Share

Chapter 8

Author: Tori Evans
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-20 04:12:34

Elara's POV

Early the next day, I stand outside Lorenzo's office. After one last look in the mirror this morning, I know exactly what I currently look like. My eyes have heavy bags under them, and my entire body feels weak. I didn't sleep last night. I stayed awake trying to find ways to sabotage Lorenzo's project. All my plans led to dead ends.

I step inside, my eyes meeting Lorenzo's. A mix of disgust and admiration rushes through me. Although I hate Lorenzo so much for his evil acts against the innocent, I can't deny that he looks yummy and delicious. With those bulging muscles, sharp grey eyes that look like they're piercing through my clothes, and that toned chest peeking out of his shirt, I can't help the heat that rushes to my core. Stupid Elara! Focus!

“Elara, we’re heading to the East Side today. I need you to prepare for the site assessment.” His voice suddenly cuts through my thoughts. Gosh, Elara. Get a grip, you horny dog. How can you admire the same man you're supposed t
Locked Chapter
Continue to read this book on the APP

Related chapters

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 9

    Elara’s POV“Auntie Elara is here!“Alice shouts, and in an instant, a small stampede rushes toward me.” Tiny arms wrap around my legs, my waist, anywhere they can reach. I smile radiantly before opening my arms to embrace them in a warm group hug.I plant kisses on their foreheads, ruffling their hair. "I missed you all so much, my little angels.""Auntie Elara, what are you doing here?" one of the younger girls asks, her wide eyes gleaming with curiosity.I sense my heart rate increase. Gradually, I lift my eyes and observe Mother Annabelle and the other caretakers and older children gazing at me. Their faces are set into tight glares as their eyes move back and forth from me to Lorenzo.“Children, come here,” Mother Annabelle calls, her arms open and her voice urgent. The kids hesitate for a moment, wondering what is happening, but the edge in Mother Annabelle’s tone leaves no room for stubbornness. She repeats herself, louder this time. “Now, children! Come behind me. We don't asso

    Last Updated : 2024-10-21
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 10

    Elara's POVThe walk to Mother Annabelle's office is nerve-wracking and short. I spend the whole time thinking about what to say and how to prove that I am an ally and not a foe.The second Mother Annabelle sits down, my heart rate spikes. This is the moment of truth. I just hope they believe me. They have to believe me. I'm their daughter.Clearing my throat, I start, "Mother, I really—"She holds up her hand, cutting me off. After exchanging a glance with Mother Esther, who quietly walks to the door and locks it, she turns to me. "Elara, I am deeply disappointed in you. What has this community done to you? Did we wrong you that you chose to side with the enemy and ruin us?"I can't bear to see the looks of hurt on their faces, so I focus my gaze on the table. Mother Esther sighs and walks toward me. Holding my hands gently, she asks, "El, you are one of the most respectful and kind-hearted children this orphanage has ever raised. I know that living here was not easy. But we trained

    Last Updated : 2024-10-22
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 11

    Elara's POV The stranger holds me, his strong, muscled arms wrapped gently around my shoulders. I take in the contours of his face, noticing how his plump lips accentuate his features. He’s dressed in an elegant gray suit. He must be some rich guy. Then I lift my gaze to his beautiful hazel eyes and see something that looks like concern. My brows furrow. Why would he be concerned? “Are you okay?” he asks, making me furrow my brows. “Is there a problem? Why are you crying?” At that, I place my hand on my face, surprised to feel tears. I guess the encounter in the office left me crying. As I remember the scene in the office, I decide I need to leave. I don’t want to deal with the mothers anymore. As I turn to go, the stranger speaks again. “Hey, calm down. Please tell me if there’s a problem. I can help.” Oh really? I look up at him and cross my arms against my chest, raising an eyebrow. “What exactly is your problem? Will you step out of my way so I can leave?” But he still tries

    Last Updated : 2024-10-23
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 12

