really was done with him. Maybe Ruby had given up on everything they had. Maybe she hated him now. Maybe she’d written him off completely.

He’d tried to be strong through all of it—through the lies, the hurt, the confusion of living with someone who loved him under another name. He hadn’t blamed her, not truly. He had felt betrayed, yes, but also desperate to understand why. And even now, with the truth pressing into him like a sharp blade, all he could think about... was her.

Her laughter. Her quiet sighs when she thought he was asleep. Her scent lingering on his clothes.

"I guess," Stefan said slowly, "she’s trying to move on."

Ethan looked at him for a long moment before replying. "Maybe. Or maybe she’s just wants to live without all the drama."

Stefan didn’t respond. He didn’t want to cry. But he felt the sting behind his eyes, the way it threatened to push forward, even though he knew tears wouldn’t solve anything.

He wasn’t the kind of man who broke down easily. But Ruby—she wasn’t just anybody. She was the one who had made him feel seen, even when he couldn’t see her.

"She used to say she wanted to be the reason I smiled," Stefan whispered. "She was. Every day. Even when I didn’t understand what was real and what wasn’t."

Ethan sat across from him now, his expression serious. "So what are you going to do now?"

Stefan didn’t answer right away. He tilted his head back slightly, as if searching for answers in the ceiling above him. His chest rose and fell in slow, steady breaths.

"I’m going to get her back, Ethan," he said finally.

Ethan blinked. "Even if she doesn’t want you anymore?"

"Especially then," Stefan replied, his voice stronger now. "Because I know she didn’t stop loving me. Maybe she thinks she has to. Maybe she thinks I’m better off without her. But she’s wrong."

He stood up, steadying himself with the back of the couch. As he stood up, there was a determined fire in the way he moved now. Stronger. Sure, like he was more sure of it now.

"I’m not going to let this be how our story ends," Stefan said, voice firm. "I didn’t fight through blindness, through betrayal, through confusion—just to lose her now."

Ethan nodded slowly. "Then you should know I know where she stays now. We can get to her anytime you’re ready."

Stefan smiled faintly. "Then I’ll have to think of a way to get to her now and what to do to get her."