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Chapter 18: Buried Names
publish date:
2026-07-07 08:20:05
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The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 19: The Voice They Couldn't Erase
~SHARONI woke before sunrise.For a few seconds, I did not know where I was. The room was quiet, the sheets beneath me were soft, and the curtains moved gently as the morning breeze slipped through the half-open window. Then memory returned.James.The messages.The articles.The file Xavier refused to let me see.I slowly sat up and wrapped my arms around my knees. Sleep had come in pieces, broken by dreams I could barely remember. All I knew was that I felt exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with rest.My eyes drifted toward the bedside table where the new phone Xavier had given me rested silently.No messages.No threats.No unknown numbers.For the first time in days, I did not wake to James forcing his way into my morning.That alone felt strange.I remained there for another minute before deciding I could not stay inside the bedroom all day. Xavier had been right about one thing. If I allowed fear to decide where I could stand, then James would continue controlling me wi
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 18: Buried Names
~XAVIERThe moment Sharon left the sitting room, I opened the file again.Joe remained near the door, silent as always, but I could feel his attention fixed on me. He had already read enough of the report to understand why it mattered. The problem was that I understood it too well.Inside the file were copies of payment trails, contract transfers, and hidden ownership records connected to James Wick’s label over the past three years. Most of it looked clean at first glance. James had always been careful with appearances. But underneath the polished surface, patterns were beginning to show.And Sharon’s name was buried inside too many of them.“She does not know any of this yet?” I asked.Joe shook his head. “No, sir.”I looked down at the pages again.Three songs credited to different artists. Two unreleased demo recordings transferred through a shell company. Royalty payments redirected through false production accounts. It was all fragmented enough to avoid attention unless someone
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 17: The First Meal She Kept Down
~SHARONAfter Xavier said those words, the room grew quiet again, but it no longer felt like the kind of silence that pressed against my chest. This one felt steadier. The fear James had stirred in me was still there, but it was no longer the only thing in the room with me.I looked down at the new phone Joe had brought and then back at Xavier. “You move very fast,” I said.“It helps to have the right people around me,” he replied.The answer was simple, but it made me think of how different his world was from James’s. James ruled through fear, noise, and control. Xavier did not need any of that. He only had to give one quiet instruction, and people moved.I lowered my eyes to the cup in my hands and took another sip. It settled warmly in my stomach, and for the first time that day, I felt something close to calm.Xavier leaned back slightly in his seat and watched me in that same quiet way of his. He did not ask whether I was all right because both of us already knew I was not. Inste
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 16: Return When Hungry
~SHARONMy fingers tightened around the phone until they hurt.You can block the others, Sharon, but hunger always brings you home.For a second, I could not breathe. The room seemed to shrink around me, and every ugly memory attached to James’s voice came rushing back. He did not need to stand in front of me to make my body remember fear. He only needed a screen, a few words, and the confidence that I still belonged to him in some broken way.Xavier took one look at my face and knew something had changed.“What is it?” he asked.I did not answer immediately. I simply held the phone out to him because I did not trust my voice. He took it, read the message once, and lifted his eyes back to mine. His expression changed quietly, like a door shutting somewhere deep behind his face.“He’s using other numbers now,” I said at last.“Yes,” Xavier replied.“He keeps finding me,” I whispered. “Even here.”Xavier set the phone aside. “He is finding your number, not you.”“That does not feel very
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 15: The Unknown Number
~SHARONAfter leaving Xavier’s study, I went upstairs with my head full of noise.The articles, the lies, the comments, and Sia’s warning about my songs all seemed to press against me at once. I closed the bedroom door behind me and stood there for a moment, trying to steady myself. The room was quiet, but the quiet no longer soothed me the way I wished it would. My mind kept replaying everything I had read downstairs. Gold digger. Washed-up singer. Trouble. The words had been written by strangers, yet they had found the exact places in me that were still sore.I crossed the room slowly and sat on the edge of the bed.It had only been a short time since I left James’s house, yet it felt as though the world had already begun pulling at me from all sides. James wanted me afraid. The press wanted me exposed. Strangers wanted a story they could twist into entertainment. Even my own past was starting to rise up in ways I had not expected.For a while, I simply sat there with my hands folde
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 13: His Wife is in the Headlines
~SHARONAfter the call ended, I remained seated on the edge of the bed with the phone still pressed against my ear, even though the line had already gone dead.Those words would not stop circling in my head. I had always known James had taken something from me. He had taken my confidence, my peace, my freedom, and the part of me that still believed life could be kind. But hearing Sia say he might have stolen my songs too made the damage feel larger. It meant the loss had not only been emotional. It had been deliberate, planned, and profitable.I lowered the phone slowly and stared at the floor. This was James, the same man who smiled when I cried and locked me away while calling it love. Still, the thought struck me differently because music had once been the only place where I felt most like myself. Even after I stopped singing in public, I kept writing. I told myself it was enough to pour everything into words and melodies and let the world hear them through someone else if I had to
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 10: I Don’t Want Pity
~SHARONI woke up the next morning feeling as though I had barely slept.My body had rested, but my mind had stayed awake through most of the night. The room was still, the curtains were half drawn, and the morning light had already started warming the walls. I lay there for a while, staring at the
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 6: A Wife By Morning
~SHARONAfter Xavier left the room, I remained standing in the same spot for a long while, still holding the marriage certificate in my hand as though it might disappear if I loosened my grip.The room was quiet, but my mind would not rest. Everything had happened so fast that I still felt as thoug
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 5: Combs Regency
~SHARON“Where are you?” Xavier’s voice was laced with a concern that made my heart flutter. It was as if he genuinely needed me. I told him my location, and within what felt like a heartbeat, a Rolls Royce purred to a stop in front of me. The window glided down, revealing his face. “Come,” he simp
The Billionaire's Bargain Chapter 4: She’ll Never Be A Wife
~SHARONI pushed back a bit, and he grinned like a devil. “Is this how you want to get married? You’ll never be a wife,” he spat, grabbing my arm hard.I looked up at him, stumbling, wondering what he was going to do. He dragged me to my room and threw me to the floor, took out all the keys that co
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