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

Elena took a single step closer.Roman’s face flickered through her mind. Jace’s relief. The life she had built piece by piece after escaping this man.“You already don’t exist in my world,” she said gently. “You’re just noise now.”That was the final blow.Marcus screamed and pulled the trigger…And the sound that followed wasn’t a gunshot.It was boots.Shouts.Glass shattering as the walls of Marcus’s illusion finally collapsed.Roman’s men stormed in from every direction, weapons trained, voices sharp and commanding.“DROP IT!”Marcus spun, panic overtaking rage, gun wavering between Elena and the door.Elena didn’t flinch.She held his gaze one last time.“This is where it ends,” she said. “Not together.”Marcus looked at her. And in her eyes, he saw it.Not love.Not regret.Closure.His hand fell.The gun hit the floor with a hollow clatter.Marcus dropped to his knees, the Phantom Wolf finally stripped down to a man who had built his entire existence around someone who had alr

Marcus stared at her, rage and grief and longing colliding until none of it made sense anymore.“Choose,” he said again, weaker now. “Me. Or him.”Elena met his eyes.“I choose,” she said, each word deliberate, “to end this.”Marcus’s face twisted, the last threads of control unraveling as the truth finally reached him. That no matter how tight his grip on the detonator was… He had already lost her.Marcus didn’t know the clock had started running against him.Elena stood perfectly still, every breath measured, every expression carefully chosen. To him, it looked like hesitation. Like conflict. Like a woman cornered into making the hardest decision of her life.In truth, she was buying time.Miles away, Roman was already moving.The door to the locked room exploded inward with controlled force, Roman’s men flooding in before the sound could finish echoing. Jace barely had time to look up before hands were on him, steady and firm, cutting restraints, dragging him away from the center o

Something in Marcus finally broke.Not loudly at first. Not all at once.It cracked.“You still talk like that,” he said, a tremor slipping into his voice despite his effort to steady it. “Like you’ve rewritten the past just because it’s inconvenient now.”Elena didn’t move. She didn’t soften. That restraint did more damage than anger ever could.“I didn’t rewrite anything,” she said calmly. “I chose it.”That did it.Marcus laughed, sharp and fractured, dragging a hand through his hair as he turned away, pacing like the walls had suddenly closed in on him.“Chose it?,” he repeated bitterly. “You say that like I was the enemy.”He spun back to her, eyes blazing now, control unraveling thread by thread.“I was the one who kept you alive,” he snapped. “When you were nothing. When the world wanted to swallow you whole. I was there.”Elena’s voice stayed level. “You were there because you needed me dependent.”“No,” Marcus roared, slamming his fist into the wall hard enough to make the li

Roman’s breath went shallow. “Elena…”Marcus’s voice sharpened. “I save you. That’s the point. I give you a way out. I always have.”Elena’s eyes opened, cold and steady. “You’re not saving me. You’re proving you never knew me.”A pause.“You always did this,” Marcus said. “Turned my worst instincts into villains so you didn’t have to face what we were.”“We were never ‘we,’” Elena replied. “You were possession pretending to be love.”Roman took her hand, squeezing once. Not to stop her. To anchor her.“Elena,” he said quietly, “we can do this together.”She looked at him, and the moment held everything they didn’t need to say. Then she turned back to the call.“I’ll come,” Elena said. “You’ll release Jace first.”Marcus smiled into the line. She could hear it. “No. You come. I show you. You disarm it. He walks.”“And if you lie?”“I don’t lie about exits,” Marcus said. “I build them.”Elena ended the call.For a beat, no one spoke.Roman’s voice broke the silence, controlled fury und

Marcus’s jaw flexed. “Roman Thorne bleeds like anyone else.”“Maybe,” Jace said. “But he doesn’t burn down alone.”Marcus stepped closer, anger bleeding through the composure now. “You think you’re warning me?”“I am,” Jace said. “Because whatever you think this is, whatever fantasy you’ve built where she comes back to you…”He met Marcus’s gaze without flinching.“…it ends the moment Roman walks into the room.”Marcus’s laugh returned, thinner this time. “You really believe he scares me?”“I believe,” Jace said evenly, “that men like you only feel brave until the war stops being one sided.”Marcus stared at him, something calculating churning behind his eyes.“You were never supposed to grow a spine,” he said. “You were supposed to stay small.”Jace exhaled slowly. “That’s where you fucked up.”Marcus straightened, smoothing his jacket, the assassin sliding back over the cracks in his rage.“Enjoy your courage while you have it,” he said. “You’ve already served your purpose.”He turn

Meanwhile, time had stopped meaning anything.Elena leaned back against the desk, bare skin warm against cool glass, Roman’s hands moving over her like he was relearning her all over again.They’d been at it for hours. Screens dimmed. Systems paused mid process. A rare truce between urgency and want.“This isn’t a break,” Elena murmured, breathless.Roman smiled against her shoulder. “It’s maintenance.”She laughed softly before the sound dissolved into something lower, something unguarded.They moved together without thinking, drifting from the chair to the couch, then further, pressed against walls that had heard more secrets than confessions ever could.Nothing else existed.Just heat.Just closeness.Just the illusion that the world could wait.Roman’s forehead rested against hers, their breathing uneven, hands still tracing familiar paths as if grounding each other.And then...Beep.Sharp. Artificial. Out of place.Elena froze.Another beep followed, more insistent this time, sl

