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Chapter Nine
Last Updated:
2025-04-11 21:10:53
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Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Ten
The car ride had been silent.Not the comfortable kind. Not even the angry kind. It was the kind of silence that pulsed, like something alive.Watching. Waiting.I sat still, hands folded tightly in my lap, knuckles bone-white. I didn't dare look at him. I knew he was mad at me for walking out on him.The windows blurred with city lights,but I couldn't focus on anything. Just his presence. Just the way the air in the car felt too thin with him in it.I shouldn't have walked ahead of him back at the apartment. That much was obvious now.He hadn't said anything when I did it - Just followed, quiet. But the moment the car door shut behind me, I felt it.That shift.Like he was letting me sit with the mistake before he decided what to do with it."We'll arrive in seven minutes," he said at last. His voice was low, almost gentle. But every word felt like it carried weight.He didn't look at me. He didn't have to.I swallowed hard, nodding before I realized he couldn't see it. My throat wa
Last Updated : 2025-04-12Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Eleven
I snatched it up, thumb fumbling against the screen."You alone?" Sophia asked."Yeah, i left" i gave a fast reply.Seconds later, the call came through. I answered on the first ring."Sophia," i whispered, voice barely there."Hey, sis." Her voice was quiet, steady, like she could already hear the shake in mine. "Are you okay?"I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against my knee where I'd curled into the corner of the bed. "I don't know. It's getting harder."A pause. I could hear her breathing, slow and controlled."He's watching everything. Every move I make, every word I say. It's like I'm… caged. But not even locked in. Just–kept. "You're doing better than you think," she said, calm but not soft. "You made it through tonight. Did he say anything? Did he mention the contacts?"I shook my head, then realized she couldn't see me. "No. He was quiet. Too quiet.""That's not good.""I know." My voice cracked. "I tried to step ahead of him earlier, and he didn't yell. He didn't touc
Last Updated : 2025-04-12Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Twelve
I don't remember falling asleep. But I remember waking up.It was still dark when my eyes blinked open, the shadows in the room too thick to be natural. My breathing was shallow. My body stiff. For a moment, I didn't know where I was, just that I didn't feel safe.And then I felt it. The weight next to me.Aiden's arm was draped loosely across my waist, his breath warm against my shoulder. Not tight. Not controlling. But there, always there, like he belonged to me. Like I belonged to him.I didn't move. Didn't even flinch.It just stared at the ceiling, willing my heart to stop thudding so loud. As of even that could wake him. The memory of Jameson's stare burned at the back of my mind like a bruise. The way he'd spoken about me like I was a thing. And worse, the way Aiden didn't stop him.She knows when to stay quiet.I closed my eyes. Swallowed the taste of shame.Later, after Aiden left for a meeting, some last-minute call with "people I didn't need to worry about." I sat in the ki
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Thirteen
He hadn't asked about my trip again. Which scared me more than if he had.Aiden was watching me more closely now. I could feel it. Little things.The way he paused at the doorway before leaving, the way his fingers grazed my arm longer than necessary, the way his eyes scanned the room when he walked in like cataloging what had moved while he was away.I tried to act normal, stay quiet, fold clothes the way he liked, pour his whiskey before he asked, look at him like I wasn't hiding something.Because I was. God, I was.That envelope sat behind the hollowed-out copy of wuthering heights, like a ticking clock with my name etched on it. I hadn't touched it since. I didn't dare.Three nights passed like that. Tension stretched thin across hours I couldn't hold onto.And then came the rain. Not soft romantic rain, not the kind that slammed against windows like it was trying to get in. The sky cracked open and didn't close for hours. The city blurred behind wey glass, and the lights looked
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**We met in the back of the bookstore again, the same little aisle that smelled like old paper and ink. Sophia was already there, pacing between shelves, her face sharp with impatience."You kissed him," she said before I even opened my mouth."I…" My voice caught. "It wasn't like that.""Oh, come on, Cait," she snapped , turning to face me. "You think I haven't seen this before? You're trauma bonded. It's textbook. Abuser breaks you down, then throws you scraps of affection like they're gifts. And you eat it up because he's the only warmth in the freezing hell he built around you."Her voice was low, but furious. Her eyes glistened, not with tears, but with rage."I didn't mean to," I whispered. "It's just, happened." "No, it didn't. You let it. Because some part of you still thinks he's going to love you the way you need."She stepped closer."But he won't. He's not capable. He never was."I lowered my eyes, shame burning behind my ribs.Sophia exhaled and ran her hands through h
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The next morning, he brought me flowers.For reasons I do not exactly know. White orchids. My favorite. Or rather, his favorite for me.He sat them on the breakfast bar like a gift and watched me with that unreadable smile, the one that made me feel like he was testing me and I was already falling."For you," he said. "To brighten things up."I touched the petals with careful fingers. "They're beautiful.""They reminded me of you." He stepped closer, brushing my hair behind my ear. "Delicate. Elegant. A little hard to read."I forced a laugh. "You've been reading my journal again?"He smiled, but didn't answer.Something shifted in my stomach, but I wouldn't allow it."Pack a bag," he said casually. "We're leaving tomorrow. A week on the coast. Just us."My blood went cold. Tomorrow. That was nine days early."But… Your meetings," I said. "The board…""They can wait.""But.." He cupped my face, and I froze."Cait," he said gently. "You've seemed… distracted lately. Tired. I think a
