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Chapter 17 - A Ring, Not A Leash
Last Updated:
2025-04-11 10:40:10
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Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 18 - On His Arm, In The Fire
AriaThe doorbell blares just as I strap on my shoes.Talk about perfect timing. I head to my bed to grab my purse. The ‘nannies’ Damon hired had just left a few minutes ago, but I have to admit, they did a fantastic job on my face - I look ravishingly beautiful.I open the door to find Damon standing outside, his hands tucked into his pockets, looking annoyingly handsome like always. I look up to meet his gaze, but his eyes are elsewhere, scanning me from head to toe with an assessing glance. I step out of the apartment and close the door behind me“Do I meet your expectations, Mr Stone? I’m not dressed like I’m going to a park, am I?” I ask, the sarcasm in my voice finally catching his attention.He clears his throat, “This will do for tonight,” He says, then turns away without another glance and walks to the elevator.Would it kill this man to be civil? Who raised him? Wolves? I shake my head and proceed into the elevator on his tail.“The ‘nannies’ you hired did a pretty good job,
Last Updated : 2025-04-12Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 19 - Under Watchful Eyes
AriaI plaster a wide smile on my face as Damon leads me to sit.“It’s nice to meet you all. I’ve heard so much,” I say, bowing slightly on my seat beside Damon. His mother is sat at the right, while his father is at the head of the table. She must be his favourite wife.There’s an awkward silence as I look around the dining table, scanning their faces to gauge their reactions to my presence. Michael Stone looks at me with an unreadable expression, studying me in an attempt to find something that gives me away. Damon has so much resemblance to his father, especially with his eyes.I smile at him and avert my eyes, shifting it to the person sitting by his left. It’s Damon’s stepmother, Grace Stone. I spent the past week familiarising myself with their names, looks, traits – you name it.She meets my eyes and shoots me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Her son, James, is sitted beside her, gaping at me like he just saw a ghost. He averts his eyes from me quickly when I meet his
Last Updated : 2025-04-12Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 20 - Between Brothers
Aria"Yes. You."Joshua's smirk irritates me in a way that makes me want to both slap him and look away. Yet, I can’t seem to pull my eyes from his. The heat creeping up my cheeks is undeniable.I shoot him a glare, my disbelief evident. "Excuse me?" I snap. "Are you seriously hitting on me outside the bathroom?"He shrugs, completely unfazed by my reaction. "Relax, Aria. I'm joking. Sort of. You’re beautiful, though. And technically, you’re not married yet."I fold my arms, a wave of disgust washing over me. "You followed me out here just to say that?"He raises his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. I’m just saying, if my brother ever messes up—and trust me, he will—you have options. Namely, me."My jaw clenches, anger bubbling just beneath the surface. I open my mouth to retort, but before I can say anything, a familiar voice cuts through the tension."Babe?"Damon.My heart skips a beat as I turn to see him striding towards me. His movements are deliberate, but I can sense the
Last Updated : 2025-04-13Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 21 - Feeding The Wolves
AriaThe lights inside the mansion are blinding after the dimness of the garden. I blink against them, pulse still raging, my breath catching with each step. The argument outside plays on a loop in my head—Damon’s cold accusation, the slap, his warning.I push open the doors to the dining room, and everything screeches back to life. Everyone’s still seated. Joshua walks in a moment after me, all too pleased with himself. He’s still smirking. I can feel Damon’s presence behind me—rigid, burning with restraint.I walk past Joshua without looking at him and take my seat beside Damon. His chair scrapes slightly as he sits last, his expression carved from stone. I don’t acknowledge him.Grace’s voice slices through the room like a knife. “So, Aria, tell us more about your family. You said they’re from Maryland? What kind of business did they run again?”My eyes widen in surprise. “Hardware. My—my father ran a chain of hardware stores.”“Really? What’s the company called? Maybe I’ve heard o
Last Updated : 2025-04-13Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 22 - Off Script