Vera had stepped fully into her role as CEO of the Sterling Group, transforming it into one of the most formidable business empires in the country.Her leadership was steady yet bold, and her reputation as both strategist and visionary had silenced every critic who once doubted her.She commanded respect not because of her family name, but because she had earned it.Asher, meanwhile, stood unshaken at the helm of Donovan Group. Ruthless in business yet tender with his family, he had rebuilt the company’s legacy into one of integrity and strength.But beyond the accolades, beyond the flashing headlines that often followed them, it was this, the quiet laughter of their child, the warmth of family gathered, that truly mattered.As the children continued their games, Vera leaned into Asher slightly, her voice low. “She’s so happy,” she whispered.Asher’s lips curved into a small smile. “She deserves nothing less. After everything, she deserves the world.”Vera glanced toward Mrs. Fontaine

Vera’s hand rose, cupping his cheek, forcing him to meet her gaze again. “It makes you a man who finally stopped enabling a monster. Asher, you didn’t do this because you wanted to hurt her. You did it because if you didn’t, she would have destroyed us.”She leaned in, her forehead pressing against his. “You did it for me. For Eira. That is not something to hate yourself for. That is something to hold onto.”He closed his eyes, and his body sagged. The tension melted, leaving behind exhaustion so deep it made him tremble.He let out a shaky breath, and Vera held him through it, her arms slipping around him as if she could anchor him back to the life they still had.“You’re not alone,” she whispered into his ear. “You’ll never be alone, Asher. Not while we’re here.”He clung to her then, his walls finally breaking in the safety of her embrace.His fingers dug into her waist as if she were the only thing tethering him to the ground.For Asher Donovan, power had always been about control

Evelyn's knees buckled, and for the first time in my life, Vera saw Evelyn Donovan crumble.She sank into the chair behind her, her manicured hands clutching the armrests as though the ground beneath her had disappeared.Her shoulders shook, not with delicate sobs, but with the raw, guttural cries of a woman who had lost everything she had ever built her identity upon.“You can’t leave me like this,” she wept. “Don’t leave me alone…”Loneliness. The one thing Evelyn had always feared more than death.She had surrounded herself with influence, with people who bowed to her power, with the illusion of loyalty, but deep down, she had always known that none of it was love. And now, even the illusion was gone.Asher’s face didn’t flinch. He stood like stone, though you could see the tremor in his clenched fists, the tightening of his jaw.“This is mercy,” he said quietly. “Because prison would have been easier. At least there, you’d have company.”Her cry ripped through the room.Vera swall

Sarah was supposed to be her weapon. A perfect instrument, polished, loyal, and pliable enough to execute Evelyn’s designs against Vera without dirtying Evelyn’s own hands. And yet, here she was, reduced to a national spectacle, dragged through the mud, her name blackened beyond repair.It wasn’t just Sarah’s ruin Evelyn was watching.It was a message.Asher’s message.Her son had finally turned his hand against her, and instead of coming directly for her, he had chosen to dismantle her pawn first, publicly, mercilessly, and with precision so calculated it sent a chill through Evelyn’s veins.She rose from her chair and moved to the window, clutching the silk of her robe tightly around her.The city skyline glittered beyond the Donovan estate, but for once it did not comfort her.“Asher…” she whispered under her breath, her tone trembling between disbelief and rage. “You dare.”Memories of the confrontation with him days earlier, the cold finality in his voice, the way his eyes had sh

“You’re asking me to destroy my own mother,” Asher murmured, his voice low, almost ragged.“I’m asking you,” Vera shot back, her tone razor sharp, “to choose the family you built, the one standing in front of you, over the woman who’s been tearing it apart since the beginning.”Her chest heaved as she leaned closer, her hand pressing against his chest, right over his heart. “Asher, look at me. Look at what she’s done. To me. To you. To our daughter.” Her voice cracked again, her anger shaking under the weight of her grief. “Dorian is dead because of her. And Eira…” Vera’s lips quivered. “Eira might never feel safe again. How many more times are you going to let her burn everything we love before you finally stop her?”The silence that followed was suffocating.Asher closed his eyes, his breath jagged.He wanted to say I can’t.He wanted to admit that every instinct in him screamed against turning on his mother, no matter how vile her sins. But another voice, darker, sharper, echoed lo

Asher poured himself a glass of scotch, the amber liquid trembling in his hand.He didn’t drink it. He set it down hard on the desk and braced his palms against the wood. His reflection in the glass window stared back at him, the ruthless heir, the man who could destroy empires without blinking. But when it came to his mother, when it came to her, he was a boy again, chained by blood, unable to lift the sword."Asher Donovan," he muttered bitterly to himself, "you can tear the world apart… but you can’t cut down the woman who’s burning your family alive."His throat tightened. His jaw clenched. He wanted to scream. To smash the glass. To break free from the invisible leash that Evelyn had wrapped around him since birth.But all he did was stand there in the suffocating silence, hating himself for the one truth he couldn’t change.He could fight anyone.He could end anyone.Except her...................Vera sat on the edge of the couch, arms folded tightly across her chest, her gaze