Novels by Bil

Julian exhaled slowly, nodding. “I don’t want you to forget,” he murmured. “I just want you to let me make it right.”His fingers brushed over her knuckles, tentative, as if giving her the chance to pull away. But she didn’t. She let him hold her hands, let him be close.“I spent years blaming your father for what happened to mine,” Julian continued, his voice thick with emotion. “And maybe some of that blame was justified. But I made the mistake of thinking you were just another extension of him, that hurting you would somehow fix what was broken inside me.”A pained look crossed his face, regret etched into every feature. “But all I did was hurt the one person who had nothing to do with any of it. And I will never forgive myself for that.”Alexis swallowed the lump in her throat, her own regrets beginning to surface.She had tried to ignore the way her heart had ached in his absence. She had told herself she was better off without him, that his betrayal had severed the connection be

As they strolled beneath the Eiffel Tower, the golden glow of the city casting long shadows around them, Alexis felt an unfamiliar warmth settle in her chest. She had spent so long running, from her past, from Julian, from herself. But now, in this moment, it was as if time had slowed, allowing her to breathe, to truly take it all in.Julian didn’t rush her. He simply walked beside her, their fingers still loosely intertwined, as if he was afraid that if he held on too tightly, she would slip away.“Do you remember what you told me that night?” Julian asked softly.Alexis frowned slightly, searching her memory. “Which night?”“The night of the gala,” he clarified, glancing at her with a knowing look. “You told me that I was a mistake waiting to happen.”Alexis let out a small, breathy laugh. “That does sound like something I would say.”Julian’s lips curved into a smirk. “And you weren’t wrong.”Alexis tilted her head up, watching the soft glow of the tower above them. “It wasn’t just

Harrison Montgomery had always been a man of power, control, and strategy. He built an empire from the ground up, ensuring that his family never lacked anything. To him, emotions were liabilities, love was a distraction, and personal connections were just another battlefield where the strongest prevailed.And yet, as he stood by the large windows of his estate, watching his daughter through the glass as she sat in the garden, something in him shifted.Alexis was smiling. A real, genuine smile.For months, she had walked around with a guarded expression, a shadow of the confident, fierce woman he had raised. She had been betrayed, humiliated, and hurt in ways no father would ever want for his child. He had watched her hide her pain behind work, pretending she was fine, but he had known better.But now, this was different.She was laughing softly as she stared at her phone, a small, almost shy smile on her lips. Her fingers hovered over the screen, typing something before deleting it an

Julian answered on the first ring.“Alexis?” His voice was cautious, unsure.She swallowed hard, her grip on the phone tightening as she stood outside his childhood home. The wind rustled through the overgrown grass, carrying with it the echoes of the past she had just walked through.“I went to your house,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.Silence.For a long moment, there was nothing but his breath on the other end of the line. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough, strained. “You didn’t have to do that.”“But I did,” she countered. “I had to see it. I had to understand.”A bitter chuckle escaped him. “And? Do you understand now? Do you finally see what your father did to me?”Her heart clenched at the raw pain in his voice.“I see everything, Julian,” she said softly. “The eviction notices, the empty cabinets… the house falling apart. You had nothing.”He exhaled shakily. “We had worse than nothing.”She closed her eyes, imagining a younger Julian standing in th

Julian sat in his car, gripping the steering wheel tightly. His heart still pounded in his chest, the image of Alexis standing in the doorway burned into his mind.She hadn’t told him to leave.She hadn’t slammed the door in his face.That had to mean something, didn’t it?He let out a heavy breath, resting his forehead against the wheel. He had spent so long fighting battles against Charlotte, against his mother, against the world… but this was the most important fight of all. The one for Alexis.And if waiting was what it took, then he would wait.He just prayed she would give him the chance to prove himself before it was too late.Julian knew better than to push.For the first time in his life, he was stepping back, not because he was giving up, but because he finally understood that love wasn’t something he could win like a business deal or a war. Alexis wasn’t a prize to be claimed. She was a woman who had been hurt, who had every right to doubt him, and if he truly wanted a futu

Alexis pressed the power button on her phone, silencing the vibration that followed Julian’s call. Her heart was pounding, her emotions tangled in a war between longing and self preservation. She had spent weeks convincing herself that she was done with him, that she had buried every last trace of love she had for him beneath the rubble of his betrayal.But then, there he was, standing in front of the entire world, stripping himself of his armor and baring his soul in a way she never thought he would. And now, she didn’t know what to do with the feelings clawing their way back to the surface.A knock at the door jolted her from her thoughts. Her breath caught. Had he come to see her? No, Julian wouldn’t be that reckless, would he?Slowly, she made her way to the door, her pulse racing. When she opened it, she wasn’t sure whether she felt relieved or disappointed to see Sophia standing there instead.“Can I come in?” Sophia asked softly, her eyes searching Alexis’ face.Alexis stepped

