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Chapter 9 - Bows On Lies
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2025-03-24 01:19:33
Stephanie Benedict Hello Book lovers, Thanks for joining me on this journey! Your feedback helps me improve, so please share your thoughts in the comments. If you're enjoying the story, please don't forget to recommend it to others and support me with Gems. Your encouragement means everything! Best, Stephanie.
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Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 121 - Loose Ends, Tight Grips, And You
DamonThe room is too quiet now.She’s still sitting on the bed, arms folded, back straight, with that same expression she wears when she’s bracing for a fight. But she’s not saying anything.Not yet, at least.I’m not new to this rhythm. She waits, measures, and then strikes when she knows it’ll land.I lean back into the couch, reach for the landline, and press the number to the kitchen. One ring. Two. Then the maid picks.“Kitchen wing. How may I help you, sir?”“Dinner in the master suite. For two.”I hang up before she can chirp a ‘yes, sir’. The phone lands on the side table with a soft thud.That’s when she circles the bed to me. “Started the search yet?”Of course. Of course, she’d circle right back to that. It's been barely twelve hours since I said I’d help. It's not even a full day. I exhale and tilt my head to her. “Are you serious right now?”She nods, eyes serious, and her mouth set in that stubborn line I’ve come to recognise.“I said I’d help you barely twelve hours a
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 120 - Call It What It Is
Damon The car ride feels longer than it should.I’m sat by the window, elbow resting on the door, fingers tapping an absent rhythm on my knee. Aria’s beside me, but the space between us might as well be a canyon. She hasn’t said a word. Not even a glance. Not even that side-eye she’s so good at throwing when she thinks I’m being a prick.I don’t know why it gets to me. But it does. Every single time.My gaze drifts to her profile. She's still and quiet, with her eyes on the window, but not really seeing anything out there.And all I can think about is earlier. The sound of her sobbing.I’d been sitting at the edge of the bed, scrolling through my inbox, pretending like the world wasn’t tilting off balance. But the moment I heard her break? That soft, wrecked sound from the balcony? Everything else blurred out.I tried to stay put.I really did.Told myself she needed space.That giving a damn would only make things worse.That it wasn’t my place. That I was most likely the reason why
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 119 - More Than Leaving
AriaIt’s the soft light that wakes me first.That dim glow leaking through these gigantic curtains. The city’s still trying to sleep, but Vancouver mornings are stubborn and persistent like that.I blink slowly, my body sinking into the bed as my mind stirs, heavy and fuzzy.I don’t remember how I got here. I do remember eating. Then, sitting on the couch by my bedside with a book, I was deceiving myself with.Then it’s blank from there on.But here I am. Tucked in. Not the half-assed kind of way I’d do for myself.Properly.The sheets are pulled just right, and the pillow’s fluffed under my head. The duvet’s also draped over me like a shield.Nope. This wasn’t me.I glance sideways.Damon. He’s right at his end of our bridge of a bed.His eyes are shut, and his face is calm. But with him, you can never really tell. He could be awake. Hell, he’s probably awake.But, he could also be faking it, like he fakes everything else.Part of me wants to poke him. Test the waters, but I know we
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 118 - One Box At A Time
Aria I lie on my side of the bed, staring at the wall like it’s supposed to give me answers.It doesn’t.Figures.The sheets feel heavier tonight. Not cold. Just heavy. Like they’re pressing me into the mattress, daring me to move. To get up. To shake this off.But I don’t. Because this isn’t new.The weight of being stuck here with him isn’t new. Neither is the war inside my own head.And tonight? Tonight, it’s loud.Louder than it’s been in weeks.My brain keeps replaying his words from earlier.No—scratch that.Not words. Because Damon barely gives words when it matters."Nothing eventful happened with that." That’s what he said when I asked about Gina.Yeah right.What kind of half-assed, meaningless response is that?No acceptance. There is no denial, either. Just nothing.But that’s what Damon does, right? Gives you just enough to stay pissed. But never enough to stay satisfied.And yet, even with that empty response, the truth rings louder than anything he could’ve said.I’m n
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 117 - Cheap At Five Million
