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Chapter 5
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2025-12-02 05:46:00CHAPTER 5
"Elijah?" I called him again, simply because I didn't think we'd cross paths again especially with the marriage that happened too."Hi Mariah," he said, the serious look transforming into a soft smile. Nice seeing you again. 'I know this meeting is awkward, but I had to say something to get your attention and make you drive out here,' Elijah said while staring intently at me.So, the call and texts where all just but stunts?, I asked with raised eyebrows.Not
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The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter 14
The interrogation room at the precinct smelled of stale coffee, damp concrete, and metallic industrial cleaner.I sat at the metal table, the cold surface biting into my forearms through the mud-stained fabric of my dress. The handcuffs had been removed, but the heavy steel door remained locked from the outside. For six hours, I had stared at the single fluorescent light fixture buzzing softly overhead, watching shadows stretch and shift across the cracked yellow paint of the walls.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ashton’s face in the foyer. The sheer, terrifying weight of his hatred had hit harder than the crash on the highway. He truly believed I had killed his father.The heavy lock clicked, and the door swung open.My father walked in first, followed by a tall man in an immaculate dark gray suit carrying a leather briefcase. My father looked as though he had aged ten years in a single night. His hair was unkempt, his face hollow, and his hands trembled as he pulled out the meta
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter 13
The rain had softened into a persistent, freezing drizzle by the time I pulled my sedan out of the muddy shoulder where the men had left it. My head spun with every turn of the steering wheel, the sharp odor of the chemical still clinging to the fabric of my coat and burning the back of my throat.My mind was a chaotic storm of fear and confusion. Who were those men? Why had they dragged me into the dark, kept me locked in that suffocating room for hours, only to force me back into my car and tell me to go home? None of it made sense. The entire experience felt like a nightmare designed specifically to disorient me.I gripped the steering wheel with numb fingers, my shoulder aching where the man had yanked me from the seat. The headlights cut through the heavy fog as I turned onto the long, winding drive leading to the Langford estate. The tall iron gates stood wide open, an unusual sight for a property that maintained military-grade security at all hours.As I pulled up to the grand
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter 12
The rain began late in the afternoon, a steady, rhythmic pouring that turned the manicured grounds of the estate into a gray blur.Inside the mansion, the air felt suffocatingly thick. Celina had spent the better part of the day in Ashton’s study, moving back and forth between his desk and the leather armchair with an air of comfortable familiarity that made my skin prickle. Every laugh that drifted through the heavy oak door was a sharp reminder of how easily Brenda’s influence was taking root inside the house.I sat in the library, trying to focus on financial spreadsheets on my laptop, but my concentration was shattered.It was not just Celina’s presence that unsettled me. It was the way Ashton had retreated back behind his wall of stoic silence. Since the night we had crossed the line, he barely looked at me when we passed in the corridor. He treated me like a ghost hovering on the margins of his life, a inconvenient distraction he was determined to ignore until it vanished entire
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter 11
The arrival of Celina Mendez into Ashton’s daily routine was not something that happened quietly in the background. It was felt immediately, like a cold draft blowing through an already frozen house.Three days after the press release, Celina made her first appearance at the mansion.I was in the grand foyer, returning from a quick stroll around the courtyard, when the front doors swung open. Ashton walked in first, looking exhausted as usual, but behind him came a woman whose presence commanded attention.Celina Mendez was dressed in a pristine white tailored suit that highlighted her sleek frame. Her dark curly hair cascaded effortlessly past her shoulders, and her hazel eyes swept across the foyer with an expression of sharp ownership. She didn't look like an employee entering her boss's home. She looked like someone returning to a place where she felt she rightfully belonged."Marie, please take Miss Mendez’s coat," Ashton ordered quietly as he tossed his keys onto the console tab
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter 10
The morning light broke through the sheer curtains of the west wing, pale and cold against the dark wood of the furniture.I woke to the heavy, suffocating weight of realization before my eyes had even fully opened. The quiet in the room was absolute, broken only by the steady, faint rhythm of breathing beside me.For a few fragile seconds, my mind attempted to reject the reality of the previous night. But the faint scent of amber whiskey and expensive cologne lingering in the air anchored me brutally back to the truth.The barrier between us had not just cracked. It had completely shattered.I sat up slowly, keeping my movements deliberate and silent as I looked at Ashton. He was still asleep, his face unreadable in the gray dawn, stripped of the harsh, guarded armor he wore like a shield every waking hour. Without the cold anger or the relentless strain of his failing company, he looked almost human.A sharp, sick knot tightened in the center of my chest.I pulled my wrap around my
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter 9
The heavy double doors of the study did not close so much as they slammed shut under the force of Winston Langford’s arrival.I stood in the hall, lingering near the shadow of a marble archway just far enough from the doorway to remain unseen, yet close enough that every word passed through the thick wood like thunder."Do you have any idea what the board is saying?" Winston’s voice roared, stripped of the smooth, artificial warmth he had displayed during our family dinners. "Three major acquisitions stalled in a single week, Ashton. Vanguard pulled out entirely, and now the press is printing speculation about internal insolvency!""I am aware of the press reports, Father," Ashton replied, his tone icy and tightly controlled, though the strain in his throat was obvious."Aware?" Winston barked. "You sound remarkably calm for a man whose leadership is being openly questioned by our primary stakeholders. I gave you full oversight of the real estate expansion because you assured me the T
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter two
CHAPTER 2“Remember,” Ashton said as we stood outside the dining room and waited. His hand was resting on my lower back that looked affectionate, but we both knew it was far from that. “We’re happy together. We’re adjusting well, and everything is perfect.”It was Friday, and we were having dinner
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter one
CHAPTER 1I felt nothing as I stared at my reflection in the full length mirror to see the stranger in a white silk wedding dress staring back at me.“You look really beautiful, Mariah,” my mother said, her voice cracking as she teared up and adjusted my veil.“Stop,” I wanted to tell her. I wanted
The billionaire’s bidding war Characterization
CHARACTERIZATION:1. MARIAH THORNE: She is 26 years old with light brown hair and deep blue eyes. She stands at 5’7” with a slim but slightly curvy build. She is smart and composed, but she hides her manipulative side perfectly.Background: She was trained by her father about finance and business,
The billionaire’s bidding war Chapter four
CHAPTER 4Brenda didn’t like me, but at least she didn’t hide it. Winston, on the other hand, wanted to destroy my family but had been pretending to be clueless this whole time.“The marriage is serving its purpose at this time,” Ashton said to his father with a cold tone. “When we’ve acquired all
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