All Chapters of Rivals to Lovers: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Lena had a headache. She had no idea how to deal with cryptocurrencies—she was completely clueless in that area.Just then, her phone chimed. She picked it up and saw a message from “The Weakling”: “Want to meet up today?” She remembered that she hadn’t contacted Alaric since they last met at his hotel. She replied, “Address?”Lena returned to the same hotel. Zayn was already waiting in the lobby and escorted her upstairs to a suite. “Please have a seat. The boss will be here in five minutes after his meeting,” he said. Lena nodded, and Zayn left the room.The suite was spacious, with a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river. It had been a long time since Lena had taken a moment to enjoy the view. The city felt somewhat unfamiliar to her now, and she stared out, momentarily lost in thought.She didn’t even notice when someone entered the room.Alaric walked in to see her standing by the window, her graceful silhouette

"What's that? The land in Z Country was auctioned off to someone else? I didn't tell anyone about this, there's no way I would have dared—it'd be like shooting myself in the foot!" Mr. Carrington was sweating profusely, trying to explain to the person on the other end of the line. But with a sharp click, the call was disconnected."What happened?" his wife asked, gripping her hands tightly. She had picked up bits of the conversation and had a bad feeling.Mr. Carrington rubbed his forehead in frustration. "The land was taken by someone else. Dolphin Real Estate didn't get it.""What? Then our fifty million is gone too!" She collapsed into a chair, disbelief etched on her face. "That’s impossible. No one else should have known about this."Owen leaned in, looking shocked. "Dad, Mom, what are you talking about?" His eyes were wide, unable to believe what he was hearing.His parents didn't answer, but their expressions were filled with worry

A sudden chill settled deep within her heart. Despite the sumptuous breakfast laid before her, she had little appetite. Just two days ago, she'd invested five million in cryptocurrency.She opened her phone and saw message after message from her parents, urging her to send them the rest of the money. Since this was her first attempt, she didn’t want to risk everything at once, so she’d only sent a bit to test the waters. She’d planned to make sure they received it before sending the rest.Cryptocurrency was new and somewhat mysterious—a whole new financial system, famous for its anonymous account structures. But the process of transferring money from a personal bank account to buy the currency was all carefully recorded and very public.---"I couldn’t get her to tell me anything… She’s too tight-lipped! What do you expect me to do if she won’t talk? And you keep going off without telling me, yet you want me to do all this for you. I’m really mad at you this time! Hmph! I won’t forgiv

A flash of red sped past, and Lena hesitated about calling for help, but she had just escaped from a car moments ago, and her fear was still fresh. She walked along the main road, trying to get her phone to turn back on, but it was dead. Suddenly, the red car reversed and stopped in front of her. A man stepped out quickly, his expression serious, slamming the car door shut as he asked, “Why didn’t you say anything when you called...?”Alaric stopped mid-sentence.Lena’s hair was a mess, covering half of her face. She had a frown, but in the one visible eye, he saw fear and unease. There was a clear mark on her cheek, left by someone’s tight grip, and her shirt was torn open at the front. She held a phone with a cracked screen in her scratched and bruised hand, and her legs bore cuts of varying sizes. Alaric couldn’t bear to look any longer. He took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “Get in the car first.”The warmth of the jacket s

Since seeing Stellan, Alaric hadn’t been able to shake the unsettling mood weighing on his mind. After finally wrapping up work for the day, he returned to his hotel room at 10 p.m. He owned an apartment nearby, but this hotel had only recently opened, and he wanted to keep a close eye on it for a while, checking for areas where service could improve.He leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh. Suddenly, a scent of soap hit his senses, and he opened his eyes abruptly.Directly above him, a pair of wide, clear eyes stared down at him. His heart skipped a beat—he’d completely forgotten someone else was staying in his suite. He started to sit up, only to bump into her leg by accident. Her knee gave way, and she lost her balance, toppling forward and falling right onto him.“Ah!” Lena exclaimed, closing her eyes instinctively. But instead of the expected pain, she felt herself caught in a solid, warm embrace. Somehow, the feeling seemed strangely fa