The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 78: Help is coming

Mara practically dragged Ethan to a fallen tree trunk, pushing him down with more force than necessary. "Sit," she ordered, already rolling up her sleeves.

Ethan, weakly tilting his head back, let out a dramatic groan. "Mara... I don’t think I have much time."

Mara ignored him, grabbing his wrist and inspecting the bite. "Shut up. I need to get the poison out."

Ethan bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. This was too easy.

He had already recognized the snake, it wasn’t venomous. The bite would barely even swell. But was he going to tell Mara that? Absolutely not.

Not when she was looking at him like this. Like she cared.

Mara leaned in, pressing her fingers around the wound. "Okay, I’m going to suck the poison out."

Ethan’s eyes flew open. "Uh—what now?"

Mara shot him a glare. "Unless you’d rather die, shut up and let me do this."

Ethan, barely containing his amusement, coughed weakly. "B-baby... you can’t... you’re pregnant. I can’t let you put our child at risk."

Mara hesitated, her grip on his wrist tightening. Damn it. She hated when he made sense.

But that didn’t mean she was going to stop.

"Fine," she muttered. "Then I’ll just—" She grabbed the hem of her already-ruined sleeve and ripped off a piece of fabric, tying it tightly around his arm.

Ethan winced, mostly for show. "You’re so strong," he whispered dramatically.

Mara rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

He let his head loll against her shoulder, sighing deeply. "I can see the light..."

Mara shoved him off. "Ethan, so help me God—"

"I just—" He coughed, holding his chest like he was in the final act of a tragic play. "I just want you to know... I always loved you."

Mara froze for a fraction of a second before quickly covering it up with an irritated groan. "You’re not dying."

"Tell... tell our baby I was a hero..."

Mara snatched a small rock and threw it at his leg. "ETHAN, I SWEAR—"

"Ahhh! My body’s shutting down!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her closer, his head dropping onto her lap. "Hold me, baby... just until I go..."

Mara let out an exasperated sound, her face burning. "Ethan, you absolute menace, you are not dying—"

And then she stopped. Because she noticed something. His pulse? Completely normal.

His breathing? Fine. The bite? Not even swollen. Mara’s eyes narrowed. "Ethan."

"Hmm?" His voice was all innocence.

She leaned in, dangerously close. "That snake... it wasn’t venomous, was it?"

Ethan blinked up at her. Then, slowly, a boyish grin stretched across his lips. "...Oops?"

For a full five seconds, Mara just stared at him. Then, without warning—

She shoved him off her lap, standing up and dusting herself off. "You are unbelievable."

Ethan, now lying on the dirt, grinned up at her, unfazed. "But did you care?"

Mara turned away, but not before he saw the hint of pink on her cheeks.

"You so cared."

"I did not."

"You totally did."

"Shut up."

Ethan smirked, pushing himself up. "Admit it, baby. You still love me." That was never something Mara had ever denied, she loves him like the first time they had met. He was her first love, such love is impossible to forget or get over, and the fact that he was always around.

Mara shot him a glare so sharp it could’ve cut steel. "Keep talking, and I will find you the real snakes."

Ethan, unbothered, just winked. "Worth it."

__

Steve sat in his office, his fingers pressed against his temples, his patience hanging by a thread. He had taken every precaution. Sent his men to double-check the jet.

Ensured every detail was accounted for. Yet, despite all of that— Mara’s distress signal still came through.

His blood ran cold the second he saw it. He wasted no time, immediately ordering the search team to locate the jet and find his sister. But just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse.

He noticed something off in the flight records.

The pilot.

It wasn’t their pilot.

Steve’s eyes darkened as he gripped the edge of his desk. "Who the hell was flying that plane?"

The answer came too quickly.

Ethan.

Steve almost threw the nearest object against the wall. Of course, it was Ethan. The walking disaster that was determined to cling to Mara like a damn parasite.

His phone buzzed.

A voice on the other end. "We’re still searching, sir. No confirmed crash site yet, but we’re following her last coordinates."

"Find her," Steve ordered, his tone razor-sharp. "Now."

Just as he was about to pace the room again, the door swung open.

Uncle Philip.

The man strolled in, cool and composed, adjusting his cufflinks as if he hadn’t a care in the world. His face carried that signature smirk—the one that made Steve’s fists itch.