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The silence stretched like wire between us.He didn't move. Neither did I.I was still one flight above the lobby. One floor from the exit. One breath from breaking.But his voice…"Come back upstairs."It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.I swallowed. "I couldn't sleep.""You packed a bag.""A workout bag""At midnight?"My mouth opened. No words came.He descended one step. Bare feet on marble. Slow and controlled."You think I don't feel it?" He asked. "The way you flinch now. The way you barely look at me when i touch you."He was closer."I let you flinch, Caitlin. I let you pretend."Another step."But you belong to me."I gripped the railing behind me. "I'm not property.""You're not." He nodded. "You're mine."There was no anger in his voice. That would've been easier. He sounded calm. Almost...hurt.And that was more dangerous than anything else."You kissed me like you meant it," he said. "And then you started counting the days."Tears stung my eyes.He reached the bottom o
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The silence after his words was louder than any scream.I didn't move. Not right away.My heartbeat was thunder in my ears, drowning out thought, reason, everything but the heat of his breath on my skin and the ghost of his fingers on my cheek."To be caught."The door was behind me. Open. Unlocked. No guards. No Jasper. No hands on my wrists, no threat in his voice.But I stood there, frozen in the eye of the storm, still clutching air where the duffel had been.I should've run.My muscles twitched with the echo of the docks. The memory of pavement beneath me, the wind against my face. But that had a flight. Purr and animal instinct.This was different. This was choice. And he knew it.Aiden didn't move. He just watched me, eyes steady, like he was memorizing the exact shape of my hesitation.He didn't need chains. He was the chain. And part of me was still reaching for him."I should hate you," I said, my voice a rasp. "I want to."He nodded, just once. "Then do it."His calm was a
Last Updated : 2025-04-15
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Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Sixty Two
I didn’t cry.I thought I would.I thought I’d make it to the elevator and fall apart, slide down the wall and sob until my throat cracked. But I didn’t.I rode the elevator down like I was made of steel. Hands still clenched. Face still burning.The lobby lights buzzed overhead. The security guard gave me a stiff, polite nod, like nothing was wrong. Like I hadn’t just stood in the same room as the man who reprogrammed my body and tried to erase my soul.I nodded back.Because that’s the game, isn’t it?Pretend nothing’s bleeding.Pretend you’re not drowning.Pretend you didn’t just learn you were built.It was cold outside. Not winter-cold. But the kind that sneaks under your skin when you’re already brittle inside. My heels clicked across the pavement as I walked to my car, and every sound felt too loud. Like the world was trying to draw attention to me. Like it knew.I sat behind the wheel with the engine off for a long time.Not thinking. Not planning. Just existing.And even tha
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Sixty One
I left Dylan’s apartment without looking back.He didn’t try to stop me. Just stood there, silent, like a man watching a fire he didn’t bother putting out. And maybe that was the truth, maybe I was always meant to burn.I drove until I couldn’t feel my fingers on the wheel. Ended up in a parking garage, staring at nothing, chewing on the edge of a panic attack.Then I opened the flash drive again.Not on my laptop this time. On a secure system. A hacker friend from my undergrad days owed me favors, and I called one in. Said I needed everything decrypted. Hidden files. Metadata. Time stamps. Anything.They called me an hour later, voice low and clipped.“There’s a hidden folder. You didn’t see it.”I hadn’t.I went back, followed the breadcrumb they gave me.Inside were audio logs, notes, screenshots of messages, even therapy session transcriptions. And a folder marked...“HER”.My hands shook as I opened it.Dozens of photos.All of me.Years back, Surveillance stills, Social media scr
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Sixty
I didn't sleep there. How could I? I drove until the sky went pale, then parked in a grocery store lot and sat there, staring at my reflection in the rearview mirror. I didn’t recognize the woman looking back. Eyes ringed in black, lips chewed raw, heart ticking like a bomb.Emily knew me.Not “knew of me.” Not guessed or imagined.She said my name.I kept playing the message in my head, those last words, like she was whispering straight through time, through death, into my ear. “Don’t trust either of them.”How did she know?And why did it feel like I was already too late?By 8 a.m., I was parked outside a library. Not mine. Not local. A town over. Somewhere neutral. I signed onto a public computer with trembling fingers and searched for anything. Old records. Articles. Social media scraps. There was almost nothing about Emily after her death. Just sanitized obituaries and half-hearted blog posts about water safety.But I wasn’t looking for her anymore.I was looking for me.I dug
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifty Nine