    Lorenzo's POVWaking up in the hospital was never part of my birthday vision. I had planned a fancy but small gathering—just a little celebration I could slip away from quickly before heading home to get some rest. No. I'm not your typical billionaire chasing after a parade of women. That lifestyle is far beyond me now, especially after 'her'. I can’t bring myself to look at another woman in the same way anymore.And then, in walked Elara. That girl nearly made me break all my rules—all because of her flawless skin, perfect curves, and those eyes that seem to draw me in whenever she stares at me. My best friend, Luke Grayson, who stayed by my side at the hospital, laughed endlessly, saying Elara and I had sex. But I don't want to believe it—I am not planning to sleep with any other woman. Yes, she did drug me, but could she have stolen my eight years of virginity?When I went to find her, my plan was to confront her and ask if she’d taken advantage of me. It wouldn’t have ended well i

    Last Updated : 2024-10-24
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 13

    Elara's POV I sit in my office, tapping my pen absentmindedly against the desk, the rhythmic sound echoing in the otherwise quiet room. My laptop is open in front of me, its light illuminating my face, but I can’t focus on the screen. Instead, my mind runs with thoughts of revenge against Lorenzo Russo. The fallout with the orphanage, everything that's happened—it’s all his fault. He has ruined my life, and I’m determined to make him pay for it. I had initially planned to stop my revenge at just stealing his wallet—which wasn’t even a real revenge plan. But that seems insufficient now. Now, I’m going to fight him with everything I’ve got. My stupid subconscious decides to mock me: You've got nothing, Elara. You live in a— A sudden vibration breaks off my train of thoughts, and I glance around the room until I spot my phone vibrating on the desk. I pick it up, frowning at the unfamiliar number flashing on the screen: Hello, Princess EL. How are you? My eyes narrow. Who is this

    Last Updated : 2024-10-24
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 14

    Elara's POVAs Nina runs out, I decide it's best to find out what's going on. So, as quietly as I can, I walk to Lorenzo's office and place my ear against the door. I don’t pick up any sound, just dead silence.But I still don't relent. Maybe staying for a few more seconds will reward me. Nothing makes sense—why would Nina run out of Lorenzo's office crying? She's the strongest girl I know... also the most foolish.Lost in my thoughts, I don't hear his footsteps until it's too late. The door suddenly swings open, and I find myself falling forward with nothing to hold on to. And no, this is not a romance movie. I don’t land in Lorenzo's arms so we can stare into each other’s eyes and fall in love. Instead, my face meets the cold marble floor, sending a jolt of pain through my head. Ouch!Silence ensues. I lift my head sluggishly, only to wish I hadn’t. Lorenzo’s stony gaze fixes on me, his jaw clenched. Well, Elara, here we go again.“Hello, sir. I had a business... no, a vision... no,

    Last Updated : 2024-10-25
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 15

    Lorenzo's POV (The Incident with Nina)The rest of the day after I threatened Elara for coming back with a rich man is spent with me avoiding her. I lock myself in my office for the rest of the afternoon. My mind doesn’t let me rest, constantly dragging me back to thoughts of the petite, blue-eyed girl sitting just outside my office. For goodness' sake, what's wrong with me? Why can’t I stop thinking about her? Why does my enemy have to be attractive?Letting out a frustrated sigh, I pick up my phone and call Nicola—my best friend, who also works in the building.“Hey, boss. Everything okay?” His sharp, professional tone comes through the phone.I roll my eyes. Nicola and professionalism? Yeah, right. “Nicola, I need you to run Elara Walker's information through the system. I want everything you can find on her by tomorrow morning.”There’s a brief silence on the other end before the sound of his stupid, annoying chuckle meets my ears. Oh God, not now! Please!“Wow bro, you okay? This

    Last Updated : 2024-10-26
  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 16

    Elara's POV Mr. Russo stares at me, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he's trying to place where he knows me from. “Do I know you?” he asks. I’d laugh if I wasn’t moments away from peeing my pants. A powerful man like him knowing someone as insignificant as me? No way. “No, sir, you don’t. I’m just… nobody. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get out of your way now,” I say quickly, already turning to leave. “Wait,” he calls. I freeze, clenching my fists and forcing a polite expression onto my face. I’m exhausted, and all I want is to run away from his grumpy son, but there’s no walking away from this either. Not when I’m face-to-face with a man like him. “Yes, sir?” “What are you doing here?” His gaze flickers to the private elevator I just exited. “You came from Lorenzo’s floor, didn’t you? Only people who work there have access to that lift.” “I—um, yes,” I stammer, unsure what to say. He’s Lorenzo’s father, after all. Shouldn’t he want to know who works in his son’s office? I would if