Damon“Is everything alright here?”Mum. Of course.“Yes, Mum. Why wouldn’t it be?”“I just noticed you both weren’t in the sitting room and thought I’d check in,” she says.Just as I’m about to speak, Ava cuts in. “Yeah—I needed an escape from Grace’s endless questions. Is she always like that, or am I just lucky?”“Oh, dear. She’s always been a sour one. You’ve got to be careful around her,” Mum says, slipping into an easy rhythm with Ava as they walk off together.One minute she’s furious and throwing slaps, the next she’s in full character. I really did make the best choice for an actress.“Sweetheart, you’re just going to leave me standing here?” I call out, stopping them.“My love, quit whining. A few more hours and you’ll have my full attention,” Ava says, then ambles back over. With a soft smile, she brushes her lips against mine in a tender kiss, catching me completely off guard. It’s brief. Soft. But it sends a stupid, involuntary jolt through me, like my lips haven’t gotte
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 23 - She Was Here
Damon“She’s gone.”What??!“What the hell do you mean by that, Leo? What happened? You were supposed to watch her, dammit,” I curse through the phone, barely keeping it together.“She was right here. I briefly stepped away from the door to check with the other assignment you gave me. The other guys were on their brea—”I cut him off before he can finish. “For fuck’s sake, Leo! This is more important than any other task I send your way. You better find her. NOW!”My voice booms through the line. “The freaking instruction was ‘Man her door at all times!’ I say one thing! One! And you all decide to do the opposite!” I end the call before I say something worse.Ava. Ava. Ava.I should’ve known. Should’ve predicted it. She’s always been like this—impulsive, unpredictable. But I didn’t think she’d actually do it. Not this time.Where do I even start? What kind of story can I manufacture to Father? Those vultures at home already think she’s a fake– just a pretty face I pulled in for appeara
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 24 - Controlled Chaos
AriaHow he manages to get under my skin is something that’ll probably take me a while to understand. He’s lucky I haven’t figured out a way to reach Ava. Contract or no contract, I’d have been long gone.Accusing me of seducing his brother? How low could he possibly go? I feel both satisfaction and regret from the way I acted—slapping him.Nobody should have the power to rile me up. Not like that. Not in public.I’ve always been the one to respond with indifference and calmness, rather than lashing out. But ever since I woke from the coma, I’ve been reactive. I never knew I had it in me—until the ill-fated day I met Grumpy.Time and time again, I surprised even myself.For the first time, Damon was at a loss for words. And why?A kiss.In that moment, as I waltzed over to him with a fake smile plastered across my face, I had no idea what I was doing.But the closer I got, the clearer it became.Shut him up with a kiss. And I did. Just lightly—but I did.I caught the look of surprise
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 25 - Suture Suitor
Aria Light penetrates my eyes before I even open them.It's crisp and clinical, and everything smells like antiseptic and plastic. There’s a quiet hum beneath everything—machines, perhaps. The continuous beep of a monitor next to me confirms something I don't want to admit.Hospital. Again.I try to move, but my arms fail me. There's an IV in the back of my hand.I open my eyes.Fluorescent ceiling tiles hang above me. A hanging drape is drawn halfway around the bed, and a hard sheet covers me up to my chest. My body feels as if it has been dropped down a precipice and then regretfully sewn back together.My lips are dry, and my tongue tastes like metal. When I try to speak, all I manage to let out is a cracked, hollow rasp.The memories come in fragments.Running. The park. Barking dogs.Damon—shouting, furious.His tight grip on my arms. Me yelling.Then the ground. A jolt. Everything turning black.The monitor beside me spikes with my heartbeat.The door swings open, and Dr Jenna
Last Updated : 2025-04-15
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Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 83 - One Bite of Normal
