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Chapter Twenty Three
최신 업데이트:
2025-04-17 04:38:57
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Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Four
The car ride was too quiet.Sophia sat beside me, pretending not to stare, pretending she wasn't watching the way I kept clenching my jaw like it might hold back everything threatening to spill out. I didn't look at her. I couldn't. Not after what just happened. Not after Caitlin.My knuckles were scraped raw. I didn't remember hitting the ground that hard, but it didn't matter. Pain was something I understood. It was simple, direct, easier to carry than guilt.I pressed my forehead against the cool window, watching the city blur past. Neon lights bled into shadows. People walked with purpose, like they didn't know the world had ended.Maybe it hadn't tho.Maybe it was just mine."You need sleep," Sophia said softly.I ignored her. My fingers tapped against my thigh, out of rhythm, uneven. Just like everything else in my life.She kept going, voice too careful. "You're scaring me, Aiden."Good.Let her be scared.I closed my eyes, leaned back into the leather seat, and tried not to th
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-21Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Five
The envelope felt heavier than it should.Like it carried more than paper. Like it carried memory, power, threat.I turned it over in my hand, fingers brushing the wax seal. The color was wrong for comfort. Blood red, deep as dried rust. My thumb hovered for a second too long, like part of me believed that if I opened it, I’d be letting something in.But it was already in.Had been, ever since Caitlin disappeared.I cracked the seal. It snapped with a dry, delicate sound, like old bone breaking. Inside, a single piece of ivory cardstock, thick and unblemished. Not handwritten, no signature, just six words, printed in clean, precise type.“You’ve forgotten the rules.Come home.”No address, no date, just the silence behind the message and the cold certainty that it wasn’t a suggestion.It was a summons.My breath left me slow, like I’d been holding it this whole time without noticing. I sat down hard on the edge of the couch. The paper fluttered slightly in my hand, and I felt the pas
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-22Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Six
The roads to Montauk were empty.The world looked washed out, like even the sunrise was too tired to show up properly. My car cut through the fog like a scalpel. Silent, silver, and sharp.I hadn’t been back here in almost twelve years.The last time, there had been laughter. Expensive wine. A dead girl cooling by the pool.We called it the accident.But it wasn’t. Not really.Dylan had cleaned up the blood. I had made the calls. The others... well, most of them were gone now. Buried by time, scandals, or the group’s own cleanup crew.Emily was the last real casualty. And the first one that made Dylan crack.I used to think I was the monster. But Dylan?Dylan had learned how to make his violence look like devotion.*The estate still looked untouched.Same rusted gates, same overgrown garden that once pretended to be wild on purpose. I parked by the side entrance. The air was heavy with salt and silence.The front door was unlocked.That alone should’ve sent me back to the car. But I
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-22Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Seven
I didn’t sleep.Sleep was for men with peace, and I’d traded that a long time ago for power and silence.The city looked soft from the penthouse windows. Fragile. Like if I breathed too hard, it would crack.The glass in my hand was sweating. Scotch untouched.I watched the streets for hours, waiting for the ache in my chest to harden into something I could use. Rage. Strategy. Anything but longing.But it didn’t.It just sat there. Thick and heavy.And beneath it, something quieter. Something older.Shame.*Flashback – Nine Years AgoMontauk, before Emily died.The house was louder back then.Laughter spilled through the walls like water. Dylan was drunk, slurring theories about the future, biotech empires, programmable memories, synthetic limbs. Emily was wearing red, barefoot on the marble, dancing like no one was watching.But I was watching.Dylan didn’t notice. He never noticed when she needed him. Not the way I did.Later that night, we stood outside, just Dylan and me. Cold a
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-22Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Eight
I opened the door.Why the fuck do these guys just let people in my house, unannounced?I could feel Sophia’s eyes on me as I stood there, still holding my phone like it might burn me. The room felt smaller now, the walls closing in, the air thick with something I couldn’t name. Maybe it was regret. Maybe it was the weight of something coming, something I couldn’t outrun.I didn’t look at her. I wouldn’t. Not after what she’d done. She was too damn curious, always digging at wounds that were better left untouched.I dropped my phone to the table, ignoring the way it slid across the surface as if it had its own purpose, its own mind. The envelope was still laying on the table “Who’s it from?” Sophia’s voice, soft but pressing. She wasn’t going to let this go, and she had no idea how much I wanted her to just leave me the hell alone.I didn’t answer. Not yet.I wasn’t going to feed her hunger for answers, for control over something that wasn’t hers to solve. Not after everything. Not
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-22Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twenty Nine
I should’ve known it was coming. The way she leaned in a little closer. The way she watched me like I was a puzzle she thought she could solve. Sophia was never a fool, but neither was I.I let the silence linger, thick and suffocating, as her eyes stayed locked on mine. There was something else there, something more than the usual curiosity.Sophia had always been good at reading people. Better than most. And it was clear now.she wasn’t asking about Caitlin because she cared. She was asking because she needed something. Needed to be close to me. And the way she said my name...low, almost intimate, brought it all rushing back.That night. That damn night.Sophia was still standing in front of me, her presence suffocating, her eyes demanding answers. She knew I remembered that night, just as clearly as I could recall the way Caitlin's fingers used to trace patterns across my skin. It was a hard memory to bury, but it was one I had to lock away when Caitlin came into my life.She ha
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-22Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty
Caitlin’s POV:The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the overhead lights. The walls were warm-toned, meant to soothe. Dylan’s private suite tucked away in some forgotten part of the city, had been designed to feel like a sanctuary.But it didn’t.Not to me.I sat up slowly, my body still aching in places I didn't understand yet.My face felt tight, strange, unfamiliar. Bandages still clung to the edges of my jaw and cheekbones, like silk restraints.I hadn't spoken much since the surgery. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear my voice yet. What if it sounded different too?Dylan stood at the foot of the bed, his gloved hands precise, his expression unreadable. His posture was careful, almost reverent, like he was handling something sacred. I couldn’t tell if that something was me or the mask he had crafted for me.“You ready?” he asked, voice low and even.I wasn’t.But I nodded.He moved gently, unwinding the gauze one layer at a time, revealing the stranger I had agreed to become.