    Last Updated : 2024-10-27

Latest chapter

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 55

    Lorenzo's POVAn important business meeting is going on.By important, I mean a meeting among the top people in the country.You can already guess who they are.Damien and Antonio Rossi sit at the curved edge of the expensive polished mahogany table, their faces set into hardened glares, exuding an aura of power.Just like the powerful men they are.On the other side of them sits Alexander Viali.I don’t know why the fool had to show up in my office, but his presence here is getting on my nerves.We are at the top floor of my building, in the boardroom designed specifically for meetings of the upper class and important investors.Since my building is taller than all the others around, we have a great view of the blue skyline, the city below, and the rooftops of the slightly lower but still elegant buildings surrounding us.But neither the presence of these men nor the beauty of the view can hold my attention.All I can focus on is Elara, seated across from me, scribbling down notes on

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 54

    Elara's POVOkay, I admit, Peter has a death wish, and he wants me to be included in his demise. I try to pull away from him, but he hugs me even tighter. Finally, with one shove, Lorenzo gets him off me.Peter staggers backward but maintains his balance, then smiles at me, his crooked teeth on full display.No, don’t get me wrong, Peter is not ugly. He just has crooked teeth. He’s quite cute, which is the stupid reason I am in this predicament.“Baby, who are these men, and why are they acting all protective of you?” he asks. Then, as if figuring out the missing piece of a puzzle, he smirks. “Oh, I understand.”Peter’s smile widens as his gaze flickers between them. “These are your brothers from the family that adopted you. Well, guys, you have nothing to worry about. Elara and I have come too far for me to ever hurt her.”My head snaps to Lorenzo, and I see his eyes darken before his jaw tightens. Dang it, Peter! Just leave already.“Lorenzo,” I plead, trying to hold his arm, but he

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 53

    Elara's POVThe halls are brightly decorated, large, and filled to the brim with what looks like a thousand people—or maybe more. Each of them is adorned in glittering dresses. Gold chandeliers line the ceiling, and the finest artistic paintings fill the walls.My eyes scan the crowd, looking for any familiar face to help ease my anxiety and stop the trembling in my legs. Soon, two towering figures—one in a crisp white suit and the other in blue—push through the crowd, walking forward to stand before me. I leap into my dad's arms, hugging him like my life depends on it."Happy birthday, princess," he whispers in my ear while ruffling my hair, which was perfectly done by the stylist. I hug him even tighter, never wanting to let this moment go.Someone clears their throat, making us pull away from each other."I understand you guys doing all this father-and-daughter bonding, but where's my own hug?" Uncle Damien opens his arms and narrows his eyes. I smile and lunge into his open arms.

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 52

    Elara's POVIf anyone had told me that I would stand in front of my own grave, I would never have agreed. I would have looked at them as if they were the craziest humans to grace the Earth. But I had indeed stood there, looking at my name, Kiara Rossi. The name Uncle Damien and Dad had called me.That was supposed to be my name, but Mother Esther must have changed it to Elara—either to cover her tracks or protect me. Dad promised that he would have his men take her in for questioning after the party.He had given me space to connect with my mom and sister, but all I felt as I stared was emptiness.Maybe because I never knew they existed, or because I had long given up hope of ever being with them. Still, I spent almost three hours at the graveside, just staring into nothingness, until my dad had called me to inform me that we were to leave.Now, as I stand in front of the mirror, staring at myself in a royal blue floor-length gown that hugged my waist and flared at the bottom, my hair