Aria"Hello."Daniel's voice breaks through the static in my mind. I blink, jolted back into the moment, fingers still curled loosely around the ceramic cup."Sorry," I say quickly, managing a small smile. "I'm fine. Just... wandering thoughts. You know how it is sometimes."He nods, his expression softening. "All too well."I take another sip of the espresso, letting the bitterness ground me. It helps. A little.Daniel leans back in his chair, folding his arms in a way that makes him look less like a stranger and more like someone who's sat across from me more than once. "So. You know my name, you know I’ve got two daughters who boss me around like they run the UN, and you know I moved here with a suitcase and a half-broken heart. That’s a decent start. But I’m still trying to figure out who you are.""I'm a terrible shopper," I say with a grin that doesn’t quite reach my eyes.He laughs, warm and genuine. "No, you’re not. You’re just distracted. There’s a difference.""Touché."He t
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 82 - Retail Therapy: Espresso
AriaShocked by the words he just spat, I walk back into the suite, barely able to keep my legs steady beneath me.A mistake? Perfect.What were you thinking, A? That one hot and steamy round of the best sex you've ever had would somehow change your fate? That it would magically blur the very obvious line between you and a man like him?A bitter laugh bubbles up, though it never escapes. It gets stuck in my throat, burning like bile. Each step feels detached from thought, wooden and slow, as though I’m dragging the weight of everything he just said behind me. The room hasn't changed. It's still dim, still cold, still cloaked in that ridiculous, sterile luxury. And yet, something inside it feels different now. Like it’s cracked open and hollowed out in all the wrong places.Of course, he said it.Of course, he meant it.That's the kind of man Damon is—sharp edges, blunt truths, and defences built like steel gates. And still, somehow, some foolish, desperate part of me thought I could m
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 81 - Built to Break
DamonI'm done.Done pretending the weight of this isn’t eating me alive. Done holding off on decisions I should’ve made days ago. It’s high time I called for Bianca and friends, or whoever Kay’s been keeping warm in his back pocket.The second my feet hit the floor, I grab my phone from the nightstand. The screen lights up in my palm, casting a glow across the dim room. Behind me, she’s still asleep. Curled near the edge of the bed like the mattress burns her. Like if she moves an inch closer to the center, something will break inside her. Maybe it already has. Maybe I did that.My throat tightens. Looking at her too long feels like swallowing glass, so I tear my gaze away and step onto the balcony. Cold air slaps my skin– It's real, sharp, and punishing. Just like I deserve.I dial Kingsley.He picks up after the third ring. “What’s up, man?”Straight to it. “Good morning, Kay. How soon will Bianca and whoever-the-hell else you’ve got be ready?”There’s a pause. A beat of silence wh
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 80 - No Apologies
AriaThe Vancouver skyline stares back at me, cold and smug through the tall glass windows. We’re at the top floor of one of Damon’s luxury hotels—his name, his money, his power carved into every inch of this place. But for all the luxury, it feels more like a cage than ever. A prettier one, but a cage nonetheless.The room is ridiculous. Opulent. Sleek floors, floor-to-ceiling glass, m everything. A bottle of wine rests untouched on the coffee table. Our suitcases sit side by side near the closet like they’re in a truce we can’t manage.And I’m pacing.My phone buzzes. Again.Derek: Still in town. Can we catch up? I hesitate, thumb hovering.Me:Unfortunately not. We can catch up right here.Damon steps out from the bathroom, sleeves rolled, watch glinting against his wrist as he fastens it. He hasn’t said much since we landed. Not about the trip. Not about the room. Not even about the last time we spoke.Just a clipped, "Dinner. Twenty minutes. Dress accordingly."Like we’re here fo
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 79 - Edge
DamonIt’s still early when I walk into our adjoined room. Not quiet, not loud. Just the kind of silence that means she’s inside—maybe awake, maybe pretending not to be.I pause by the door that connects our rooms, knock once. No answer. Doesn’t surprise me. She’s made it a habit lately to answer when she feels like it, not when I ask. I reach for the handle anyway and step in.She’s by the window, back turned to me. Sunlight touches her hair, giving it a bronze tint. Her posture’s stiff, too still. She heard me. She’s just not in the mood.Figures.“We’re leaving tomorrow,” I say flatly. “Pack enough. It won’t be a short trip.”No response. Not even a twitch.I let the silence hang, let her fill it or ignore it. The power play doesn’t matter today.“The security logs were compromised again,” I add. “It’s worse than the last time.”Now she moves. Just barely. A shift in her shoulders. “So this is what now? Another emergency evacuation?”“Something like that.”She finally turns, arms c
