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Chapter Thirteen
Last Updated:
2025-04-14 02:35:07
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Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fourteen
**We met in the back of the bookstore again, the same little aisle that smelled like old paper and ink. Sophia was already there, pacing between shelves, her face sharp with impatience."You kissed him," she said before I even opened my mouth."I…" My voice caught. "It wasn't like that.""Oh, come on, Cait," she snapped , turning to face me. "You think I haven't seen this before? You're trauma bonded. It's textbook. Abuser breaks you down, then throws you scraps of affection like they're gifts. And you eat it up because he's the only warmth in the freezing hell he built around you."Her voice was low, but furious. Her eyes glistened, not with tears, but with rage."I didn't mean to," I whispered. "It's just, happened." "No, it didn't. You let it. Because some part of you still thinks he's going to love you the way you need."She stepped closer."But he won't. He's not capable. He never was."I lowered my eyes, shame burning behind my ribs.Sophia exhaled and ran her hands through h
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, he brought me flowers.For reasons I do not exactly know. White orchids. My favorite. Or rather, his favorite for me.He sat them on the breakfast bar like a gift and watched me with that unreadable smile, the one that made me feel like he was testing me and I was already falling."For you," he said. "To brighten things up."I touched the petals with careful fingers. "They're beautiful.""They reminded me of you." He stepped closer, brushing my hair behind my ear. "Delicate. Elegant. A little hard to read."I forced a laugh. "You've been reading my journal again?"He smiled, but didn't answer.Something shifted in my stomach, but I wouldn't allow it."Pack a bag," he said casually. "We're leaving tomorrow. A week on the coast. Just us."My blood went cold. Tomorrow. That was nine days early."But… Your meetings," I said. "The board…""They can wait.""But.." He cupped my face, and I froze."Cait," he said gently. "You've seemed… distracted lately. Tired. I think a
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Sixteen
The silence stretched like wire between us.He didn't move. Neither did I.I was still one flight above the lobby. One floor from the exit. One breath from breaking.But his voice…"Come back upstairs."It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.I swallowed. "I couldn't sleep.""You packed a bag.""A workout bag""At midnight?"My mouth opened. No words came.He descended one step. Bare feet on marble. Slow and controlled."You think I don't feel it?" He asked. "The way you flinch now. The way you barely look at me when i touch you."He was closer."I let you flinch, Caitlin. I let you pretend."Another step."But you belong to me."I gripped the railing behind me. "I'm not property.""You're not." He nodded. "You're mine."There was no anger in his voice. That would've been easier. He sounded calm. Almost...hurt.And that was more dangerous than anything else."You kissed me like you meant it," he said. "And then you started counting the days."Tears stung my eyes.He reached the bottom o
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Seventeen
The silence after his words was louder than any scream.I didn't move. Not right away.My heartbeat was thunder in my ears, drowning out thought, reason, everything but the heat of his breath on my skin and the ghost of his fingers on my cheek."To be caught."The door was behind me. Open. Unlocked. No guards. No Jasper. No hands on my wrists, no threat in his voice.But I stood there, frozen in the eye of the storm, still clutching air where the duffel had been.I should've run.My muscles twitched with the echo of the docks. The memory of pavement beneath me, the wind against my face. But that had a flight. Purr and animal instinct.This was different. This was choice. And he knew it.Aiden didn't move. He just watched me, eyes steady, like he was memorizing the exact shape of my hesitation.He didn't need chains. He was the chain. And part of me was still reaching for him."I should hate you," I said, my voice a rasp. "I want to."He nodded, just once. "Then do it."His calm was a
Last Updated : 2025-04-15Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Eighteen
..I woke up to the sound of rain tapping the windows like it had something to say.Soft. Persistent. Familiar.The room was dim. Washed in gray light, with the fireplace long dead and the air cooled by absence.Aiden wasn't in bed. But I could feel him everywhere.On my skin, in my lungs, in the soreness of my body and the echo of his name in places I didn't want to admit still ache for him. I pulled the sheets tighter around me and sat up slowly. The duvet smelled like him. My heart clenched.I had made a thousand exits in my mind. Not one of them started with waking up in his bed again.I found him in the kitchen. Barefoot and shirtless as always, with mug in hand. He was watching the rain like it was performing just for him. One arm resting on the counter, head tilted in that way that used to make my chest ache.It still did, anyway.His eyes flicked towards me as I stepped into the room, oversized sweatshirt barely covering the damage we'd done last night.He didn't smile.But
Last Updated : 2025-04-15Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Nineteen
The peace didn't last.It never does with men like Aiden.He was gone when I woke. Again.But this time, the room didn't feel calm. It felt… watched. And I couldn't find my phone either.There was a shift in the air.. like the walls themselves were waiting for something to break. And it did.Three hours later, the front door slammed hard enough to rattle glass. I turned toward the hallway.. and he was there.Eyes blazing, has tight, phone still clutched in his hand like he'd just hung up on a war.This wasn't the man from last night. The one who touched me like I was breakable, who whispered truth in the dark. That version was gone."Aiden..?" I called to be sure, maybe.He didn't answer.Just walked towards me like a shadow with teeth. Like someone who'd been holding something in for too long."What's wrong?"He threw the phone. My phone. It hit hard behind me, shattered.No wonder I couldn't find my phone since I woke up that morning.I didn't flinch. I just stared."I gave you eve
