All Chapters of THE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND BECAME HIS WIFE'S BOSS: Chapter 131
- Chapter 140
212 chapters
CHAPTER 91 PART 2
"You sacrificed yourself for her," Alejandro continued. "Absorbed the curse into your own body. Became the victim instead of her. And now—" He laughed. "—now you're dying slowly, painfully, while she lives. It's poetry, really."Lucia joined them, kneeling beside Alejandro. "You fancy yourself such a great healer, Diego. So why don't you heal yourself? Hmm?""The curse—""Is eating you alive?" She finished mockingly. "Yes, we can see that. The red streaks. The fever. The weakness. You're a walking corpse who just doesn't know when to lie down and die.""We should probably just end him now," Lucia said thoughtfully to Alejandro. "Put him out of his misery. For all the shit he's done to us—exposing me, stealing my grandfather's inheritance, interfering with our plans. He deserves death."Diego's heart hammered. He was too weak to fight them. Too compromised to defend himself. If they decided to kill him right now, there was nothing he could do to stop them.But Alejandro held up a hand.
CHAPTER 92 PART 1
Diego stood in the center of the suite, leaning heavily on his crutches, his entire body shaking with humiliation and rage.They'd been here. In his home. Alejandro and Lucia had walked right in, mocked him, kicked him while he was down, and left him lying on the floor like garbage. And he—the Ghost, the legendary assassin, the healer who'd saved countless lives—had been powerless to stop them.Emasculating didn't even begin to describe it.The man who'd tried to kill Esperanza had stood over him, laughing, and Diego couldn't do a damn thing about it."No," Diego muttered through clenched teeth. "No more. I'm not helpless. I'm not weak."He closed his eyes and reached for his internal energy—the chi and chakra that had always been his foundation, his strength, his power. He needed to replenish himself, to heal, to become strong enough to fight back.But when his consciousness touched his energy core, something stopped him.It wasn't just resistance. It was a wall. Dark, impenetrable,
CHAPTER 92 PART 2
Ricardo nodded slowly. "Alright. We do it your way. But Esperanza—" He met her eyes. "If it becomes clear that he's not going to recover, if the suffering becomes too much, we need to be prepared to make hard choices.""We're not there yet.""But we might be. Soon." Ricardo's voice was gentle. "And when that time comes, we need to think about what Diego would want. What's best for him, not just what we hope for."Esperanza nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.After she left, Ricardo sat alone in his office, staring at the phone number for the Swiss facility he'd researched. Part of him wanted to call anyway, to have a backup plan ready for when—not if, but when—Diego's condition became terminal.But he'd promised his daughter he'd wait. Give Diego time.So he filed the number away and prayed that Esperanza's faith in her husband wasn't misplaced.That night, Esperanza stood outside Diego's room, watching through the partially open door as he slept fitfully. Even in sle
CHAPTER 93
In Vasquez's underground bunker, the crime lord stood behind his desk, his face flushed with fury as he stared at the encrypted message on his phone."He ignored us," Vasquez snarled. "The Ghost completely ignored our meeting request. Fifty million euros on the table, and he doesn't even have the courtesy to respond!"Lucia sat across from him, her expression carefully neutral. "Perhaps he was busy with other contracts.""Busy?" Vasquez's laugh was harsh. "I'm offering him more money than most people make in a lifetime! What could possibly be more important?""His reputation includes being selective about his work." Lucia kept her voice calm, trying to defuse Vasquez's rage before it led to something catastrophic. "Maybe he doesn't take contracts against the Vegas.""Then I'll put a hit on him!" Vasquez slammed his fist on the desk. "Teach him what happens when you disrespect Vasquez de la Fonté!""No!" Lucia stood abruptly. "You absolutely cannot do that.""Why not? He's just one man
Chapter 94
With Gael's guidance, Diego prepared for another ritual—this one focused not on extraction or transference, but on appeasement. Making peace with the darkness inside him rather than fighting it."This will be mostly mental," Gael explained, setting up protective circles around Diego's meditation space. "You'll confront the Devil's Hand directly in your consciousness. Whatever you see, whatever happens—you have to survive it and negotiate with it.""Negotiate with a curse?" Diego's skepticism was clear."The Devil's Hand isn't just poison. It's sentient in its way. Intelligent. You need to make it understand that killing you serves no purpose." Gael's expression was grave. "But it will test you first. Make you prove you're worthy of the bargain."Diego settled into position, his breathing slowing as he entered the deep meditative state required for the ritual.His consciousness plunged inward, and suddenly he wasn't in his body anymore.He stood in a dark dungeon—stone walls dripping w
