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Read Billionaire's Match By Tangy Candy Novel Chapter 1 \u2013<\/p>\n
In the second year of her marriage, Khloe accidentally tore her marriage certificate while tidying a drawer.<\/p>\n
She rushed to the courthouse to have it reissued, only for the clerk at the window to frown.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Roswell, there\u2019s no record of your marriage in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible. I\u2019ve been married for two years!\u201d Khloe handed over the torn document, her voice sharp with disbelief.<\/p>\n
The clerk checked three more times, then turned the screen toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee? Nothing. And look here, the seal is crooked. This certificate is most likely a forgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khloe stumbled out of the courthouse, feeling utterly hollow and disoriented. The world seemed to blur around her when her phone rang.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Roswell, hello. I\u2019m the attorney for your late father\u2019s estate. Would you be available to come to Pearson Law Firm to review and sign the inheritance documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Another scam,\u2019 she thought, her finger hovering over the \u201cend call\u201d button.<\/p>\n
But the man continued, \u201cYour mother\u2019s name was Adele Roswell. Twenty years ago, she left you at the gates of the Harden Housee. After a thorough investigation, we have confirmed that you are the sole biological child of Neil Morrison.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name hit her like a physical blow. Neil Morrison. The financial titan, the richest man in Goldmont City.<\/p>\n
Stunned into silence, Khloe stood frozen on the courthouse steps. Then, moving on autopilot, she rushed to the appointment.<\/p>\n
What she learned in lawyer\u2019s office was the most staggering revelation of her life: her biological father, Neil Morrison, had passed away the previous month. His estate\u2014a vast empire of stocks, global real estate, and controlling interests in countless corporations\u2014was valued in the billions.<\/p>\n
And she, the daughter who never knew him, was his one and only heir.<\/p>\n
Her head buzzed as if struck by lightning. The lawyer\u2019s next question cut through the fog.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay I ask about your marital status? Do you have children?\u201d<\/p>\n
At once, her husband\u2019s face flashed in her mind.<\/p>\n
Her hand clenched around the broken certificate hidden in her bag. She gripped the pen tightly and said, \u201cGive me two hours. I need to confirm something first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leaving the law office, she headed straight for her husband\u2019s company.<\/p>\n
The door to Trey Fox\u2019s office was ajar. She had just reached out when a low, sultry voice drifted out, \u201cTrey, we\u2019ve been married five years. When will you finally make it public?\u201d<\/p>\n
Khloe froze.<\/p>\n
She knew that voice all too well. It belonged to Angela Thompson, their former university advisor.<\/p>\n
Angela was six years older than Trey, but aside from that, she was flawless\u2014stunningly beautiful, with a perfect figure, an untouchable goddess in the eyes of the student body. Back in their university, she had been universally adored, renowned as the most popular and beloved counselor on campus.<\/p>\n
Khloe held her breath. A second later, she heard her husband\u2019s familiar voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company is about to go public, and I still need her for a few more things. Besides, my grandfather\u2019s will explicitly forbids you from being recognized by the Fox family. If we go public now, my grandmother will come after you. I can\u2019t stand the thought of you getting hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
A roaring sound filled Khloe\u2019s ears. She clamped a hand over her mouth, choking back the sob rising in her throat.<\/p>\n
That marriage certificate\u2014the one she\u2019d painstakingly taped back together and cherished like a priceless treasure\u2014was nothing but a lie. From the very beginning, she had been the fool, dancing alone in the dark.<\/p>\n
She fled the building, pulling out her phone the moment she hit the sidewalk. Her voice was unnervingly calm, as if all the emotion had been drained from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Bateman, I\u2019ll sign the inheritance papers now. And for the official record: I am unmarried and have no children. Every single asset is to come to me, and me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