Last Updated : 2025-04-15Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty
…The world vanished in a scream of cold. Salt and black water swallowed me whole. The pain ripped through my body instantly...shock, breathlessness, panic.But I didn't fight it. I let myself sink. Let the waves take me. Under long enough to fool him. Long enough to disappear.Aiden's scream echoed through the air above me... ripped from his soul, raw and guttural. It was the sound of a man losing everything.And I almost let it get to me.Almost.I swam under the rocks, the secret way Sophia and I had discovered years ago during one of her escapes. The current was vicious, and I scraped my knees, cut my palms. But I didn't stop.Couldn't.Not until I broke the surface again, gasping, behind the Cliff's bend where no one could see.I ran.Dripping, barefoot, bleeding… I ran through the rain soaked woods and down the road. My heart was pounding so loud it drowned the wind.Behind me, I could hear the chaos.Shouts, flashlights, dogs barking.They were looking for a body.Good. Let th
Last Updated : 2025-04-16Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty One
Aiden's POV: The water was still. Too still.I stood at the edge of the cliff, soaked to the skin, shoes abandoned, fingers trembling in fists I couldn't unclench. My breath came slow and shallow, like my lungs refused to take in air she wasn't breathing.Caitlin.Gone.She didn't scream when she jumped. She didn't flinch. She just looked at me with eyes full of everything I couldn't give her, and let go.Like she knew it would destroy me. And maybe that was the point.I never cried. Not even when my mother died… Not when my father left. Not when the board tried to burn down my empire from inside out.But as I stood there dripping, the scent of her still clinging to my skin like a curse, my chest fractured in quiet, invisible ways. My vision blurred. I tasted salt, and I didn't know if it came from the rain or me. Was I crying? Aiden Gallagher crying? Tf!I dried the droplets of water falling from my eyes right away.. they obviously weren't tears, but water. Why should I cry
Last Updated : 2025-04-17
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Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Three
The air was thick, heavy with the weight of memories I could never shake, and it clung to me, suffocating me with every step I took.I didn't know how I had gotten here, standing in front of her grave.I didn't know why I thought this would bring me any kind of closure. Maybe I had come for absolution, hoping that standing here, at the final resting place of the woman I had loved and lost, would somehow make it all stop.But it didn't.The pain only deepened, cutting into me like a jagged knife. I could barely breathe. My chest was tight, constricted by grief and the crushing weight of my own guilt. Caitlin's name was carved into the cold, unforgiving stone before me, and for a moment, I forgot how to exist. I couldn't even move.She's gone.The words bounced around in my mind, echoing like a cruel mantra. I had told myself this truth a thousand times. But standing here, inches away from the grave that held her, it felt like the ground beneath me was falling away. There was nothing st
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Two
It's been a week already. A week of helplessly searching for my wife. Still no news.My eyes remained fixed on the papers scattered across my desk, as though I could focus on them long enough to drown out the noise in my head.Sophia was here again. This time, in my office.She didn't wait for permission. She stepped inside, and before I could stop her, she was at my side, leaning down as if offering some twisted version of comfort. I wanted to ignore her. I wanted to shut her out, but something was off about her tone."Aiden," she began, her voice laced with an eerie calm, "I have news. Caitlin's body… It's been found."For a moment, the words didn't make sense. The blood drained from my face, and the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Caitlin… Caitlin was dead. She was gone. But I'd never seen her body. I'd never seen proof.Sophia was still talking, her voice a buzz in my ears, but it didn'tatter. The world had narrowed into a single image..The grave that would be dug for her. Th
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty One
Aiden's POV: The water was still. Too still.I stood at the edge of the cliff, soaked to the skin, shoes abandoned, fingers trembling in fists I couldn't unclench. My breath came slow and shallow, like my lungs refused to take in air she wasn't breathing.Caitlin.Gone.She didn't scream when she jumped. She didn't flinch. She just looked at me with eyes full of everything I couldn't give her, and let go.Like she knew it would destroy me. And maybe that was the point.I never cried. Not even when my mother died… Not when my father left. Not when the board tried to burn down my empire from inside out.But as I stood there dripping, the scent of her still clinging to my skin like a curse, my chest fractured in quiet, invisible ways. My vision blurred. I tasted salt, and I didn't know if it came from the rain or me. Was I crying? Aiden Gallagher crying? Tf!I dried the droplets of water falling from my eyes right away.. they obviously weren't tears, but water. Why should I cry
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty
