THE BILLIONAIRE'S DIRTY SECRET: A FORBIDDEN SECOND CHANCE
Noelle Carter thought she left her mistakes in Santorini.
After catching her fiancé cheating, she escapes on a ten-day solo trip with no plans. Just space to breathe. That’s where she meets Roman.
No last names. No questions. That was the deal.
But Roman doesn’t feel like a mistake. He feels like clarity. They talk for hours, stay up too late, and fall into easy, consuming Sex. With him, Noelle is fearless, sharing truths she’s never spoken out loud, because it’s safe when she's never going to see him again.
When she leaves, she’s lighter. A little sad, but okay. Missing him feels harmless,after all, how much damage can a memory do?
She’s wrong.
Days later, at an event, she sees him again.
Roman Ashford. Her ex-fiancé’s estranged stepbrother.
Five years abroad, now back and looking at her like he already knows everything. Because he does.
Noelle wants to run. Roman doesn’t let her.
He remembers Santorini. Every conversation. Every touch. Every moment she let herself unravel. And he has no intention of pretending it never happened.
Within weeks, he buys her company just to keep her close.
Noelle tells herself it’s too complicated. The family tension is already fragile. Getting involved would be reckless.
She almost believes it.
Then she misses her cycle. She's not pregnant.
At a family event, Roman’s mother and Noelle’s father come face to face and it’s clear they share a past no one ever spoke about. Then someone said Roman and Noelle look… similar.
What if the problem isn’t just complicated but forbidden?
The truth unravels slowly, then all at once.
They are not related. They never were.
The reason Noelle held onto is gone.
And Roman is done waiting.
Baca
Chapter: Chapter one hundred and fiftyEPILOGUENOELLE'S POVOne year later.The morning light came in soft through the curtains of our bedroom. I woke slowly, feeling the warm weight of Roman’s arm around me and the quiet, and the small, unmistakable curve of my stomach beneath his hand.I was pregnant.Five months along. Healthy. Happy. Still sometimes in disbelief.Roman stirred behind me and pressed a kiss to the back of my shoulder.“Morning, my daelt wife,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.I smiled into the pillow.“Morning, husband.”We had gotten married three months after Santorini, in a small ceremony overlooking the water with only the people who mattered most. Bria had stood beside me, crying unapologetically. Derek had been there too, quieter than before but genuinely present. Sylvia had held my hands and told me she was glad her son had found his way home. It had been simple and perfect.Now the ring on my finger felt as natural as breathing.Roman’s hand moved gently over my stomach.“How are my girls th
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-03
Chapter: Chapter one hundred and forty-nineTHE QUESTIONNOELLE'S POVHe was still holding my hand across the small table. The caldera stretched out behind him in deep gold and soft purple. Lanterns glowed along the edge of the terrace. The same bar. The same view. The same man who had once been a stranger and was now the center of my life.His thumb moved once over my knuckles.“Noelle,” he said again, voice quieter this time.I waited. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my throat.Roman looked down for a second, as if gathering something from deep inside himself. When he lifted his eyes again, they were completely open. No walls. No careful distance. Just him.“I have spent a long time trying to be a man who didn’t need anyone,” he began. “I thought it was safer. Cleaner. I thought if I never let anyone too close, nothing could be taken from me. Then I met you.”A soft breath left me.“Those ten days were supposed to be temporary,” he continued. “I told myself that over and over. No last names. No promises. Just
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-03
Chapter: Chapter one hundred and forty-eightTHE SAME TABLENOELLE'S POVThe sun was already lowering when we reached the cliffside bar.Golden light spilled across the white stone path. The air smelled of salt and warm earth and the faint sweetness of wine. Soft music drifted from inside, something slow and old that seemed to belong only to this place. Roman’s hand stayed wrapped around mine as we walked the final steps. His fingers were steady, but I could feel a quiet tension in him that had not been there earlier in the day.He had been thoughtful since the beach. Not distant. Just full of something he was not yet saying. Every so often I had caught him looking at me like he was measuring the moment, deciding when to speak.The entrance looked exactly the same.The same wooden sign hanging above the open doorway. The same wide opening that framed the caldera in one perfect view. The same low tables set along the edge where the drop met the sky.I slowed without meaning to. My heart gave a small, unexpected pull.Roman gl
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-03
Chapter: Chapter one hundred and forty-sevenFULL CIRCLENOELLE'S POVMorning light spilled across the white sheets.I woke before Roman. For a few quiet minutes I simply watched him sleep. His face was relaxed, one arm still stretched toward the place where I had been lying. Soft sea air moved through the open windows. Somewhere outside, a church bell rang once, then twice, the sound clear and distant in the morning quiet.Santorini.We were really here.I slipped out of bed carefully so I would not wake him, pulled on one of his shirts, and walked out onto the terrace. The stone was already warm under my bare feet. The caldera stretched wide and blue beneath a clear sky. White buildings cascaded down the cliffs like they had been poured there by hand. Boats moved slowly on the water far below. I rested my hands on the warm railing and breathed in the morning. The air smelled clean, like salt and sun and something dry from the hills.Behind me, I heard movement. A moment later Roman’s arms slid around my waist. He kissed the ba
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-03
Chapter: Chapter one hundred and forty-sixLANDINGNOELLE'S POVThe plane touched down just as the sun began to lower in the sky.I felt the wheels meet the runway with a soft jolt and opened my eyes. Roman’s arm was still around me. He had stayed awake most of the flight, holding me while I slept against his side. When I looked up at him, he was already watching me with a quiet expression that made my chest tighten in the best way.“We’re here,” he said softly.I sat up slowly and looked out the window. The familiar white buildings clung to the cliffs in the distance like they had been waiting. Even from the airport I could feel the island settling into my bones like something I had never fully left behind. The light was golden and soft, the same light I remembered from years ago.We gathered our things in silence. There was no need for many words. The private car Roman had arranged was already waiting on the tarmac. The driver loaded our bags while Roman kept his hand on my lower back, steady and warm. As we drove away from
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-02
Chapter: Chapter one hundred and forty-fiveWHILE SHE SLEEPSROMAN'S POVThe plane was quiet.Soft cabin lights glowed low along the floor. Outside the oval windows the sky had turned a deep, endless blue. We were somewhere over the ocean now, hours into the flight to Santorini. The crew stayed in the front. The rear cabin door remained closed.Noelle slept against me.Her head rested on my chest, one arm draped across my stomach, her breathing slow and even. The blanket I had pulled over us covered her bare shoulders. Every now and then she made a small sound in her sleep and pressed closer, as if even unconscious she wanted to stay near me.I did not sleep. I only watched her.My fingers moved slowly through her hair, careful not to wake her. The strands were soft. Her face in sleep was peaceful in a way I rarely saw when she was awake. The little line that sometimes appeared between her brows when she was thinking too hard had smoothed away. Her lips were slightly parted. She looked younger. Safer. Completely mine in this qu
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-02
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