How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 113: Decoy...

Decoys.

The real cargo wasn’t here.

Ava stood amid the smoke, her phone still clutched in her hand. Her chest rose and fell in sharp, short breaths as her

Her fingers curled around the phone again.

Whoever this was, they weren’t just a step ahead.

They were watching everything.

She turned as Alex approached, cuts along his arms, soot across his jaw.

"They were decoys," she said. Her voice was hollow, disbelieving.

"All of it."

Alex cursed under his breath. "She wanted us here. Away from something else."

They both turned to look out into the darkness. Somewhere beyond that horizon, Isabella was already ten steps ahead.

Ava spoke quietly, but each word landed like a stone. "What’s Isabella really planning?"

Morning light streamed through the curtains, filling Ava’s room with a warm glow that highlighted her sheets. She slowly woke up, wrapped in the peaceful silence of her bedroom, still feeling the warmth of Alex’s touch on her skin.

The night before was intense, filled with unspoken emotions, need, and anger intertwined.

But now, it was morning. The real world crept back in.

Downstairs, laughter rose.

Pearl.

Ava pushed off the covers and sat up with a quiet groan, her shoulder aching. Her robe hung from the armchair. She slipped it on, cinching the belt tightly, willing herself to breathe past the pain.

The scent of coffee, and... was that bacon?, greeted her as she padded down the hall.

She paused in the kitchen doorway.

Alex sat at the marble island with Pearl perched beside him, her workbook spread wide across the countertop. His sleeves were pushed up, his wristwatch glinting under the morning light, and Pearl was mid-frown, pencil tapping her chin.

"I still don’t get it," she grumbled. "If the pie is cut into eight slices and I eat three, why do I have to subtract and not divide?"

"Great question," Alex said, leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper.

"Let’s imagine the pie is a secret chocolate bomb. If you eat three pieces, the kitchen only has five left, right?"

Alex sat at the marble island with Pearl perched beside him, her workbook spread wide across the countertop. His sleeves were pushed up, his wristwatch glinting under the morning light, and Pearl was mid-frown, pencil tapping her chin.

"I still don’t get it," she grumbled. "If the pie is cut into eight slices and I eat three, why do I have to subtract and not divide?"

Pearl’s eyes lit up. "So you’re counting what’s missing?"

"Exactly," he smiled. "Subtracting shows what’s left after you devour dessert like a math genius."

Ava’s breath caught in her throat.

She stood leaning against the cabinet now, arms crossed, but no longer out of judgment. Watching them, this unlikely pairing of calm instruction and eager curiosity felt like watching the life she didn’t realise she wanted unfold right in front of her.

"What are you two up to?" she asked lightly as she stepped into the room.

Pearl didn’t even glance up. "Homeworks."

"Homework," Ava corrected, raising a brow.

"And you didn’t finish it after school because?"

"I did a few," Pearl said, still scribbling. "The rest got confusing."

"I could’ve helped," Ava said, straightening from the cabinet, trying not to sound wounded.

"No offence, Mom... but you’re always busy. Zooming off to save people," Pearl added, shooting her a cheeky look.

"What about Selena?"

"You’ve got main-character energy. Selena’s your sidekick."

Ava blinked. "She’s what?"

"Your handbag," Pearl said with dramatic flair. "She follows you like one of those cute purse dogs."

Alex chuckled, glancing at Ava, who stood speechless.

Pearl flipped the page with flair. "Anyway, all done. Super solved. Crisis averted."

Just then, the bodyguard stepped into the doorway. "Car’s ready, Miss Pearl."

"Nice," Pearl said, stuffing her books into her backpack. She hugged Alex first, arms flung around his neck.

"Thanks for your assistance, Professor."

He tapped the tip of her nose. "Graduating early, I see."

Then she hugged Ava, more gently this time. "See you later, Mom."

"Bye, my love," Ava murmured, kissing her forehead.

Pearl had barely made it past the kitchen door before she paused and turned back, peeking her head in dramatically.

"Oh, and Alex is a better tutor than you."

Then she bolted, giggling, before Ava could even react.

---

With Pearl gone, silence returned.

Alex refilled both mugs and sat at the dining table with her, their steaming coffee cups between them. The morning sun had shifted, casting long lines of gold over the white linen runner.

