The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband – Episode 42
Daniel arrived as Natalie left the hospital. He found Sebastian dressed and attempting to remove his monitoring leads despite the physician’s orders. “If you collapse in the lobby, she won’t trust you more,” Daniel said, forcing him back into the chair.
“She knows.” Sebastian’s voice carried a defeat Daniel had never heard during prison, hostile takeovers, or years spent building B.M. in secret.
Daniel asked how much he had admitted. Sebastian listed the company, the hospital payment, the penthouse, and Natalie’s hiring. Each truth sounded like an asset on a balance sheet until placed beside the human cost of hiding it.
“Tell her the beginning,” Daniel advised. “Not just what you did. Why you believed you had to become Bash Myers.”
Sebastian looked toward the city. His childhood home had been grand enough to impress strangers and cold enough to teach a child that wealth could coexist with abandonment. As the illegitimate son, he was tolerated when useful and blamed whenever legitimate heirs required someone beneath them.
His mother, Stephanie Myers, endured the family’s contempt because she believed Sebastian deserved access to his father. She died before seeing that access become acceptance. At her funeral, Klein representatives arrived with legal waivers instead of grief.
Sebastian had taken her maiden name and built B.M. Enterprises from the remnants of contacts the Klein family dismissed. Bash Myers became a shadow capable of doing business without the stigma attached to Sebastian Klein.
The arrest that preceded his wedding was partly useful theater. A reckless-driving sentence created an alibi while Daniel acquired Klein shares through multiple entities. The family saw a disgraced outsider wasting his life, never noticing the invisible investor surrounding them.
The Quinn marriage supplied the final connection. George owned strategic shares and contracts the Kleins needed. By marrying into the Quinn family, Sebastian gained access to agreements that helped expose his father’s vulnerable structure.
“Natalie was never supposed to be involved,” he said. “Cassie was the expected bride. The marriage was business, temporary and clean.”
Daniel reminded him that Natalie’s substitution should have changed the plan immediately. Sebastian knew. Instead, her lack of cruelty intrigued him, and her loyalty made the arrangement feel safer than it was.
He had investigated her, paid for shoes, intervened at the pawnshop, and moved her into his home. Each action blurred strategy into affection while he continued pretending the original rules protected them both.
“You treated information like another asset,” Daniel said. “You released only what produced the response you wanted.”
Sebastian did not argue. His business instincts had helped him protect Natalie and prevented him from trusting her with choices. He had condemned George for using leverage while quietly constructing a kinder form of the same control.
The acquisition finalized on Daniel’s tablet. Sebastian now possessed enough Klein shares to take leadership publicly. Years of work ended with a confirmation screen and none of the triumph he expected.
Reporters were already preparing announcements for the company event. Canceling the reveal would destabilize the transition and give his father time to retaliate. Sebastian had to appear even if Natalie did not.
“Find out where she went,” he said, then corrected himself. “No surveillance. Ask Sarah whether she’s safe. Nothing else.”
Daniel recognized the effort behind the boundary. “And when you see her?”
“I tell her everything. If she leaves after that, at least the decision will finally belong to her.”
Across town, Natalie packed a small suitcase at the penthouse. Every room now looked different because ownership had changed meaning. She removed her mother’s photograph from the nightstand, left Sebastian’s gifts behind, and placed her wedding ring beside the key card. Before leaving, she received a news alert: trading in Klein Enterprises had been halted pending an announcement from its new controlling shareholder—Bash Myers.