After finishing at the law firm, Khloe drove home. But her mind was elsewhere, and she failed to notice that the car in front of her had stopped. The jolt of the rear-end collision was minor, but it was enough to split her forehead open.<\/p>\n
At the hospital, after the ER doctor stitched up her forehead, a sudden, chilling thought sent her straight to the gynecology department.<\/p>\n
When she got the results, her heart turned to ash.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying\u2026 my uterus is perfectly healthy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s correct. According to these scans, you\u2019re in excellent health.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can get pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it won\u2019t affect\u2026 my sex life?\u201d<\/p>\n
The elderly doctor, despite decades of experience, looked slightly taken aback. \u201cNo, not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
But before their wedding, Trey had waved a medical report in her face, claiming she had a severe uterine condition\u2014that she could never have children, and that even normal intercourse could cause irreparable damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven so, I\u2019m going to marry you,\u201d he had told her, his eyes full of tender resolve as he held her hands. \u201cIn this lifetime, I choose you.\u201d<\/p>\n
For that promise, she had endured the Fox family\u2019s wrath.<\/p>\n
She had watched her father-in-law smash a teacup, roaring, \u201cBringing a barren woman into this family will be the end of our bloodline!\u201d<\/p>\n
She had listened as her mother-in-law sobbed to relatives at family gatherings, \u201cTrey is under a witch\u2019s spell.\u201d<\/p>\n
And every time, he would just smile and reassure her, \u201cDon\u2019t listen to them. You have me, that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
So for two years, she endured her mother-in-law\u2019s endless insults\u2014\u201da broken woman,\u201d \u201cuseless, can\u2019t even give my son a child\u201d\u2014each word a thorn festering under her skin, stealing countless nights of sleep.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
When news of her accident reached him, Trey rushed to the hospital, tall and striking in his crisp white shirt. His visible concern should have stirred memories of their six years together.<\/p>\n
She remembered their first meeting in Angela\u2019s office. She was just dropping off documents for a classmate. He had looked up, given a polite nod, his dark eyes locking with hers. He hadn\u2019t said another word.<\/p>\n
That was followed by four years of relentless pursuit.<\/p>\n
Trey had been the university heartthrob\u2014handsome, brilliant, born into wealth. Combined with his fierce determination and disarming gentleness, he was practically irresistible.<\/p>\n
Khloe, an orphan raised in cold solitude, was no exception. She had finally surrendered, melted by the heat of his devotion.<\/p>\n
Now, seeing her dazed and unresponsive, he assumed she was in shock from the accident. He pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her.<\/p>\n
But Khloe recoiled instinctively, shoving him away. She rose to her feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d she said, then strode past him.<\/p>\n
The chest that had once been her only refuge now filled her with nothing but revulsion.<\/p>\n
Back in the car, Trey cast her worried looks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened? You\u2019ve always been a careful driver. What went wrong today?\u201d<\/p>\n
She said nothing. She kept staring at the glaring sparkle of the diamond ring on her hand.<\/p>\n
He reached out to hold her hand, as naturally as always.<\/p>\n
She pulled away. Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill upset with me? Fine. If you don\u2019t want to talk, I won\u2019t press you. We have a very important guest joining us for dinner tonight. I\u2019ve already told the housekeeper to make all your favorites. Hopefully, that will put a smile on your face.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was being so gentle. And the gentler he was, the more Khloe wanted to laugh in his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, don\u2019t be angry. Once we get through this IPO, I\u2019ll make it up to you. I promise. It\u2019s just taking all my attention right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Misreading her stony silence as forgiveness, he smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m not angry,\u201d she said, her voice dangerously sweet. \u201cI\u2019m actually quite\u2026 entertained. My life has suddenly become so much more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her words were laced with venom, but he was completely oblivious.<\/p>\n
The Fox estate was a sprawling, 5,000-square-foot villa in the most exclusive riverside enclave of Goldmont City.<\/p>\n