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-22Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty One
The steam from the bathroom curled in soft clouds around me, making the world feel distant and muffled. It was just me, the warm water, and a moment of solitude I hadn’t had in what felt like forever. My body was still adjusting to everything. My new face, my new life, and even though I’d been trying to avoid mirrors, the comfort of the hot water was something I could hold onto, at least for a few minutes.I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, letting the water rush over me, and closed my eyes, the noise of the world outside muffled by the soft hum of the shower. For a brief second, I let myself forget. Forget the new life Dylan had forced on me. Forget that I wasn’t Caitlin Gallagher anymore.And then the door to the bathroom opened.I froze.For a heartbeat, I thought it was just the steam making me paranoid, or maybe it was one of those moments where your mind plays tricks on you. But no.The door creaked open, and Dylan walked in.He was just standing there for a second, frozen,
최신 업데이트 : 2025-04-23
최신 챕터
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Forty Three
The car ride back felt endless. I kept replaying my encounter with Aiden over and over in my head, each word, each movement, each breath he took like it had etched itself into my bones. And the worst part? The fear still lingered, clinging to me like a second skin.By the time we reached the apartment, I was barely able to drag myself out of the car. My legs felt like jelly, but somehow, I managed to get inside.Dylan was already there, waiting, probably expecting me to be just as calm and collected as I had been when I left. But inside, I was anything but calm. I was unraveling, every thread of me pulled taut, threatening to snap.I didn’t even try to hide it as soon as I walked through the door. The moment he saw me, he could tell something was wrong. His eyes narrowed in concern, and before I knew it, I was in his arms, my face buried in his chest, tears coming without warning.“Caitlin,” he murmured, his voice soft, but with a sharpness that told me he was already on edge. “Wh
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Forty Two
The weight of his words sank into the room, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I didn’t know what to make of this sudden shift. Aiden taking control, offering me a reprieve, but there was something about the way he stood there, unwavering, that made me feel a strange sense of relief.Lily’s face went pale with rage, her fingers curling into fists. “You don’t scare me, Aiden. You know that. My father...”“Your father’s company will be shut down before midnight if you even think about crossing me again,” Aiden interrupted, his words cutting through her like a blade. “So, you’re leaving now. Don’t make me repeat myself.”Lily stared at him for a long moment, her breath shallow, her face flushed with frustration.“You can’t do this,” she spat, her voice trembling with anger.“I already have,” Aiden said, his voice sharp as a knife. “Now, get out.”With a final, seething look at me, Lily grabbed her purse and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind her with a force that sh
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Forty One
The office had a strange kind of stillness when Lily walked in, as if the room collectively held its breath. Even the air seemed to freeze for a moment, her presence commanding attention like a storm moving through the calm.Lily was every inch the picture of wealth and privilege. Her high-end designer suit looked like it belonged on a runway, and the sharpness in her eyes made it clear that she knew her value, and everyone else’s. She swept through the door with the kind of confidence that only comes with a life of entitlement.She wasn't just rich. She was the kind of rich that made people bend at the knee without her needing to ask. The kind of rich that made you want to either be her or never cross her path. Unfortunately for me, it seemed like I was stuck in the second category.I watched her as she walked into the office, the whispers from the colleagues that once surrounded me now falling silent in her wake. Lily glanced around the space with a subtle but unmistakable disd
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Forty
The Next Day,Morning light filtered through the blinds, casting long shadows across the room. I woke with a start, my heart racing, the memory of the previous night’s events flooding back. Aiden. Dylan. Lily. The ballroom. Everything felt like it was closing in on me.I pushed myself out of bed, the weight of what I had to do pressing down on me. Emily’s office. The words echoed in my mind. I had to do this. There was no other choice.I didn’t take long to get ready, just a simple black dress, no makeup, no frills. I wanted to look invisible. I didn’t need to draw any attention to myself today.When I stepped downstairs, Dylan was already waiting, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He didn’t look up when I entered, but I knew he was aware of me. He always was.“I’m heading out,” I said, my voice steady but tired.Dylan finally glanced up at me, his expression unreadable. “You're not having breakfast?.”“I’ll be fine,” I said, forcing a smile, though I could feel the h