CHAPTER 95 PART 1
Esperanza stood in her dressing room, staring at the elegant gown Santiago had sent over—expensive, beautiful, and completely unwanted."I don't want to go," she said to Diego, who sat in the adjacent room. "I know Santiago's planning something. I can feel it.""It's your birthday," Diego called back. "You should celebrate.""Not like this. Not with three hundred people I barely know and certainly don't want around." She emerged from the dressing room, the gown still on its hanger. "Let's cancel. Tell everyone to leave. Spend the day just us."Diego appeared in the doorway, leaning on his crutches. "This is a special day for you. You should go. Enjoy your birthday.""How can I enjoy it knowing Santiago invited all these people specifically to humiliate you?" Esperanza's voice was frustrated. "He invited Isabella, Diego. Your ex-wife. This whole thing is designed to make you look weak in front of everyone.""Then we don't give him that satisfaction." Diego's voice was firm. "We present
CHAPTER 95 PART 2
Esperanza wanted to press the issue, wanted to demand the truth. But the look on Diego's face—fear mixed with guilt mixed with longing—stopped her.Something was bothering him. Something serious enough that he'd rather reject her than explain it.She decided not to push. Not yet. Not when he clearly wasn't ready to share whatever burden he was carrying.Her eyes drifted to his left hand, still encased in the thick leather glove. He'd been wearing it constantly since the ritual with Gael. Even in the shower, she'd noticed. Never taking it off."What's with the glove?" she asked, changing the subject."Just a precaution." Diego's voice was carefully neutral. "Part of the recovery process.""Diego—""Please don't worry about it." He turned back to her, forcing a smile. "It's nothing serious. Just something Gael recommended."Esperanza didn't believe him. But she nodded anyway, letting it go. "Okay. But eventually, we're going to have a real conversation about all of this. About the glove
CHAPTER 96 PART 1
In their underground hideout, Alejandro and Lucia watched the live social media feeds from Esperanza's birthday party on a large screen. Various guests were posting photos and videos of the lavish celebration—crystal chandeliers, expensive champagne, designer gowns."Look at this shit," Alejandro snarled, throwing his phone onto the table. "A massive party? When her husband is dying? What the hell does she have to celebrate?""Apparently a lot." Lucia scrolled through more posts, her expression cold. "Three hundred guests. A live orchestra. Flowers flown in from around the world. It's obscene.""It's disgusting." Alejandro paced the room like a caged animal. "Diego absorbed that curse to save her life. And she celebrates by throwing a party where everyone can mock him for being weak?""Maybe she doesn't care about him as much as he cared about her," Lucia mused. "After all, love only goes so far when you're married to an invalid.""Wouldn't be the first time Diego wasted his worthless
CHAPTER 96 PART 2
Diego heard every word. His enhanced hearing—one of the few abilities that had returned since the ritual—picked up conversations from across the room. Each comment was a knife, each pitying look a wound.But he kept his expression neutral, his smile in place. This was Esperanza's night. He wouldn't ruin it by reacting to cruel gossip.Esperanza reached the ballroom floor and was immediately surrounded by well-wishers. Business associates, old friends, social climbers all vying for her attention. She handled it with grace, smiling, thanking people, accepting gifts and compliments with genuine warmth.Diego watched from the edge of the crowd, pride warming his chest despite his humiliation. She was magnificent—confident, poised, completely in her element."Diego!" A voice called out. "Come join us!"He turned to see a group of Esperanza's friends waving him over. But as he limped toward them on his crutches, he saw their expressions—pity mixed with awkward discomfort."No, that's okay,"
Chapter 97
Santiago wasn't alone in his approach. Luca appeared at his side, a smug smile plastered across his handsome face as he took in Diego's wine-soaked shirt."Oh dear," Luca said with mock concern. "That looks terribly uncomfortable, Diego. You should probably go change."Diego stared at both of them, rage building behind his carefully controlled expression. The urge to kick them both in their smirking faces was overwhelming. His muscles tensed, his body remembering movements and techniques that would end this confrontation in seconds.But he restrained himself. Not here. Not at Esperanza's birthday. Not in front of three hundred witnesses."I'm fine," Diego said through clenched teeth."Are you though?" Santiago gestured to Diego's crutches. "I mean, you're just sitting here in the corner while everyone else is mingling and enjoying the party. Don't you want to get up? Walk around? Meet people?""Oh wait—" Luca's grin widened. "He can't! Silly me. Those crutches make it difficult to nav