Damon She's asleep. Finally.Curled up into herself like she’s trying to make her body smaller, tucked so deep into the duvet you’d think the thing might swallow her whole if she let it.Her face is soft now, the lines that usually crease her forehead when she's awake smoothed out, lips slightly parted, strands of hair fanned across the pillow like they’ve been there forever.I watch her.I know I shouldn’t.But I do anyway.Because when she’s asleep? She’s quiet. There’s no eye-rolling. No smart comebacks. No running mouth.Just... peace.It’s a dangerous thing, the way she looks when she’s not fighting me. It makes me forget. Makes me almost reach for something that doesn’t exist between us.Something that never should.I rake a hand down my face, sinking deeper into my side of the bed, keeping my distance because it’s the only thing I know how to do.Still, my eyes keep drifting to her.Following the subtle rise and fall of her chest. The delicate way her hand tucks under her chin
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 116 - Almost, But Never Enough
DamonI rest my head on the cool marble of the kitchen counter, eyes shut, ears tuned to the soft sounds coming from the bathroom.The hiss of the shower. The occasional splash as she moves around.I’m not asleep.I’m just pretending to be.Pretending I’m not waiting.Because what the hell else would I be doing?‘Work?’ That voice in my head taunts me, but I push it aside.My arms are folded, my head angled just right, like if I can’t see her, maybe I can’t feel her either. Like if I shut everything down, I can block out the pull she’s become.But my body’s a traitor.Every cell is waiting for the second she steps out of that bathroom.And when I hear the door click open, the soft pad of her feet on the carpet, I still myself even more, faking a deeper stillness, pretending I’m dead to the world.‘What kinda gone boy shit are you doing, Stone?’ The voice in my head doesn’t let up, but I ignore it. The soft thud of her footsteps fills my ears next, and in no time, I feel her looming o
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 115 - Under My Skin
AriaI settle into the far corner of the restaurant, my back against the cool leather seat and arms folded tightly around my body like that alone can keep me from unravelling.The noise in here is just enough to drown out my thoughts if I let it. Clinking glasses, low laughter, the occasional hiss of the coffee machine. It’s comfortingly impersonal. Nobody here knows me. Nobody here stares at me like they’re waiting for me to crack.A waiter approaches. Young, polite, the kind of guy who probably rehearsed his opening line in the mirror."Good evening, miss. Can I get you started with something? Or would you like to see the menu?"I blink up at him, pulling myself back into the moment. "Menu, please."He hands it to me with a practised smile. "Let me know when you’re ready."I scan the menu, eyes glazing over the words until I finally land on something light. Something I can pick at while pretending to be fine."Uh, I’ll have the grilled chicken salad. Light dressing, please.""Of cou
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 114 - Stick It Out
DamonI walk back to the car, legs heavy, head heavier.My legs move on autopilot, but my head’s stuck back there. On her. On the way her skin felt warm under my lips, even in this goddamn freezing weather.I climb in, slam the door shut harder than I need to, my hands gripping the wheel tighter than necessary. The engine hums low beneath me, but I just sit there.The streetlights cast long shadows on the pavement, slicing her silhouette out of my head, but the imprint she left? Still there. On me. Under my skin. Probably in my fucking bloodstream at this point.My forehead presses against the steering wheel. My breath clouds the glass in front of me.What the fuck was that?I tell myself it was instinct.Reflex.I thought I saw Daniel standing behind her. That smug, friendly face that’s been creeping into my space, my life, and A’s.And yes, maybe it triggered something I didn’t even know I had inside me.Something primal. Possessive.So I did the only thing that came to mind, right
Claimed By The Billionaire Chapter 113 - Static
Aria“What do you mean we’re leaving?”I stare at him, still gripping the door handle, like I need it to anchor me.He doesn’t even blink. "You heard me. We’re leaving," Damon says, voice flat and business-like, like we’re back to being nothing more than lines on a contract. "Soon."I blink harder, trying to push back the lump forming in my throat. "When is soon?"He shrugs, the way he always does when he wants to keep me guessing. "I don’t know yet. But it should be this week."I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. This week?I step back into the room, pacing now, arms crossed over my chest like they can hold me together.“What changed, Damon? Why now? Why now that I’m just settling in?” The words come out sharper than I intend, but I don’t care. "Why now?"He doesn’t hesitate. "It’s long overdue, A."That’s it. That’s his whole explanation.Long overdue.Like it’s that simple.Like my life can be uprooted again without a second thought.I don’t respond right away beca
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