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Chapter 11- Crossed out.
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2025-10-11 15:10:45
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The billionaire , the ex and the fake fiance. Chapter 19 - Lines and fire.
I didn’t knock.By the time I pushed through Zane Cross’s office door, my pulse was already sprinting ahead of me. If I’d stopped to think, I probably wouldn’t have done it , but I was past caring about protocol or professionalism.He was behind his desk, sleeves rolled up, focus deep on some sleek tablet. He didn’t even flinch when I walked in, just looked up slow, unbothered, like a man immune to confrontation.“Maya,” he said, voice calm, low. “ Right on time.”“Good,” I shot back, crossing my arms. “Because I wasn’t planning, I needed to be back here. You had me removed from my own team attacking my competence, you couldn’t find any other less demeaning excuse?”He set the tablet down carefully, like my anger was a fly he could just brush off the table. “You read the memo.”“Of course I did,” I snapped. “Do you have any idea what that email does to my professional reputation? I’ve worked my ass off here, Zane. And you just…”“Protected you.”I laughed, the kind that sounded lik
The billionaire , the ex and the fake fiance. Chapter 18 - The quiet conspiracy(With a ghost in the room)
“You’re sure Cross won’t see this coming?” Malcolm Kane asked without looking up, as he swirled the liquid in the crystal tumbler. The rooftop restaurant purred around them, soft jazz, soft voices, as the city below gleamed like an accomplice, bright, reckless and too far away to care.“He’ll see something,” Richard Hale said, “You boys never tire of underestimating men like Zane Cross. It’s adorable.”“ Exactly why we would stop him before he connects the dots together.” Victor added from the other end of the table.“Let’s skip the foreplay,” Malcolm said, leaning forward. “Cross Developments’s Harbor South filings lock the waterfront for five years, if he gets council sign-off. That’s a death knell to my pipeline.”“Correction,” Hale murmured, sliding a mint to the edge of his napkin. “It’s a death knell to our pipeline.”“And whose fault is that?” Malcolm said. “You were supposed to slow him.”In the shadowed corner, Leah crossed one silk-sheathed ,over the other the slit of her cr
The billionaire , the ex and the fake fiance. Chapter 17- One click, one truth.
I woke up before dawn, disoriented by the false quiet. Ethan’s arm was still draped lazily across my waist, his breathing deep and even.For a moment, I let myself believe in the peace of it, I almost wished I had not encountered the text and just lived in the moment.The flowers from last night were still all over the apartment, half-wilted but still looked beautiful in the soft morning light.I turned to check my phone, out of habit. A single unread message blinked in my mind’s eye again.“Don’t ghost me L.”My stomach knotted. The message was sent close to midnight, around the time Ethan had drifted off to sleep beside me..I had stared at it for a full minute, as my thumb hovered over reply, but what would I have said? I’d forced out the foolish thought and forced myself to a sad sleep.I decided to catch a little sleep again as it was still too early to be useful.By the time I woke up, Ethan was already o
The billionaire , the ex and the fake fiance. Chapter 16- Arms full of Sorry.
I was back at my apartment and working on some files when I heard the knock. Three gentle knocks, slow and patient like it was contrite.I wasn’t expecting anyone and Priye never knocked. Then I heard his voice.“ Are you in Maya?”I didn’t move, Ethan didn't tell me he was coming over and we hadn't spoken throughout the day.The knocking came again, more insistent.“Maya? It’s me.”I walked over to the door in my socks, flipped the chain, and opened the door. I had to physically step back because he was all flowers. The smell pleasantly assaulted my senses. He was holding a ridiculous, arm-aching, florist’s annual profit amount of flowers: roses, lilies, something that looked like a tiny pine tree having a glamorous crisis. One bouquet under his chin, two balanced against his ribs, another tucked in the crook of his elbow like a baby.“I panicked,” he said, breathless, eyes wide. “Forgive me, I couldn't recollect your preference and I didn’t know how to stop buying.”“You stood me u
The billionaire , the ex and the fake fiance. Chapter 15- The Door You Meant to Close.
Ethan stood at the edge of the bar’s low light, palms sweating and a little bit nervous.“Two whiskeys,” said a voice beside him, smooth like she was a regular. “Neat for me, rocks for…?”He didn’t have to look. He knew who it was and he turned straight away.“Leah?”She smiled with her mouth and something sharper behind her eyes. Her hair was shorter, a clean cut that made her jaw look more pronounced. The dress was well picked out, her make up thoughtfully applied to express the saying ‘less is more’.“Hi, stranger.” She slid onto the tall stool like the room belonged to her. “You look more tired than the last time I saw you.”He opened his mouth as if to say, I shouldn’t be here, instead he said, “It’s been a month.”“Every month is a month,” she countered, feigning amusement. “Welcome to adulthood.”The bartender set down their drinks. Leah lifted hers, waited until he lifted his, and said, “To poor coping mechanisms.”He clinked hers, as he smiled.They’d met before he left for th
The billionaire , the ex and the fake fiance. Chapter 14- Cancelled plans.
The morning sun was very optimistic as it slipped between the blinds and warmed my pillow like it had solved all my problems overnight, but it hadn’t.For once, I did not have any notifications from slack vibrating on my nightstand. There wasn't any last minute Cross Development crisis waiting to ruin my omelette either, except the meeting I had fixed with their boss. I’d taken a personal day off and my boss never minded whenever I did , because let’s face it, I lived for that office.I was headed for my parent’s house, in my comfiest jeans and an old college hoodie, earbuds tucked away so I could hear the chatter of the city. Father had sounded tired and sleepy on the phone last night when I called, by the time I got home. The thought of his thinning frame always made my stomach ache, knowing he could be gone any moment. I resolved work could wait but my father didn’t have that luxury. Zane Cross’s empire could survive twenty-four hours without my input or contact, after all I'd
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