共有

CHAPTER 21

last update 最終更新日: 2025-11-17 05:44:12

THE HOPE I SHOULDN'T FEEL

Morning sunlight poured gently through the curtains, soft gold brushing across the floor like warm fingertips. I woke with a slow inhale, the kind that made my chest rise achingly, my mind immediately remembering the night before… his hands on my feet, the way his thumbs pressed into the arch of my heel, the movie flickering against the walls, the quiet… the way the silence wasn’t empty.

A part of me was still floating there.

I slipped out of his bed and dressed quietly. My car keys were already on the dresser. My car, still in his parking lot.When I walked downstairs, Adrian was already in the living room, leaning on the back of the couch, arms folded, eyes on me like he’d been waiting.

“Leaving?” he asked, voice low, warm… almost pulling.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “I should go.”

He nodded once, slowly. His eyes didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Something in his gaze held me in place, thick and heavy, like he was memorizing me. He walked up to me and planted a kiss on
この本を無料で読み続ける
コードをスキャンしてアプリをダウンロード
ロックされたチャプター

最新チャプター

  • NAKED LIES OF THE BILLIONAIRE   CHAPTER 49

    SOMETHING DIFFERENT I swallowed. Images flashed through my mind, the gala night, the emails, the photos, Daniel’s hands pushing me back, the woman’s mocking tone on the phone. Everyone seemed capable of damage now. Everyone felt sharp. “You know what, forget I asked,” I said quickly, the words tumbling out as if I could pull them back the moment they left my mouth.There was another pause. Then his voice softened. “I would never hurt you, Emma,” Adrian said. “I would never.” The way he said it, certain, almost wounded, made my chest tighten. He thought that was what I meant. That I was asking if he would hurt me. Not if he had hurt someone else. Not if there were parts of him I didn’t know. Just… me.I nodded even though he couldn’t see it, my fingers still curled tightly around my phone. Guilt crept in, slow and heavy. Guilt for carrying so many thoughts I couldn’t explain without unraveling everything. “I know,” I murmured . He had no idea that I was about to ruin him to save mysel

  • NAKED LIES OF THE BILLIONAIRE   CHAPTER 48

    BLOCKED ?!I turned the shower on and stepped under the stream, letting the water hit my back first, hot, steady, loud enough to drown my thoughts, or so I hoped. Steam climbed the tiles, fogging the mirror, blurring my reflection until I was just a shape behind glass. For a few seconds, I stood there with my palms flat against the wall, forehead resting on cool tile, breathing.Then my mind started again. What if I feed her the wrong information? The thought slipped in so smoothly it almost made me laugh. Who is this woman? I tilted my head, water running down my neck, tracing my spine. How would she even know? The idea felt mischievous at first. Light. Almost empowering. I could say anything. A small, breathless laugh escaped me. Lmao, I thought bitterly. You want to play games? I can play too But wait ?, what if she knew what she was asking, I doubt that. I reached for the soap, slicked it between my palms, and then pain sliced through me. Sharp, Sudden. Right at my shoulder.I

  • NAKED LIES OF THE BILLIONAIRE   CHAPTER 47

    UNKNOWN CALLERThe sound sliced through my sleep like glass. My phone rang, sharp, insistent, and I jolted awake, my heart already racing before my mind could catch up. For a split second, I didn’t know where I was. Then the ceiling came into focus. The familiar crack near the corner. The pale curtains I’d been meaning to change for months. I was home. Not Adrian’s place. Mine.That realization hit harder than it should have. My body felt heavy, sore in that dull, aching way that comes from restless sleep and unresolved panic. I reached for the phone on my bedside table, squinting at the screen. Unknown number. Of course. I hesitated, my thumb hovering. Something in my chest tightened, an instinctive warning. But I answered anyway.“Hello?” My voice came out rough. “Who is this?” There was a pause on the other end. Not silence, breathing. Calm. Measured. Then a woman spoke.“Emma Velasquez…” The way she said my name made my skin prickle. Slow. Mocking. Like she’d practiced it.“I don’

  • NAKED LIES OF THE BILLIONAIRE   CHAPTER 46

    HE HAD LEFT I stood outside the door, still boiling. I banged on it again, harder this time. “Open up, Daniel!!”My fist hit the wood over and over, the sound echoing down the hallway, sharp and ugly. My chest rose and fell too fast, breath tearing in and out of me like I’d just run for my life. My hands were trembling, rage shaking them, not fear. Not yet. Then I heard it.The ding of the elevator. I froze. Footsteps followed, measured, professional.I stopped banging, my fist hovering in the air as if it didn’t know what to do without anger to guide it. I swallowed hard, my throat burning. My heart was still slamming violently against my ribs, refusing to calm down. A hotel staff member walked toward me, his expression already cautious, already assessing. “Madam,” he said gently, but firmly, “is there a problem?”I turned slowly to face him.My face felt hot. My eyes burned. I knew I looked wild, hair disheveled, hoodie crooked, one foot bare, my chest still rising like I was about

  • NAKED LIES OF THE BILLIONAIRE   PART 45

    INSIDE THE ROOM I kept going, Door after door, Knock, Pause, Silence, Knock again. “Room service.” Nothing. It didn’t feel like a full house at all. Too many quiet rooms. Too many unanswered doors. My footsteps echoed back at me, soft but accusatory, like the hallway itself was watching.I moved down the corridor slowly, repeating the same line, the same knock, the same practiced calm I didn’t feel. “Room service.” Nothing.Each door that stayed closed tightened something in my chest. With every step, the possibilities narrowed. Until there was only one door left. The last one.My heart sank so suddenly it felt like my body finally caught up with what my mind already knew. This was it. I stopped in front of the door and just stood there. The hallway lights hummed faintly above, casting a warm glow that made everything feel unreal, staged, like a scene I could still walk away from if I wanted to.I didn’t.I reached up and slowly pulled off my face cap. My fingers trembled as cool ai

  • NAKED LIES OF THE BILLIONAIRE   PART 44

    IN THE HALLWAY I stayed still, pressed into the shadow near the pillar, my cap pulled lower, my heartbeat loud enough that I was sure the marble floor could hear it.Then the doors swung open. A group of girls spilled into the lobby at once, laughing, loud, glittering. They were dressed like they’d stepped straight out of a costume party. Corsets. Sequins. Feathers. One of them wore angel wings that brushed the glass doors. Another had a mask pushed up into her hair. They crowded the reception desk completely, voices overlapping, hands waving, phones flashing, blocking every clear line of sight.The receptionist disappeared behind their noise.My breath caught. This was my chance. I didn’t think. I moved. I slipped away from the glow of the reception lights and pushed through the emergency door at the far end of the hall. It gave a low, heavy click that sounded far too loud in my ears. For half a second I froze, waiting for an alarm.Nothing. The stairwell swallowed me whole. It smel

続きを読む
無料で面白い小説を探して読んでみましょう
GoodNovel アプリで人気小説に無料で!お好きな本をダウンロードして、いつでもどこでも読みましょう!
アプリで無料で本を読む
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む
DMCA.com Protection Status