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 78 - Held Back
DamonShe doesn’t slam the door behind her.That’s how I know she’s angry.She slams doors when she’s trying to make a point. Not when she’s actually pissed. This silence? This quiet exit back into her own space? That’s worse.The adjoining door clicks shut, and the room feels colder.I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding and stare at it for a second longer than I should. It’s just a door. A wall with a handle. But tonight, it might as well be a damn fortress.It’s not like I didn’t see this coming. Every move she’s made since Kingsley’s told me exactly what page she’s on.But it doesn’t make it easier.I tug at my collar. The shirt feels tighter than usual. Everything does lately. I’ve barely settled in since we got back, and I already feel suffocated. The walls of this house, of this arrangement, all closing in.I cross to the bar, pour two fingers of scotch into a glass, and let it burn down slowly. It doesn’t help much.She hasn’t said as much as I know she would w
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 77 - What I Choose
DamonThe silence in Kingsley's guest bedroom is deceptive.Aria's breathing has evened out, soft and rhythmic. She’s asleep again, but my mind is wide awake, refusing to rest. The ceiling stares back at me like it expects me to explain myself. It knows what I did and is daring me to justify it.She’s right beside me—warm, steady, impossibly close. The same woman I convinced myself to hate. To control. To manipulate.And I let all of it unravel. Just like that.One night. One touch. And I dropped the mask. It wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t part of the plan.I shift slightly, keeping still enough not to wake her. Not yet. I don't want her to open her eyes and catch the guilt written all over mine. Guilt I can't afford.Not when I’ve already made a decision: I’m not letting her go. Contract or not. Not when the damage is already done.I just chose all this while not to see. She was never Ava.It’s not just the way she moves or how she speaks. It’s the way she fights back, even w
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 76 - No Warmth, No Words
AriaI don’t know when sleep finally pulled me under, but I know the weight in my chest hadn’t lifted when it happened. Maybe I passed out more than drifted off—from exhaustion, from anger, from confusion. From the ache of feeling stupid again.My body aches in strange places. Not from pain—at least not entirely—but from memory.Last night comes crashing back. The weight of him. The heat. The way my own body betrayed me. Not that it was forced—no. That’s what makes it worse. I let it happen. I wanted it. Wanted him. In that moment, and maybe longer than I would want to admit.It was good.Too good.Better than anything I'd ever experienced before, which says less about him and more about the sad collection of men from my past.Still, waking up feels like being dropped right back into the mess I was trying to escape in the first place. The thoughts from the night before creep back in like shadows across the ceiling. That sting of feeling stupid. Used. And most of all, ignored.He didn’
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 75 - Wrong Kind of Real
DamonDamon freaking Stone.What now? What next?The ceiling stares back at me as my chest slowly rises and falls. Each breath steadier than the last, but not enough to calm the chaos inside.I can still feel her on me. Around me. I don’t dare look in her direction. If I do, I’ll give myself away—and not just with my eyes. The tight rein I've kept on this storm inside will snap, and I can't afford that. Not right now. Not yet.Because now, it’s clear. As clear as the silence hanging in this room.She isn’t Ava. Never was.I always had my doubts. From the way she spoke, to how she carried herself, to how she'd look at me—not like someone with history, but like someone new. But tonight? It sealed it. The way her body moved with mine, how she reached for me, the rawness of it—no calculation, no manipulation, just... raw.Unfiltered.Honest.It was never like that with Ava. There was always an angle. An agenda.But her?Aria?She was shaking. Trembling beneath my hands. Like every touch m