"Where’s Stefania?" Philip asked, his voice laced with false concern. "She was supposed to be at the event hours ago."

Steve had to physically restrain himself from lunging across the desk.

As if Philip didn’t know. As if he wasn’t the reason Mara was missing in the first place.

His grip tightened on the edge of his desk, his knuckles turning white. "Stefania’s jet crashed," he said, his voice cold and controlled. "She’s missing."

Philip’s expression flickered, just for a second. But then he sighed, shaking his head. "What a tragedy." His voice dripped with artificial sympathy. "I do hope she’s safe. If there’s anything I can do—"

Steve slammed his hands onto the desk, rising from his chair so fast it nearly toppled over.

"Cut the crap," his voice dangerously low. "You don’t give a damn about Stef. So spare me the performance." Steve thought of yelling at him but it was all in his head.

Philip merely smiled, "Now, now, Steve. No need to fear. They will find my niece now, calm down,"

"Sorry, uncle, just furious I couldn’t keep her safe, that reminds me, I couldn’t reach grandpa since last night, have you heard from him?" Steve casually asked, waiting to hear what he had to say about killing his own father.

"No, no you know how he is, mysteriously leaving the country on business as if one one can do his damn work," Philp said forcing a smile.

"Yeah, I hope he returns home soon," Steve said knowing that was impossible

_

Steph paced back and forth in Ethan’s office, his normally calm demeanor nowhere to be found.

A crash. Ethan’s jet had crashed.

Steph immediately pulled out his phone, issuing commands to the search team. "Find him. I don’t care what it takes locate that damn jet and bring him back alive."

The room felt suffocating with tension. And that’s when Lucy, standing just outside the doorway, overheard everything.

Her heart stopped. Ethan was missing.

But not just Ethan, Mara was with him. Alone. In the middle of nowhere.

The possibilities sent a sharp wave of rage through her. They could reconcile. They could forgive each other. They could...

No. No.

Lucy clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She could not let that happen. Ethan was hers.

Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and scrolled to a number she hadn’t called in a while. On the other end, Celeb sat back in his lavish penthouse, staring at the breaking news on the screen.

Billionaire heiress Stefania Shepherd and famous lawyer and billionaire Ethan Anderson are involved in a plane crash.

Search teams have been deployed.

Celeb’s jaw tensed.

Why him? Again? Why was it always Ethan? The golden boy. The one who always got in the way. He was still fuming when his phone rang. Unknown number.

He answered.

A cold, female voice cut through the line. No greeting. No small talk. Just an order.

"We need to meet." Celeb’s grip on his glass tightened.

__

Celeb sat in the dimly lit VIP lounge of an exclusive club, his arms crossed as he studied the woman sitting across from him.

Lucy, with her perfectly styled hair and sharp eyes, looked far too pleased with herself.

"We need to separate them," she said, leaning forward with urgency. "You want Mara, and I want Ethan. We could help each other."

Celeb let out a short, humorless laugh. "And why exactly would I work with you?" His gaze darkened. "Or did you forget what you pulled at the party?"

Lucy didn’t even flinch. Instead, she tilted her head, lips curling into a knowing smirk. "I did it for love." She shrugged. "Couldn’t you do something for love, too?"

That made Celeb pause.

He hated to admit it, but Lucy had a point. He wasn’t above playing dirty when it came to Mara.

But then, his expression hardened. "Even if I wanted to, how do you propose we separate them? They love each other after everything, Lucy. And now an unborn child is tying them together. That’s not something you can just erase." freёweɓnovel.com

Lucy leaned in, her voice turning into a whisper. "A baby?" A slow, wicked smile spread across her face, having thought of a plan. "That baby is exactly how we will separate them."

Celeb frowned, skepticism flickering in his eyes. "How?"

Lucy’s smirk deepened. "You know Ethan as well as I do. His weakness isn’t just Mara, it’s deception,’ And what if," she tapped a perfectly manicured nail on the table, "we made him believe that the baby wasn’t his?"

Celeb clenched his jaw.

"All you have to do," Lucy continued smoothly, "is follow my lead. Do everything I tell you... and in the end?" She tilted her head. "Mara will be yours."

Celeb exhaled sharply, conflicted.

But deep down, he knew—if there was even a chance of having Mara...

He’d take it. Even if it meant destroying everything in the process.