Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's last Offer: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

With the ice melting, I gazed into the bottom of my nearly empty bourbon glass. I looked up from my glass to the window a little distance away, watching as the sun set beyond the bar. I felt so alone in my self-pity, watching life move on around me with only the faint clinking of glasses and soft chattering of voices. My life's worst day had been that one. Ethan, my fiancee— ex-fiancee, had betrayed me in the most heinous way. Memories of him with his secretary smoldering in the background, The man I'd been in love with for three years, the man I had imagined spending the rest of my life with, his tongue fighting another woman, his lies disentangled like a thread I had failed to pull sooner. I was hurt and broken like never before, I felt a sting of tears threatening to fall again but blinked them away, resolving not to cry anymore. Not for him. Not here. I felt uncomfortable; I'd adjust to my seat severally; it did nothing but make me comfortable, or maybe it was just the burde

Even when the car's tires skidded to a stop outside my apartment building, my mind continued to race. The bombshell that Jay Sinclair had just dropped had destroyed all pretense of routine in my life. A union based on contract? It was nonsensical. However, as I cast a sidelong glance at him, his expression serene, I couldn't help but feel the oppressive weight of my reality. Ethan had betrayed my affection and my confidence. My life was disintegrating. For some strange reason, Jay Sinclair had entered my life and promised me a way out, but at what price? I clenched my fingers around the passenger door handle, my knuckles becoming white from strain. I was breathing. I needed air. I pushed the door wide and whispered to myself, "I need to go." Jay remained motionless, observing my every move as I got out of the car with his eyes. The weight in his emotionless, calm voice, "I'll give you time to think, Arielle," shot a shiver down my spine. "Don't take too long, though. The timer i

JAY SINCLAIR'S POV I was standing in front of my penthouse office's tall glass windows, staring out over the vast city that extended beyond. Though the world below was bustling with life, and the lights from the skyscrapers twinkled like stars, my thoughts were far away from it all. With the Sinclair name being associated with riches, power, and influence, my empire was booming. However, when I looked out at the city, I didn't care about any of it right now. There was just one thing on my mind: Arielle. That night, I watched her from a distance rather than expecting to run into her. She had seemed almost too perfect, sitting helplessly next to her wrecked car, had been almost flawless. She held the secret to the carefully thought out plan I had created, one that would fulfill my desire for revenges as well as my commercial interests. I tightened my hands behind my back, remembering the term I detested the most. Ethan. A snarl curved my lips. The individual who had betrayed me yea

A FEW DAYS LATER...My gaze followed the elaborate lace trim on my bridal gown as I stood in front of the large mirror. The ivory fabric of the gown shimmered softly in the light, and it fit me like a second skin. Even though it was elegant, it felt alien to me, like armor for a conflict for which I hadn't properly prepared. Today was about a contract, a legally binding arrangement that would link me to Jay Sinclair, a guy I hardly knew but who already controlled my life, rather than love.I tried to regulate my breathing while adjusting the veil, my fingers shaking. There was an uncanny surrealness to the entire day. I would marry a billionaire in a few minutes, and his world would be full of danger and power. I had now navigated a world.I was jolted back to reality by a gentle rap on the door. My mom came in. As she took in the image of her daughter wearing the wedding gown, she gazed at me with a mixture of pride and worry, her lips pressed into a thin line."You look stunning," H

The more time I spent with Jay, the more I understood that he was more sophisticated than I had first thought. On the surface, Jay seemed to be everything I had anticipated from a billionaire businessman: cold, calculating, and completely distant. However, there were occasionally fissures in that veneer, faint indications that something more profound and human was hiding beneath it. After a week of our wedding, we had settled into a tense routine. Jay spent most of his days either attending meetings or working on his business while cooped up in his study. Our discussions were brief and frequently limited to the formalities required for their arrangement. I did, however, catch a glimpse of a man who seemed as lost in this marriage as I was during the calm times when the barriers between us weren't as high We sat in the living room together in the evening after a particularly demanding day, our silence heavy with unsaid words. Long shadows were created on the walls by the fireplace's