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홈 / Romance / The Billionaire’s Paper Wife / Chapter Eleven – The Space Between

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Chapter Eleven – The Space Between

작가: Zobelle Monroe
last update 최신 업데이트: 2025-05-20 15:16:32

Lena was still staring at the city lights long after Zane had gone quiet.

He hadn’t answered her question—not really. What happens to me when this ends? But she hadn’t expected a straight answer anyway. Men like Zane didn’t deal in certainties. They dealt in terms, in loopholes, in numbers.

She was the variable.

And that hurt more than she wanted to admit.

The next morning, Lena stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair into a sleek ponytail. She was dressed simply: black jeans, an oversized blouse, no makeup. She needed a break from appearances.

Zane’s voice floated down the hall. “Are you ready?”

“For what?”

“You’ll see.”

He stood at the door, wearing a charcoal hoodie and dark jeans, his usual polish traded for a more casual, almost boyish version of himself.

“Where are we going?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“You said you needed space to be yourself,” he said. “Today, that’s the plan.”

Her arms folded automatically. “Is this a setup?”

“No cameras. No assistants. Just a car
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  • The Billionaire’s Paper Wife   Chapter Eighteen – Pressure Points

    The first crack appeared at breakfast.Zane had left early, sharp-suited and unreadable, barely touching his coffee before disappearing into a whirlwind of meetings. Lena tried to distract herself with sketching, but her hands kept trembling. Something about the night before—Zane’s kiss, the unspoken promises—they clung to her skin like warmth after a fire.She was finishing a line when her phone buzzed.Unknown Number: Good morning, Mrs. Caldwell. Hope you don’t mind a surprise visit. —M.L.Lena stared. M.L.?Before she could respond, the doorbell rang.The air in her lungs vanished. She padded barefoot to the door, slowly pulling it open.A tall man in a navy coat stood on the threshold, sunglasses perched low on his nose, his smile shark-like and charming.“Lena Hart,” he said smoothly. “Or should I say… Caldwell?”“Who’s asking?”He removed his sunglasses. “Marcus Lane. Zane’s… friend.”She didn’t buy it for a second. That smile had too many teeth.Zane had mentioned Marcus only o

  • The Billionaire’s Paper Wife   Chapter Seventeen – The Shape of Softness

    Lena didn’t remember falling asleep, only the weight of exhaustion pressing her into the mattress after Noah left. When she opened her eyes, the world outside was still dark, the city quiet beneath layers of night and fogged glass.But something was different.She sat up slowly, her heart still heavy, her body stiff from lying curled too long. The apartment, usually filled with silence that pressed in like fog, held a different kind of quiet now—gentler, softer. She swung her legs off the bed and noticed the door cracked open. There was a light on down the hall.And then came the scent. Warm. Familiar. Toast? Maybe eggs?She padded barefoot into the hallway, the wooden floor cool beneath her feet. The scent grew stronger as she approached the kitchen. Her breath caught at the sight in front of her.Zane stood at the stove.Not a chef. Not a cook. Just Zane Caldwell—billionaire, boardroom shark, and her husband on paper—in grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt, barefoot, stirring somethi

  • The Billionaire’s Paper Wife   Chapter Sixteen – The Cost of Love

    The knock on the door was sharp. Too sharp.Lena paused halfway through wiping off her lipstick. Zane hadn’t messaged. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Her heart thudded once, hard.She opened the door.And there he was.Noah.Her little brother—though he wasn’t so little anymore. Taller now, broader in the shoulders, but still with the same stubborn jaw and steady eyes.His expression wasn’t soft.“Hey,” he said, hands buried in the pockets of his hoodie. “Nice place.”Lena blinked. “What—what are you doing here?”“I was in the city. Took a cab. Thought I’d stop by and congratulate my sister.”He pushed past her gently, stepping into the penthouse as if it offended him.Lena’s stomach dropped. “Noah…”He turned slowly.“Is it true?” he asked, voice low. “Are you marrying a billionaire?”She swallowed. “It’s… complicated.”“I’ll simplify it for you,” he said, stepping closer. “Did you lie to me?”Lena’s throat went tight. “Noah—”“You told me you got a grant,” he snapped. “You said some g

  • The Billionaire’s Paper Wife   Chapter Fifteen – The Lines We Cross

    The car ride back from the event was silent.Zane sat beside her, fingers laced loosely in his lap, jaw tight. The tension in the back seat wasn’t new, but this time it wasn’t born from distance. It was from everything they hadn’t said on that balcony.Are you jealous?Are you?Lena had meant it as a jab, a test. She hadn’t expected it to land the way it did.He hadn’t answered. And somehow that said more than anything else could have.When they reached the penthouse, she stepped out of the car first, letting the heels click like defiance on the marble floor. She didn’t wait for him. She didn’t care if the driver saw. The performance was over the second the door shut behind them.She reached the living room first, pulled the pins from her hair, and dropped them on the console table one by one.Behind her, Zane’s voice came low and tight.“You didn’t need to say that.”Lena turned slowly. “Say what?”“You know what?”She shrugged. “If it’s not true, it shouldn’t bother you.”“It’s not

  • The Billionaire’s Paper Wife   Chapter Fourteen – This Heat, This Distance

    Lena didn’t sleep that night.She lay awake with Zane’s words playing over and over in her head. “I want you here. Even if I don’t know how to deserve it.”It had been the most honest thing he’d said to her since they started this whole performance. And yet, when she’d been right there—one breath away from falling—he hadn’t kissed her.He’d let her walk away.And maybe that was worse.By morning, the penthouse was quiet again. Sterile. She padded barefoot into the kitchen, hoping he wouldn’t be there. Hoping he would. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore.But the coffee machine was untouched. His usual glass was gone. And the air felt empty in that way it did when someone left without saying goodbye.She stood there for too long, hands wrapped around a warm mug she didn’t sip from.Zane didn’t come home that night.Not the next one either.And Lena?She kept going.She uploaded more of her artwork online. Texted Noah. Cleaned. Sketched. Told herself the silence meant nothing.But t

  • The Billionaire’s Paper Wife   Chapter Thirteen – One Door, Slightly Open

    Ellie left the next morning with a dramatic eye-roll, a warning to text her every day, and one final line tossed over her shoulder like a bomb:“If you fall for him, fall with your eyes open.”Lena stood in the doorway long after the elevator had closed, feeling hollow and cracked wide open at the same time.How could everything feel louder after Ellie left? The quiet hummed with too many thoughts, too many feelings she hadn’t been ready to admit. Her best friend saw it—even Zane saw it. And that scared her more than anything.She was falling. She didn’t mean to. But here she was, halfway down and still pretending it was just acting.The day passed in a haze. She tried to sketch, but her hand wouldn’t stay steady. Every line she drew turned into some version of Zane—his jawline, his eyes, his hands. It was infuriating.By the time evening rolled around, she was curled up on the living room sofa, a throw blanket around her shoulders, watching the city lights blink through the tall wind

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