My Accidental Husband is a Billionaire！

Erin prodded impatiently when no one spoke up.

Ryan stayed silent.

Erin turned her attention to Ellie instead. "Oh, for crying out loud, if he won\'t talk, you spill the beans! What\'s the deal? Did you run into some jerk? Are there any messy love triangles going on? We\'re all friends here, nothing to hide, right?"

Ryan and Lewis exchanged confused glances, clearly ignored.

Oddly enough, Erin\'s directness made Ellie feel a bit lighter. She realized, why was she the one feeling bad? She wasn\'t the one who messed up.

She began, "I had a boyfriend... well, not really a boyfriend. More like someone I was interested in. He paid off my housekeeper to try and kill me because I\'ve got a life insurance policy, and he\'s the beneficiary."

Erin bit into a pistachio. "Wait, hold on. This guy you\'re just into... and you made him the beneficiary of your life insurance? Girl, you\'re acting like a total simp."

Ellie blinked, taken aback. That word stung more than she expected.

She wanted to argue, but the words didn\'t come. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized Erin was right.

She looked down at her hands.

"No, seriously, what\'s going on with you? You\'re young and gorgeous, and you come from a great family. Why are you throwing yourself at some guy like this?"

Erin pressed on.

Ellie\'s voice dropped. "Because... he saved my life once." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Oh, I get it. A classic trauma bond. PTSD, right? Someone saves you, and now he\'s your hero, and you\'re head over heels."

Erin turned to Keira. "She saved your life yesterday. You\'re not about to fall in love with her, are you? I mean, love knows no bounds, right?"

Keira shot her an exasperated look. "Would you stop talking nonsense?"

"I\'m not talking nonsense! I actually feel bad for Lewis over here. He\'s got to watch out for both you Cobb siblings. Not only the brother but the sister, too? Wow, Lewis, you\'ve got your hands full!"

Lewis smirked. "Seems like the person I need to worry about... is you."

Erin grinned, cradling her face with her hands. "Oh no, no need! I\'m into clean-cut boys like Charles, not girls."

Ellie cleared her throat. "I don\'t like girls either."

"Oh, well, that\'s a shame. If you did, maybe you\'d finally give up on that jerk. But alright, let\'s get back to the story."

Erin turned back to Ellie. "So you\'ve been simping for this guy, and he turned around and paid your housekeeper to kill you for insurance money?"

Ellie nodded.

Keira quickly asked, "Did your car break down yesterday?"

Erin nodded. "Yeah, it\'s the one I drive every day."

Keira kept pressing, "What time did you leave the house?"

Ellie paused. "I was supposed to leave around 9:30, but someone told me the gate was blocked. I ended up leaving a little later, around 9:55, to check what was going on."

"Who told you the gate was blocked?"

"The butler."

Keira looked over at Ryan.

Ryan caught her meaning and quickly said, "The butler\'s clean."

Keira\'s expression darkened.

If this accident was planned, it had to happen right at 10:00. If Ellie had gone downstairs even a minute earlier or later, Ryan wouldn\'t have gotten into that car, and the crash wouldn\'t have happened.

The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence.

Keira asked, "When you went downstairs, did someone prompt you?"

"No," Ellie said quietly. "I was supposed to meet a friend. I was running late, and they called, so I got impatient and went downstairs."

"Which friend?"

Ellie hesitated, then answered, "Darien Britt."

Keira stood up immediately. "Where is he now?"

Ellie\'s expression hardened, her fists clenched. "I haven\'t seen him yet."

"I need to talk to him," Keira said. "Either he\'s being controlled, or there\'s something seriously wrong. Why did he call exactly at 9:55? And why was your car tampered with? If you ask me, Ryan\'s crash at 10:00? That\'s on him."

Ellie\'s face tightened with a mix of anger and despair.

Keira looked at Ryan, who added, "I wanted to call the cops yesterday and deal with him, but Ellie... she couldn\'t let go."

Erin stared at Ellie in disbelief. "Are you serious? You\'re still hung up on this guy? What do you even see in him? That he doesn\'t love you? Wake up!"

Ellie bit her lip, hating how much Erin\'s words stung. But the truth of it hit hard.

Taking a deep breath, Ellie said, "Alright. I\'ll take you to him. Let\'s find out why he did this to me."