Pustaka
Cari
Beranda / Romance / The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress / Chapter forty-nine

Share

Chapter forty-nine

Penulis: Lily Grayson
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-11 23:55:09

Sophie's pov

The “Scheherazade's” skeleton glows under artificial moonlight, its rusted hull transformed into an altar of twinkle lights and memory. Exactly 365 days since we burned the Blackstone empire to the ground, and the scent of saltwater and scorched metal still lingers in its bones.

I trace the railing where my father once stood, his fingerprints long since eroded by the sea, but the ghost of his presence is still humming in the metal. The same railing where Marcus held a gun to Lillian's head. The same deck where Arthur watched my world end.

"Our fake anniversary," I murmur, the wind stealing my words.

Damien's hands cover mine from behind, larger now that they're no longer fists, warmer now that they're no longer weapons. "Nothing about us was ever fake."

When I turn, he's on one knee not the polished marble of Blackstone boardrooms, but weather-beaten decking still stained with our shared history.

The velvet box holds two rings this time:

“A Blackstone emerald
Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi
Bab Terkunci
Bab sebelumnya Bab selanjutnya

Bab terbaru

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter forty-nine

    Sophie's pov The “Scheherazade's” skeleton glows under artificial moonlight, its rusted hull transformed into an altar of twinkle lights and memory. Exactly 365 days since we burned the Blackstone empire to the ground, and the scent of saltwater and scorched metal still lingers in its bones. I trace the railing where my father once stood, his fingerprints long since eroded by the sea, but the ghost of his presence is still humming in the metal. The same railing where Marcus held a gun to Lillian's head. The same deck where Arthur watched my world end. "Our fake anniversary," I murmur, the wind stealing my words. Damien's hands cover mine from behind, larger now that they're no longer fists, warmer now that they're no longer weapons. "Nothing about us was ever fake." When I turn, he's on one knee not the polished marble of Blackstone boardrooms, but weather-beaten decking still stained with our shared history. The velvet box holds two rings this time: “A Blackstone emerald

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter forty-eight

    Sophie's pov The Blackstone logo glares up at me from the sale documents, its sharp platinum edges dulled by Damien's aggressive pen strokes. The conference room air smells like lemon wood polish and impending revolution. "Last chance to change your mind," I whisper as he initiates another page. My reflection wavers in the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, the Manhattan skyline he once owned stretched across the glass like a conquered kingdom. Damien doesn't hesitate. His fountain pen, the Montblanc I gave him on our first anniversary - scratches across the paper. "I've wanted to burn this place since I was fourteen," he says, voice low with decades-old venom. His cufflinks catch the morning light as he slides the papers to the new CEO , a wedding gift, platinum with "No More Lies" engraved in my handwriting. The man's tan pales to parchment when he reads the final clause: "All Blackstone patents released to the public domain effective immediately." Including the

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter forty-seven

    Sophie's pov The studio's green room smells of stale coffee and adrenaline. I count the water stains on the acoustic ceiling tiles eleven, just like the number of times I've rewritten my opening statement as the producer's voice crackles in my earpiece: "Sixty seconds, Ms. Laurent."My fingers tremble as I adjust the mic hidden beneath my blazer's lapel the secondary one Damien insisted on, the one not connected to the studio's feed. His fingers brush mine when he passes me a single sheet of paper, the motion disguised as a lover's casual touch. "Last chance to walk away," he murmurs. The split across his knuckles from where Marcus's teeth met his fist during the interrogation has barely begun to scab. "They'll come for you after this." I tuck the paper into my inner pocket without looking. I've memorized every damning word anyway: Marcus's offshore account numbers (the ones Claire traced through six shell companies) The falsified Laurent Holdings ledgers (with Arthur's f

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter forty-six

    Sophie's pov **The ICU** The cardiac monitor beeps a jagged rhythm forty-seven beats per minute, too slow, too weak, too Damien. Each mechanical breath from the ventilator sounds like the “Scheherazade” groaning against its moorings. The scent of antiseptic can't quite mask the lingering copper of blood. His blood still crusted under my fingernails in rust-colored half-moons. I press my forehead against the cool glass partition, watching the medical team swarm around his motionless body like worker ants tending their dying queen. Their voices slice through the sterile air: "Massive blood loss we're looking at seven units transfused..." "Nicked hepatic artery miraculously it didn't fully rupture..." "If he makes it through the night..." Lillian's wheelchair squeaks beside me, the sound jarring against the ICU's mechanical hum. Her fingers still too thin from months in her own hospital bed, the skin stretched translucent over her knuckles as she dug into my bicep with sur

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter forty-five

    Sophie's pov **The Wreck** The “Scheherazade” groans beneath my feet like a dying animal, its rotting timbers protesting every step. Saltwater sprays through the rusted hull, the brume mixing with the copper stench of blood old blood from the deck where my father died, new blood from the man I came to save. The storage container's padlock resists my picks Damien taught me this, his hands guiding mine in the penthouse safe room, whispering "Just listen to the pins, Sophie" against my temple until the final tumbler clicks. The door creaks open to reveal: Damien slumped against the far wall, his once-pristine white shirt now a macabre tapestry of sweat, seawater, and blooming bruises. The silver cuffs I gave him for our anniversary bite into his wrists, the skin beneath raw and weeping. His head jerks up at the sound, dark eyes widening not with relief, but horror. "You shouldn't be here," he rasps, his voice ruined. I drop to my knees, fingers flying over his re

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter forty-four

    Sophie's pov The Blackstone Tower blueprints glow on my tablet, every air duct and service corridor highlighted in neon pink the exact shade I once used to mark champagne stations for charity galas, back when my biggest concern was whether the Veuve Clicquot would be chilled properly. The irony tastes like gunpowder on my tongue. "Guard rotation every 47 minutes," Claire whispers, her manicured nail tapping a staff staircase on the screen. The Chanel polish is chipped the first time I've ever seen her imperfect. "But Marcus added a new security measure after the docks." I zoom in until the pixels blur. "The fire suppression system." My finger traces the isolated piping. "It's not tied to the main alarms. He'll have manual override in the sub-basement." Elena leans over my shoulder, her signature jasmine perfume undercut by the acrid scent of adrenaline. "You want to burn him out?" I tap the emergency exit routes the ones I personally designed last year when planning the Chil

Bab Lainnya

Anda juga akan menyukai

Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status