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty Nine
I stayed in the car for a long time after Dylan killed the engine, staring at the house, the quiet stillness of the night pressing down on me. The lights from the streetlamp outside cast long shadows across the driveway, but it wasn’t the darkness that felt suffocating, it was the weight of everything I was trying to ignore, trying to outrun.Finally, Dylan spoke, his voice softer this time, as though he could feel the distance growing between us.“Come inside, Caitlin,” he said gently. “You need to rest.”I shook my head, the exhaustion in my bones telling me that he was right. But my mind wouldn’t stop spinning, the image of Aiden, his presence still burning in my veins. I didn’t want to go inside. I didn’t want to face this house, this life. I didn’t want to feel like a ghost in my own skin.But there was no escaping it. So, I opened the car door, stepping out into the cool night air, the sound of my shoes crunching on the gravel beneath my feet. Dylan was already a few steps ahe
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty Eight
Dylan shut the door behind us with a soft thud, the sound feeling too final. Too much like the world outside was still pressing down on me.The car started moving, the soft hum of the engine doing nothing to ease the storm inside me. I stared out the window, the city lights blurring by, but I wasn’t really seeing any of it. My thoughts were consumed by one thing, and one thing only.Aiden.I had spent so long running from him, escaping the life he’d built around me, and yet here I was, with him still somehow right there in front of me. Like some fucking ghost, haunting me.And Dylan?Dylan was his cousin.I couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” My voice was raw, barely above a whisper, but it still felt like a shout inside the car. “How could you not tell me that?”Dylan didn’t look at me. His hands were clenched tight on the wheel, his jaw set like granite. He kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his posture tense. But I could feel the shift
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty Seven
Every corner of the ballroom whispered wealth, status, and power. This was a world I had never wanted, a world I never wished to belong to.But tonight, I was here. Again.My breath hitched in my throat as his gaze locked with mine across the room, his expression unreadable. His dark eyes were intense, piercing through the crowd as if nothing else existed but the space between us.For a moment, everything else faded. The music, the chatter, the clinking of glasses, they all disappeared, and it was just him and me, locked in this unexpected confrontation.I could feel the blood drain from my face. My fingers tightened around the glass of champagne in my hand, my knuckles white. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to face him, not like this, not in front of all these people.I tried to swallow the panic that rose in my chest, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t just the shock of seeing him again. It was the way he was looking at me. Like he knew exactly who I was.“Caitlin,” Dylan’s voic
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty Six
Dylan sat next to me, his hand resting on the seat between us, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to touch me but was unsure whether to do so.I kept my gaze fixed out of the window, watching the city lights blur into a haze of color. It almost felt like I was in a dream. But it wasn’t a dream, it was my life now. Or at least, a life I had to pretend was mine.I wanted to ask Dylan a thousand questions. I wanted to scream, to demand answers. What was he really asking of me? Why was he so insistent that I become Emily, that I wear her life like a second skin? But every time I opened my mouth, the words felt too heavy to speak.Instead, I turned to him, just enough to catch his profile in the dim light of the car. His jaw was tight, his brow furrowed in a way that suggested he was lost in his thoughts as much as I was in mine.“Dylan,” I said softly, breaking the silence. “What happens when they see through it? When they realize I’m not her?”He glanced at me, his eyes flickering wit
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirty Five
The morning after didn’t feel like morning at all.The light leaking through the curtains was soft and forgiving, but everything else was sharp. The weight of what we’d done pressed down on my chest like a stone. I hadn’t slept much. I doubted Dylan had either. He hadn’t said a word when he got out of bed, just pressed a lingering kiss to my shoulder before disappearing into the bathroom.Now I sat on the edge of the mattress, clutching the sheet to my chest, listening to the sound of running water.It should have felt like something good. Like a release.Instead, it felt like a beginning I didn’t ask for.The bathroom door creaked open. Dylan stepped out, towel slung low around his hips, hair damp, eyes unreadable. He paused when he saw me still sitting there, like he wasn’t sure how to break the silence between us.I beat him to it. “You called me Emily.”His jaw tightened. “Last night?”I nodded, eyes locked on him. “More than once.”He rubbed a hand down his face, then turned awa