I didn’t go home.Home felt like a place for people with answers. People who knew what side they were on. I didn’t know anything anymore.Who was I running from? And who was I even running to? So I found a diner. One of those nowhere-places with cracked vinyl booths and a jukebox that hadn’t worked since the 90s. I sat in the corner, hunched over my laptop, the flash drive clenched in my fist like a trigger.I hesitated before plugging it in.Part of me already knew this wouldn’t be something I could unsee.The drive had one folder./EMILY/Inside were three files.Audio_Log_06.m4aJuly_14_CamFootage.mp4Letter_To_Caitlin.docxThat last one hit me like a brick.Letter to Caitlin.I never met her. Not once. I only knew Emily from Dylan’s stories. From the quiet grief in his voice when he mentioned her. From the wedding photos still shoved in a box in our closet. She was a ghost in my life. Beautiful, Tragic and Untouchable.How the hell did she know my name?I opened the letter.> Ca
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifty Eight
I didn’t want to go.But the invite, or more accurately, the command, was sitting in my calendar like a trap with a blinking countdown. “Meeting with Mr. Gallagher. 12:05 PM.”Of course he’d make it five minutes after noon. A power play. Make me sweat.I stared at the screen a moment longer than I should’ve, then stood. My legs were shaky, even though I tried to play it cool. Everyone was still pretending not to watch, but I felt it. The tension when I passed someone’s desk. The fake typing that stopped just long enough to eavesdrop.I hated them. I hated how they looked at me now, like I was some broken puzzle they couldn’t wait to solve. Like a scandal in heels.When I reached Aiden’s office, I hesitated for half a second. Just long enough for my nerves to kick. Then I opened the door.He was already standing. Backlit by the floor-to-ceiling windows, crisp and composed in a suit too perfect for someone with a heart so rotted.He didn’t say a word as he stepped around the desk and c
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifty Seven
The morning air felt unusually thick as I returned the office building, the weight of the previous day still lingering in my chest. I had to quickly finished the tasks at hand before Aiden would ask for it.I pressed the button for the elevator, hearing the soft hum of whispers that echoed from the lobby. “… Did you hear? Mr. Gallagher spent hours in his office with Emily yesterday. Alone. I thought they just worked together on the big reports?”“Yeah, but did you hear what he called her?” A second voice whispered. “I swear, he called her Caitlin. I thought her name was Emily?”“Wait, what? Are you sure?”“I heard it too. Something’s up with those two, that’s for sure…”The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped inside, trying to ignore the rising tension in the air. It was hard not to notice the undercurrents of gossip, the shifting glances from people who weren’t even trying to hide their curiosity.As the doors closed, I sighed and leaned against the wall, willing myself to shak
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifty Six
The day had barely begun when I found myself standing at my desk, a stack of files before me. The office buzzed with the usual hum of conversations, clicking keyboards, and ringing phones. But for me, everything felt muted, distant. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened earlier. Aiden’s words had burrowed into my mind, and despite my best efforts to shake them off, they lingered like a shadow over my thoughts.I was determined to push past it. I was stronger now. At least, that’s what I told myself.But that resolve was put to the test the moment I saw Aiden emerge from his office. His sharp suit and imposing presence commanded the room, and everyone seemed to freeze in their tracks as he walked through the floor. I tried to focus on my work, my eyes fixed on the screen, but I could feel his gaze sweeping across the room, his eyes lingering on me for a fraction of a second longer than necessary.And then, I heard his voice."Caitlin." He called out, his tone smooth, too
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifty Five
The morning after, I woke up to an unsettling quiet. The kind of quiet that, for most people, would signify peace. But for me, it was like a raw wound still too tender to touch. My first peaceful night under Dylan's roof had been a relief, a balm to the wounds that Aiden’s presence had left on me. I had expected to wake up feeling safer, more at ease, but instead, the dread still clung to me like a shadow.Dylan had left early for work, but his absence felt comforting, as if he had given me the space I needed to begin reclaiming some semblance of normality. I sat in the living room, sipping my tea, trying to gather the strength to start my day. The phone buzzed on the coffee table, pulling me from my thoughts. It was a text from my work.“Emily, the company expects you to come in today. We’re a bit behind. Hope you’re feeling better. See you soon!”I stared at the message for a long moment, the weight of it sinking in. Going back to the office meant facing the reality of everythin
Escaping The Billionaire's Embrace Chapter Fifty Four
The drive back to Dylan’s house felt surreal. The air seemed to shimmer with a sense of possibility, but there was still an undercurrent of caution running through me, as if I was unsure whether I could truly trust the peace I felt, or if it was just a fleeting illusion. My hands rested on my lap, and for the first time in ages, I didn’t feel the urge to clutch my body in a defensive posture. I didn’t feel the weight of Aiden’s presence looming behind me, controlling my every move. The physical relief was immense, but the emotional burden was still there, heavy and complex.Dylan glanced at me as we drove, his face drawn, like he was balancing a thousand thoughts, but he didn’t rush me. He didn’t push me for anything more than what I was willing to give. His silence was comforting, as if he was giving me space to breathe, space to think, while also showing that he was there, unwavering in his presence.The road seemed to stretch endlessly before us. The soft hum of the tires on asph
