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Chapter 30: Ethan's First Steps

Penulis: Evve
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-22 16:43:56

The Maison AVA, the one Elias had leased on the quiet, stone-paved street, was no longer an empty, echoing room of potential.

It was a factory.

And it was, Aurora had begun to fear, a beautiful, light-filled, thriving prison of her own making.

Three months had passed since she had sold her first piece to Celine D'Albret. Three months since the "Phoenix Rising" collection had, with Elias's masterful, invisible guidance, become the quiet, explosive secret of the Paris fashion elite.

The myth of "
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  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 175: The Break-In

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  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 174: The Stalking

    The "dragon" note had been a prick. A small, sharp reminder that the world outside the castle walls wasn't empty.But in the weeks that followed, the pricks became a pattern.It started with small things. Anomalies in the perfect, curated life Aurora and Liam were building.A coffee cup left on the hood of Aurora’s car. It was from the cheap bodega near the AVA flagship, not the artisanal café she frequented. Written on the lid in black marker was a smiley face.A toy soldier found in Ethan’s backpack. It wasn't one of his. It was old, the paint chipped, the face melted."Did you trade with someone at school?" Aurora asked, holding the toy up to the light."No," Ethan said, frowning. "I found it in my cubby. Maybe the Cubby Fairy left it.""Maybe," Aurora said, her stomach churning. She threw the soldier away.Then, the phone calls started.Not to her cell. To the landline in the penthouse—a number only family and emergencies had.It would ring at odd hours. 3 AM. 11 PM.When she answ

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 173: Vanessa's Desperation

    The apartment in Queens was a tomb of dead ambitions.Vanessa Leigh sat on the floor, surrounded by the debris of her life.Cardboard boxes filled with expensive clothes she could no longer wear. Stacks of legal notices she couldn't pay. A half-empty bottle of cheap vodka that tasted like gasoline.The television was on, the volume low. It was tuned to a celebrity news channel.And there they were.The Golden Couple.Liam Cross and Aurora Vale, walking out of the L’École Internationale auditorium. Holding hands. Smiling. The "Boring Family" narrative was in full swing, and the world was eating it up."Look at them," Vanessa whispered, her voice a scratchy rasp. "Look at how happy they are."She threw the remote at the screen. It bounced off Liam’s smiling face with a dull thud.She hated them.She hated Aurora for being the "Phoenix." For rising from the ashes Vanessa had so carefully arranged. For stealing the narrative, the sympathy, the win.But she hated Liam more.She hated him f

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    The penthouse was quiet, suspended in the amber light of a New York sunset. Ethan was at a sleepover—his first one, with a school friend—leaving the apartment feeling both spacious and strangely empty.Liam stood at the kitchen island, chopping vegetables with a precision that bordered on aggressive. He wasn't cooking because he was hungry; he was cooking because he was nervous.The ring was in his pocket.The custom, kite-shaped diamond he had commissioned. It burned against his hip like a brand.Aurora was in the living room, reviewing the final RSVP list for the "Alliance" launch party. She was wearing a silk robe, her hair loose, her feet bare. She looked comfortable. She looked like she belonged there.But Liam knew that "belonging" was a fragile state."You're chopping those carrots like they owe you money," Aurora said, walking into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter, stealing a slice of cucumber."I'm focused," Liam said, not looking up."You're tense," she corrected.

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