Ava wrapped her hands around the ceramic mug, grounding herself. "This..." she said quietly. "Us. It’s real now, isn’t it?"

He didn’t hesitate. "It’s always been real for me, Ava."

She stared into her coffee. "That’s the problem. I want it to be real. And that terrifies me."

He reached for her hand, and their fingers touched.

"Because of what we are?" he asked. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

She didn’t need to answer. They both knew. Reed and Moretti. Godmother and Ghost... X. Past and present colliding.

"I’m not trying to rewrite the world," Alex said. "Just this part of it. You, me, Pearl."

Ava exhaled slowly, pulling her hand back. "For now, maybe that’s enough."

Before he could respond, her phone buzzed sharply on the table. She glanced down and saw Selena’s name on the screen.

She answered.

"Vincenzo just popped on a camera at a private airstrip outside the city," Selena said. "Moving something big. Could be intel. Or weap

The airstrip was dark, illuminated only by distant floodlights and the blinking red light of a signal tower. The wind from the Hudson brought smells of oil and exhaust, along with a hint of rain that seemed close to falling.

Ava moved like a shadow, dressed in matte black, her body low and steady as she cut across the tarmac.

Her Glock was steady in her grip, the edges of her mask pressed close to her skin. A soft buzz echoed in her earpiece. Alex, one hundred feet east, tucked behind a fuel truck.

"They’re loading up," his voice crackled.

"Three crates. Six men. Vincenzo’s at the ramp."

Ava crouched behind the tail of a grounded cargo van, eyes narrowed on the plane.

From this distance, she could make out the enforcer’s silhouette: thick-necked, impatient, barking orders in rapid Italian as his men hauled wooden crates up the ramp of a sleek, black charter plane.

She raised two fingers, a silent signal: move in quietly.

Alex acknowledged her with a click of his mic.

They split paths like ghosts, flanking the guards with practised ease. One guard wandered too far into the shadows near the fuel bay. Alex struck swiftly, wrapping his arm around the man’s throat and dragging him silently to the ground.

No noise. No struggle.

Ava slipped up behind another, her blade flashing once in the moonlight before disappearing beneath the man’s ribs. He slumped without a sound. She caught his fall, easing him to the ground like an old lover.

The plane’s engine whirred to life, a low rumble vibrating the steel of the airstrip. Ava raised her weapon, now aiming for Vincenzo’s head as he turned to board the plane.

But her phone vibrated in her thigh holster.

She hesitated. One glance at the unknown number: You’re too late!

She didn’t have time to react; what followed was... BOOM!

A deafening explosion tore through the side of the runway.

Flames erupted, swallowing the side of the airstrip in a storm of orange and red. The shockwave knocked Ava sideways, her shoulder slamming into the cargo van as shrapnel whistled overhead.

"Alex!" she coughed into her mic, choking on smoke.

"Alex, do you copy?"

"I’m good... I’m good," his voice came back, tense. "Where are you?"

Ava dragged herself up to her knees, eyes stinging. Through the haze, she could see the crates burning. One had split open in the blast. No weapons. No documents. Just scraps of paper, shredded cables, wires that led nowhere.

Decoys.

The real cargo wasn’t here.

Her stomach turned to ice.

From the corner of her eye, movement... Vincenzo, limping through the chaos, covered in soot but alive, making for a black SUV waiting just beyond the gate.

"Vincenzo’s escaping!" Alex shouted. He sprinted after the vehicle, but a second explosion, smaller, more targeted, erupted near the plane, forcing him to dive for cover.

Tires screeched, and the SUV vanished into the night.

Ava stood amid the smoke, her phone still clutched in her hand. Her chest rose and fell in sharp, short breaths as her

Her fingers curled around the phone again.

Whoever this was, they weren’t just a step ahead.

They were watching everything.

She turned as Alex approached, cuts along his arms, soot across his jaw.

"They were decoys," she said. Her voice was hollow, disbelieving.

"All of it."

Alex cursed under his breath. "She wanted us here. Away from something else."

They both turned to look out into the darkness. Somewhere beyond that horizon, Isabella was already ten steps ahead.

Ava spoke quietly, but each word landed like a stone. "What’s Isabella really planning?"