Every brick of it had been built on the back of Khloe\u2019s sacrifices. She had put her own career on hold after graduation, pouring all her energy into building his company.<\/p>\n
The moment they stepped inside, the sound of laughter floated down from the second floor.<\/p>\n
A child\u2019s giggle. And a woman\u2019s soft, melodious voice.<\/p>\n
The child was Pete Fox\u2014the boy they had \u201cadopted\u201d shortly after marrying, now five years old.<\/p>\n
Khloe looked up. And there, after five years, stood Angela.<\/p>\n
She was wearing a teal knit dress, her long hair falling in soft waves. Time hadn\u2019t faded her beauty; it had refined it, adding a deeper, more potent allure.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhloe, look who\u2019s here!\u201d<\/p>\n
Trey\u2019s voice was filled with an excitement she had never heard directed at her. For the first time, she saw him truly, unreservedly elated.<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t the calm happiness he showed with her. This was passion, raw and unrestrained\u2014the kind that only exists with a true, consuming love.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Thompson?\u201d Khloe arched an eyebrow, feigning surprise while her stomach churned with nausea.<\/p>\n
The elegant, composed woman in front of her was a world away from the breathy, coquettish voice she\u2019d overheard in the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhloe, it\u2019s been so long!\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela eagerly took Pete\u2019s hand and came downstairs, greeting her warmly.<\/p>\n
Khloe\u2019s eyes lingered on Pete.<\/p>\n
Shortly after their wedding, Trey had persuaded her to adopt him from the same orphanage where she\u2019d once lived. He\u2019d claimed it was the only way to placate his parents, who would stop pressuring her to bear children.<\/p>\n
She had believed he was doing it for her. She had agreed.<\/p>\n
But raising Pete had been torment. The boy was volatile, often throwing objects at her in fits of anger, as if harboring deep-seated hatred.<\/p>\n
Once, he had even shouted in her face, demanding Trey give him back his \u201creal mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
She had wanted to give up. But Trey always pleaded with her to endure, reminding her how pitiful the boy was without a mother, and how she herself had been abandoned as a child.<\/p>\n
Now, as she watched Pete clutching Angela\u2019s hand, the pieces finally clicked into place.<\/p>\n
They had been married for five years. Pete was five years old.<\/p>\n
So that was it. The Fox family had barred Angela from the household, and Khloe had been the convenient shield\u2014raising their son, bearing the scorn, while they lived their hidden life in secret.<\/p>\n
At dinner, Trey and Pete took turns serving Angela. The three of them chatted and laughed like a family, while Khloe sat silent, the outsider at her own table.<\/p>\n
Seizing a lull in the conversation, Trey set down his fork and turned to her, his tone deceptively gentle. \u201cKhloe, Ms. Thompson is working on a new book about parenting. She needs a quiet place to write. With the company\u2019s IPO and you being so overwhelmed, I was thinking\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice softened further. \u201cI\u2019d like her to stay with us for a while. She could even help you with Pete. He adores her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She could hardly believe it. Five years of hiding their affair wasn\u2019t enough. Now he wanted to move her into their home.<\/p>\n
Khloe continued eating calmly, as if she hadn\u2019t heard a word.<\/p>\n
An uncomfortable tension thickened the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhloe,\u201d Trey prompted, his voice tight with embarrassment, \u201cI\u2019m talking to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a soft, deliberate clink, Khloe set down her bowl.<\/p>\n
Before she could speak, Angela quickly interjected, her voice a placating murmur. \u201cOh, please, I never meant to cause any trouble. Khloe, Trey is only suggesting this because he\u2019s worried about you. He doesn\u2019t want you to be so exhausted, juggling work, the house, and Pete. He just thought I could help share the burden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo! I want Angela to stay!\u201d<\/p>\n
The little boy beside her slammed his tiny fist on the table, his cutlery rattling.<\/p>\n
\u201cPete, sweetheart, we don\u2019t act like that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPete, that is enough!\u201d<\/p>\n
Their voices overlapped\u2014Angela\u2019s gentle coaxing and Khloe\u2019s sharp reprimand.<\/p>\n
In a flash of pure, unbridled rage, Pete snatched his glass of juice and hurled it directly at Khloe.<\/p>\n
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