…The world vanished in a scream of cold. Salt and black water swallowed me whole. The pain ripped through my body instantly...shock, breathlessness, panic.But I didn't fight it. I let myself sink. Let the waves take me. Under long enough to fool him. Long enough to disappear.Aiden's scream echoed through the air above me... ripped from his soul, raw and guttural. It was the sound of a man losing everything.And I almost let it get to me.Almost.I swam under the rocks, the secret way Sophia and I had discovered years ago during one of her escapes. The current was vicious, and I scraped my knees, cut my palms. But I didn't stop.Couldn't.Not until I broke the surface again, gasping, behind the Cliff's bend where no one could see.I ran.Dripping, barefoot, bleeding… I ran through the rain soaked woods and down the road. My heart was pounding so loud it drowned the wind.Behind me, I could hear the chaos.Shouts, flashlights, dogs barking.They were looking for a body.Good. Let th
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Nineteen
The peace didn't last.It never does with men like Aiden.He was gone when I woke. Again.But this time, the room didn't feel calm. It felt… watched. And I couldn't find my phone either.There was a shift in the air.. like the walls themselves were waiting for something to break. And it did.Three hours later, the front door slammed hard enough to rattle glass. I turned toward the hallway.. and he was there.Eyes blazing, has tight, phone still clutched in his hand like he'd just hung up on a war.This wasn't the man from last night. The one who touched me like I was breakable, who whispered truth in the dark. That version was gone."Aiden..?" I called to be sure, maybe.He didn't answer.Just walked towards me like a shadow with teeth. Like someone who'd been holding something in for too long."What's wrong?"He threw the phone. My phone. It hit hard behind me, shattered.No wonder I couldn't find my phone since I woke up that morning.I didn't flinch. I just stared."I gave you eve
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Eighteen
..I woke up to the sound of rain tapping the windows like it had something to say.Soft. Persistent. Familiar.The room was dim. Washed in gray light, with the fireplace long dead and the air cooled by absence.Aiden wasn't in bed. But I could feel him everywhere.On my skin, in my lungs, in the soreness of my body and the echo of his name in places I didn't want to admit still ache for him. I pulled the sheets tighter around me and sat up slowly. The duvet smelled like him. My heart clenched.I had made a thousand exits in my mind. Not one of them started with waking up in his bed again.I found him in the kitchen. Barefoot and shirtless as always, with mug in hand. He was watching the rain like it was performing just for him. One arm resting on the counter, head tilted in that way that used to make my chest ache.It still did, anyway.His eyes flicked towards me as I stepped into the room, oversized sweatshirt barely covering the damage we'd done last night.He didn't smile.But
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Seventeen
The silence after his words was louder than any scream.I didn't move. Not right away.My heartbeat was thunder in my ears, drowning out thought, reason, everything but the heat of his breath on my skin and the ghost of his fingers on my cheek."To be caught."The door was behind me. Open. Unlocked. No guards. No Jasper. No hands on my wrists, no threat in his voice.But I stood there, frozen in the eye of the storm, still clutching air where the duffel had been.I should've run.My muscles twitched with the echo of the docks. The memory of pavement beneath me, the wind against my face. But that had a flight. Purr and animal instinct.This was different. This was choice. And he knew it.Aiden didn't move. He just watched me, eyes steady, like he was memorizing the exact shape of my hesitation.He didn't need chains. He was the chain. And part of me was still reaching for him."I should hate you," I said, my voice a rasp. "I want to."He nodded, just once. "Then do it."His calm was a
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Sixteen
The silence stretched like wire between us.He didn't move. Neither did I.I was still one flight above the lobby. One floor from the exit. One breath from breaking.But his voice…"Come back upstairs."It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.I swallowed. "I couldn't sleep.""You packed a bag.""A workout bag""At midnight?"My mouth opened. No words came.He descended one step. Bare feet on marble. Slow and controlled."You think I don't feel it?" He asked. "The way you flinch now. The way you barely look at me when i touch you."He was closer."I let you flinch, Caitlin. I let you pretend."Another step."But you belong to me."I gripped the railing behind me. "I'm not property.""You're not." He nodded. "You're mine."There was no anger in his voice. That would've been easier. He sounded calm. Almost...hurt.And that was more dangerous than anything else."You kissed me like you meant it," he said. "And then you started counting the days."Tears stung my eyes.He reached the bottom o
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, he brought me flowers.For reasons I do not exactly know. White orchids. My favorite. Or rather, his favorite for me.He sat them on the breakfast bar like a gift and watched me with that unreadable smile, the one that made me feel like he was testing me and I was already falling."For you," he said. "To brighten things up."I touched the petals with careful fingers. "They're beautiful.""They reminded me of you." He stepped closer, brushing my hair behind my ear. "Delicate. Elegant. A little hard to read."I forced a laugh. "You've been reading my journal again?"He smiled, but didn't answer.Something shifted in my stomach, but I wouldn't allow it."Pack a bag," he said casually. "We're leaving tomorrow. A week on the coast. Just us."My blood went cold. Tomorrow. That was nine days early."But… Your meetings," I said. "The board…""They can wait.""But.." He cupped my face, and I froze."Cait," he said gently. "You've seemed… distracted lately. Tired. I think a