Vera pressed her forehead to her knees, struggling to breathe past the ache in her chest.Asher loved her. That much was clear. He loved her so deeply that he was planning to give up everything just to be with her. And now, he had no idea what his family was doing behind his back.He didn’t know that the walls were closing in. That his empire, his name, was being used to strangle them both.Could she live with herself if he lost everything?Could she forgive herself if his company was ripped away because of her?She could hear his voice in her head, teasing her, calling her Star. Whispering promises, telling her she was the only one who saw him.And now, she had to choose.Vera stood slowly. Her limbs were stiff from sitting too long, her body numb from the emotional battle raging inside her. She glanced around the penthouse, his scent lingered faintly in the cushions, in his jacket hanging by the door, in the empty glass he last drank from.It felt like his space. Their space.Her ga

There was no accusation in the words. Just observation. Calm, deliberate. But it still hit a nerve.“She’s not some girl,” Asher said. “And trust me, I’ve handled every threat that’s come my way since I took this position. Vera’s not the reason things feel off here.”Everett gave him a knowing smile. “Be careful. The higher you climb, the more people want to take what you have, and the more they’ll use the people closest to you to get it.”Asher narrowed his eyes, fingers tightening around the edge of his chair. “If you know something I don’t, Everett, now’s the time to tell me.”“Just advice from someone who’s been around longer,” Everett replied, raising his glass. “Don’t let your heart blind your mind.”Asher didn’t respond. He just watched as his uncle stood and walked back out into the corridor, leaving him in the echoing silence of the suite.He reached for his phone again. Still no reply from Vera.Maybe she was asleep. Or maybe she was working on that little studio she had hin

"Made it through another long day. Missing you a little too much tonight. Hope you’re working too hard so I don’t look lovesick alone."Vera stared at the screen, her throat tightening.He still didn’t know. He had no idea about Elena. About Sarah. About his own family.She should tell him. But she couldn’t. Not yet. Not while he was dealing with work and his own pressures. Not while she still hadn’t figured out what exactly she wanted from all of this.So instead, she typed:"Tried to work today, but failed miserably. Might need you back sooner than you think."Then she deleted it.She tried again."Was thinking about you. Penthouse is too quiet without your arrogant self around."She deleted that one too.In the end, she simply sent:"Hope today wasn’t too hard. I miss you."Short. Honest. Barely revealing the storm inside her.She dropped the phone beside her and lay back down on the couch, staring at the ceiling as exhaustion swept through her.Her mind wandered to the studio she

They drank in silence for a while.The tea was jasmine, fragrant and delicate. Vera couldn’t tell if it had been made for Elena or if this had always been her preference. It didn’t matter.Elena shifted again and coughed once more, longer this time. It sounded worse than before, and for the first time, Vera felt something unfamiliar stir in her chest: pity, maybe. Or something close to sadness.“I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder for you,” Elena said suddenly. “I’m sorry I made fear look like control. I lived for the family name. You remind me not to.”Vera stared at her. “Then maybe you can do one thing before you go.”Elena looked up, surprised. “What’s that?”“Don’t let them use my name again to clean up the family image. Don’t try to fix your sins by pushing me into your dynasty. I don’t need their wealth or their spotlight.”Elena nodded. “I won’t.”“Good.” Vera stood. “Then maybe this wasn’t a wasted visit after all.”Elena looked at her, and there was something wet in her eyes now

Vera stayed by the doorway, not yet ready to move closer.There was a silence between them, long and thick with the weight of everything that had gone unsaid for too many years.“I’m not here for reconciliation,” Vera said suddenly. “I’m not here to play pretend family. I just… I didn’t want to hate myself if something happened.”A silence stretched, but to her surprise, Elena nodded.“I don’t expect your forgiveness,” she said softly. “God knows I wouldn’t give it, if I were in your place.”That cracked something in Vera. It was the first honest thing she’d ever heard from this woman.“I wanted to meet you before it was too late,” Elena continued, eyes flickering to the sunlight filtering through the windows. “Not as a Sterling. Not as the mother who failed you. Just… as a woman who made too many mistakes and is out of time to fix them.”Vera looked at her for a long moment, her throat tight.“Then don’t ask me for anything,” she said. “Don’t ask me to be a daughter. Just let me say

Vera stood and walked to the small window of her studio.Outside, the city moved with its usual rhythm, cars buzzing, people walking, horns blaring in the distance. But inside her, everything had slowed to a crawl.She thought about her childhood, the quiet streets of the village, the small house that had never quite felt like hers, the whispered secrets about the rich family that had once lost a baby girl. About the day her entire world shifted, and she was pulled into a glittering, icy place that never felt like home.She had tried to make peace with the Sterlings. Tried to understand them. But there had always been a wall. Especially with Elena.And now she was being asked to walk into that world again. To see the woman who had abandoned her. To sit at her deathbed and pretend to care.But was it pretending?Vera wasn’t sure anymore.She ran a hand through her hair and reached for her phone again. Her thumb hovered over Eliza’s number for a moment before she set it back down.Not y