Claimed by the billionaire

Elizabeth POV I shouldn't have come. I knew it the second we stepped out of the car and into the glittering madness of the Carlton Estate's annual masquerade. From the chandeliers dripping in gold to the clinking glasses of champagne, everything about this place screamed wealth and status-two things my father cared more about than his own blood. My dress clung too tight. The red fabric hugged my body in ways that made me uncomfortable, and the slit was high enough that I kept pulling it down without even realizing. Josephine picked it. "Try not to look so miserable," Jessica whispered next to me as we entered the ballroom. "You already stand out for the wrong reasons." I didn't respond. Her golden gown sparkled under the lights like she belonged on display. Which, in a way, she did. Jessica had been groomed for this world since birth. She knew how to charm, how to pose, how to make men look twice. I was just... there. Always in the frame, ne

ELIZABETH POV Four years. That was how long I’d been gone. Four years since my father threw me out like garbage, pregnant, disgraced, a stain on his reputation. Four years since I stopped pretending I had a real family. And yet, here I was. The gates of the Harper estate loomed in front of me, black iron twisted like the ribs of a skeleton. Cold, proud, just like the man who raised me. A place I swore I’d never return to, yet I was back,because he called. "Maybe he’s finally ready to be a father," Grandma had said when he called her, voice full of hope I didn’t share. I knew better. If Robert Harper was reaching out after four years, it wasn’t love calling me home. It was power. Control. Leverage. And I was right. A maid answered the door like I was some unwelcome guest. Not a daughter. Not family. I stepped into the same cold, polished marble foyer. The chandeliers still sparkled like they belonged in a palace. The silence pressed in l

ELIZABETH POV The sound of my clothes hitting the floor was the only noise in the otherwise silent room. Each piece I packed felt like a part of me being stripped away. The reality of the situation was sinking in faster than I could handle. I was leaving behind everything—again. I didn’t belong here, I never had. This place, these people, it was all just a facade. An illusion of belonging, a lie that I had to swallow for so long. Now, as I packed my few belongings, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in my chest, the last thing I needed was more drama. But I knew it was coming. It always did. I hated the way my hands trembled as I zipped up the small duffel bag. It wasn’t like I had much to pack — a few clothes, some skincare, and a pair of worn sneakers I hadn’t replaced in years. I was still trying to make sense of what had just happened when the door flung open behind me. “Wow.” Jessica’s voice cut through the room like a blade dipped in venom. “Not even five minutes and y

Elizabeth POVIt was almost time.I stood in front of my closet, heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and something dangerously close to guilt. My fingers brushed over each hanger until I landed on a black dress—short, tight, with a plunging neckline that screamed trouble. It wasn’t my usual style, but then again, nothing about tonight was usual.I slipped it on, smoothing the fabric down my hips. It hugged my curves in all the right places, clinging like a second skin. I added my favorite red gloss, thick mascara, and winged eyeliner for good measure. Then came the heels, ten inches of confidence in shiny black leather.One last look in the mirror and I froze.Damn.I looked nothing like myself.The girl staring back at me was bold. Sexy. Untouchable. The kind of girl Christian probably expected to see when he came to sign the contract—confident, loud, and sultry. The kind of girl Jessica had always been.Not me.And yet, here I was, playing dress-up in a life that didn’t

Christian pov I shouldn’t have come back. Not yet. Two more weeks of silence would’ve served her right. But something about the quiet in my hotel suite had begun to itch beneath my skin. The thought of her alone, waiting, maybe learning her place—should’ve satisfied me. It didn’t. So here I was, back in the city sooner than I planned, stepping out of my car and into the marble entrance of the penthouse. The air smelled the same—cold, expensive, sterile. My guards straightened as I passed. Daniel trailed behind me, briefcase in hand, quiet as always. I didn’t say a word to them. My mind was elsewhere. Where is she? I hadn’t called once since I left. She didn’t deserve that kind of consideration. This marriage was a transaction, not a romance. But still... I expected her to behave. I walked through the corridor and pulled off my gloves, pausing at the base of the staircase. “Nana,” I called. Her familiar steps shuffled across the upper landing, and then