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 51

    Elara’s POVTalk about bad timing. Why is Dad here now? And why did Lorenzo have to come into my office this afternoon? I force a smile onto my face, though I know it looks awkward, and walk toward him."Dad, You didn’t tell me you were coming," I say, hugging him."Why? Is a father not allowed to visit his daughter at her place of work?" He emphasizes the word work, his eye lingering on my face, which I know is smudged from my make-out session with Lorenzo.I run a hand through my hair. "It’s not what you think…" Why did you have to say that, Elara? That is so cringe, my subconscious chimes in. It is exactly what it looks like. You’re lucky he didn’t walk in just as you two were…"Mr. Rossi," Lorenzo calls out, and I exhale in relief at his intervention. He extends a hand to shake my dad’s, who blatantly ignores him and turns to me with a broad smile."My baby girl, come. I have something I want to show you. Let’s go now."I narrow my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Dad!"He h

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 50

    Lorenzo's POVIt has been a month since Elara stormed out of the orphanage and, without even a hint of a smile, told me we should leave. I didn’t want to leave, knowing that someone had hurt her in there, but I respected her decision.In the car, I had probed, trying to find out what the problem was, but she didn’t tell me. She just said it was nothing too important.Frustration washed over me like a plague, and every single day when I found her, for at least five minutes, staring off into the distance, or pulling out her hair, or pacing a room, I would groan and think about what I could do to find out who had hurt her and what they had done.I had also tried to get the mothers at the orphanage to tell me. All I had found out was that Mother Annabelle had been really rude and called her names. But that couldn’t have been what was causing her to be like this, could it?It is a day before her birthday, and I have been restless the whole time, pacing my office because I am still trying t

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 49

    Elara’s POV“Mr. Russo,” Mother Esther calls out, her face breaking into a wide smile. “It is an honor to see you today, sir. Why didn’t you tell us you were going to come by? We would have prepared something special to welcome you.”Lorenzo smiles back at her. “There is no need for that, Mother. Elara and I won’t be staying long.”“Nonsense, sir. I insist that you join us for dinner at the orphanage,” Mother Annabelle urges.I beam at the thought of meeting the little children, but my heart is torn at the thought of being in the presence of these mothers. I still remember what they said to me last time.Lorenzo turns to face me. “I will do whatever Elara chooses to do.”All their eyes turn to me, and I lower my gaze to the ground. After thinking for a few seconds, I decide it’s best we stay for a while. “We can spend an hour with the children if it’s okay with you, Lorenzo,” I speak out, emphasizing the word children to make the mothers know that I am not staying here for them.Mothe

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 48

    Elara's POVIn front of me is the entrance to the Eastside community. My childhood home. But it’s almost unrecognizable. Wasn’t I just here a few weeks ago? How is this possible? My stomach turns as I face Lorenzo, my eyes wide with disbelief."W-what? H-how is this possible?""It’s not impossible, Elara. This is what we actually had in mind for the Eastside," Lorenzo explains calmly, staring straight ahead.I keep staring at him, closing my mouth and opening it a couple of times. I’m at a loss for words. The Eastside has been completely renovated. Well, not all of it—there are still a lot of uncompleted buildings—but everything looks different, fancier, and much bigger. Like civilization just took a new turn in the community."But I thought you had plans for something like a mall, industry, maybe some businesses, hotels, or restaurants. Why are you...?"Lorenzo laughs, the sound echoing in the quiet night. "Are you kidding me? Why would we do that? I just wanted to give these people

  • I Stole The Billionaire's Wallet And His Heart   Chapter 47

    Elara's POV"Lorenzo, you know you’re being too rude, right?" I huff. "When I said 2 hours 30 minutes, I didn’t mean you should come exactly at that time to get me."He raises an eyebrow. "Of course, I’m a man of my word, Elara. You really think I’d leave you for longer than that? Hell no. You said 2 hours 30 minutes, and I came at 2 hours 30 minutes. Now shh.""But you didn’t even let me say a proper goodbye to Victoria. Is that fair? How would she feel?""Elara," Lorenzo says, his tone firm, "I don’t care how Victoria feels. Okay? Let’s go.""And where exactly are we going?" I ask, crossing my arms."I don’t know," he says with a small smirk. "I told you it’s a surprise, didn’t I? But do prepare—it’s going to be a long, long journey.""Long?" I ask, my eyebrows knitting together. "What do you mean by long?""You’ll find out," he replies, his face unreadable.I frown. "Okay, give me a hint.""You can try to decode it yourself," he answers casually, walking one step ahead of me.I hur

DMCA.com Protection Status