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홈 / Romance / Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy / Chapter 8 Fragments of her

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Chapter 8 Fragments of her

작가: Fabian
last update 최신 업데이트: 2025-08-29 07:08:49
The door clicked shut behind Ariana Blake, sealing her out of his office, but not out of his head. Not even close.

Damien Voss stared at the space where she’d stood, the ghost of her presence lingering like the faint, clean scent of rain on skin—jasmine, maybe, something soft that had no business in his sterile, steel-and-glass domain. He could still see the defiant set of her shoulders, the way her knuckles had whitened around that ridiculous coffee cup, the raw, unvarnished fury in her eyes when she’d looked at him.

"Acceptable."

That’s all he’d said. A single, dismissive word for what had clearly been a Herculean effort on her part. He should have felt satisfaction. He should have felt the cold, sharp thrill of control, of watching her scramble and sweat and nearly break under the weight of his impossible demands.

Instead, he felt… nothing. And then, worse, he felt something.

He picked up the blue porcelain cup. The coffee inside was still warm. Perfectly brewed. He took a slow
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  • Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy   Chapter 17: Fractured Glances

    Damien’s POV:Damien moved through the hallway with purposeful strides, his swollen eyes stinging under the fluorescent lights, a remnant of the night's failed attempts to sleep. The scotch had burned but not erased the memory, the emails had piled up but not distracted him, and the treadmill's steady thump had only echoed the chaos in his head. Now, the place felt like a minefield, every corner was a potential run-in with Ariana Blake. He kept his gaze forward, sunglasses tucked into his pocket, determined to keep the day on track. Avoidance was key—no glances her way, no unnecessary words. That slip in his office was a blip, nothing worth dwelling on.He headed for the conference room with a stack of notes for the upcoming client pitch, but his mind wandered to her. Ariana's desk was in his periphery, but he couldn't look and couldn't afford to. She was his assistant, a temporary piece in the business puzzle, not someone who could throw him off balance like this. The board's lat

  • Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy   Chapter 16 A place of solace

    Ariana Pov The apartment was quiet now. The only sounds were Lily’s soft, hitching breaths as she cried herself to sleep against my shoulder, and the distant, rhythmic 'drip… drip… drip' of the kitchen faucet—the one we could never quite fix. Veronica’s door remained shut, it was a silent barrier between her grief and ours. I stayed on the floor beside Lily’s armchair long after her sobs subsided into exhausted silence, long after her breathing evened out into sleep. I didn’t move. I just held her, my cheek resting on the top of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo, it's cheap and fruity from the drugstore. It was a small, grounding comfort in a world that felt like it was spinning off its axis. "How much longer can I do this?" The question from earlier echoed, louder now in the stillness. It wasn’t just about the physical exhaustion, the double shifts, the impossible demands of Damien Voss. It was the emotional toll. The constant vigilance. The weight of being

  • Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy   Chapter 15 A little hope

    “He didn’t make me cry, Mother,” Ariana said, her voice flat and weary. She walked to the kitchenette, needing distance, needing to do something with her hands. She filled a glass with water, the sound loud in the tense silence. “Oh, so he’s being nice now, is he?” Veronica’s laugh was harsh and grating. “That’s even worse! That’s how they get you, Ana. They lull you into a false sense of security. First, it’s a kind word, then it’s a touch, then….” “Stop it!” Ariana whirled around, the glass of water trembling in her hand. The dam broke. The exhaustion, the fear, the constant pressure, it all surged up, hot and furious. “Just stop it! You weren’t there! You don’t know what he’s like!” “I know what his father was like!” Veronica shot to her feet, her glass sloshing dangerously. “A snake! A liar! And Damien Voss is cut from the same rotten cloth! He’s playing with you, Ariana! He’s dangling that pathetic little company in front of you like a carrot, and you’re letting him lead you

  • Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy   Chapter 14 A second life

    Ariana pov The bell above the door jingled its tired, familiar song as Ariana pushed inside, the damp chill of the evening clinging to her coat. Friday night at Maggie’s meant sticky vinyl booths, the sizzle of burgers on the grill, and the low hum of off-shift nurses, taxi drivers, and students cramming for exams. It also meant her second job. Her second life outside Damien's cold attitude. She’d clocked out of Voss Enterprises at 6:00 PM sharp, Damien hadn’t called her back in, it was a small mercy, but the reprieve was short-lived. By 7:00 PM, she’d swapped her pencil skirt for black slacks and a slightly-too-big server’s apron, tying her hair back with a band she kept in her locker. “Order up! Two eggs over easy, hash browns crispy, and the blue plate special—hold the attitude, honey, you’re off shift in twenty.” Maggie’s voice, warm and raspy, cut through the clatter. Ariana didn’t need to look up. She knew the rhythm, the dance. She slid the heavy plate onto the counter,

  • Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy   Chapter 13 A little light

    Ariana pov “Thank you, Clara. Really.” Ariana stood, feeling a genuine warmth spread through her chest. It was a small thing, but in this cold, calculating world, it felt like a beacon. As she walked back to her desk, the weight on her shoulders felt a little lighter. Clara’s words echoed in her mind. "He’s still my brother. He just buries it deep." She glanced at Damien’s office door. Was there really something beneath the ice? Or was Clara just trying to make her feel better? She sat down, pulling up the Tokyo acquisition files Damien had asked for earlier. She’d found them, highlighted the key points, just as he’d… expected? Demanded? She wasn’t sure anymore. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, her mind sharp, focused. She was good at this. Better than she’d thought. The thrill of solving the puzzle, of understanding the complex financials and market analyses, was almost… enjoyable. She was so engrossed she didn’t hear the door to Damien’s office open. She only looked up w

  • Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy   Chapter 12 A silent hope

    Ariana The bright, sterile lights of Voss Enterprises felt like a heavy weight on Ariana's shoulders. She sat at her desk, the smooth surface reflecting the harsh overhead glow, almost mocking the turmoil inside her. Damien's office door was shut tight, a solid wall of glass and steel, but she could still sense him on the other side. The memory of his gaze, that strange flicker of something when she'd fixed the projector, made her neck flush with heat again. She forced herself to focus on her screen, staring at the complicated calendar she was supposed to handle. "Damien Voss: Tokyo Acquisition Call – 3 PM. Finance Follow-Up – 4:30 PM. Dinner with..." She squinted at the name. "Julian Carter?" Her stomach tightened. Julian—the smooth-talking guy who'd warned her to watch her back. Why was Damien meeting him for dinner? A soft ping from her computer snapped her out of it. An internal message from Clara Voss. "Ariana, could you pop by my office when you have a moment? No rush. Ju

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