Share

Chapter 24: Falling Apart

Author: Jovi Luna
last update Last Updated: 2025-11-01 20:48:15

Annabelle Pov

I’m losing it…”

Since I lost my job, everything has been spiraling. The few bills on my counter have multiplied like weeds. My fridge hums softly, its contents dwindling. Three bottles of water, an apple, and a jar of peanut butter that’s long past its prime. Survival is now a daily calculation.

“I need to get another job,” I tell myself, forcing the words out as if saying them will make it happen.

Dragging myself into the shower, I let the lukewarm water run over me until the heaviness in my chest eases just a little. Then I pull on a pair of faded jeans and an oversized sweater. It’s not much, but it’s enough to make me look like I’m still trying.

As I grab my bag and step out of the apartment, determination flickers faintly inside me until the second I push open the main door of the building.

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

Cameras. Microphones. Voices overlapping in a storm of questions that slice through the morning air.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” I groan, shielding my face with m
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart   CHAPTER 35: ANOTHER REJECTION

    Annabelle povI’m going for an interview today. Not thrilled about it because of the recent rejections I’ve gotten but maybe just maybe today would be different. I pulled open my closet, fingers flipping through the limited options I had left after everything fell apart. A simple blouse. Black slacks. Clean, pressed, professional. Safe. As I dressed, I caught my reflection in the mirror.My eyes looked tired, but there was fire underneath the exhaustion. A simmering flame that refused to go out.“Come on, Annabelle,” I whispered to myself. “You’ve survived worse.”A soft knock echoed against my apartment door. I frowned. “Who…?”I opened the door cautiously.Standing there was Ronan, someone I wasn’t expecting at all. He looked good as always and while moving away for him to come in I notice that he is holding a small lunch box wrapped in a cheerful yellow cloth. He smiled warmly. “I know today is a big day for you, the last time I was here I saw that you’ve been practicing a few i

  • The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart   CHAPTER 34: MEMORIES

    ANNABELLE POVI didn’t expect Ronan to do that to his own mother.For a long moment, I just sat there after hearing the news, staring at my reflection in the blank TV screen. My eyebrows are pinched together, lips parted in disbelief. Ronan Blackthorne, heir to the Blackthorne empire, the man raised under Victoria’s iron grip, my half brother, had actually turned against her. His own mother.Yes, Victoria Blackthorne was evil, agreed. Everyone in the city whispered it now that they know some truths about her, though mostly behind well-guarded lips. But even then, a part of me thought Ronan would always choose blood over justice. Over truth. Over me. When he came to me I thought…Anyways not that it mattered. Victoria had been nothing but a raging storm since the first instant she walked into the café where I used to work. One cold look, one perfectly manicured sneer, and she decided I was beneath her. Trash. A nobody who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her and her precious

  • The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart   CHAPTER 33: THE LAWSUIT

    VICTORIA POVMy heart was still pounding with the remnants of rage when my phone lit up on the dresser. Detective Walsh’s name flashing insistently. Perfect. Just when my morning couldn’t get any worse.I didn’t bother to calm myself. I snatched the phone up, my pulse thundering in my ears.“Talk,” I barked, because I didn’t have patience for greetings, pity, or whatever bad news he had reheated for me this time.Walsh inhaled sharply, the sigh of a man who didn’t want to be the messenger of doom but didn’t have a choice. “Good morning, Victoria,” he began cautiously, as if I might combust through the line. “I’m calling because… Annabelle Callahan has filed a case.”My entire body went still.He continued, “She is officially suing you to court with multiple charges—defamation of character, document forgery, destruction of property, emotional distress and so many more”I could feel the blood rush to my head. “You’re joking.”“I wish I were,” he said. “But she’s officially hired Miranda

  • The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart   CHAPTER 32: SECRETS FROM THE GRAVE

    VICTORIA POVGrrrng! Grnnnng! GRNNNNG!My phone hasn’t stopped vibrating since dawn. At first, I thought I was dreaming but I kept hearing sounds like a chainsaw buzzing somewhere in the distance until the persistent vibration against my nightstand drags me toward consciousness. I groan, burying my face deeper into the cool satin of my pillow.“For fuck’s sake…” I mumble, voice muffled and thick with sleep.The buzzing stops.Peace.Two seconds later—GRNNNNG!I flinch. The vibration jolts through the penthouse again.I could turn it off. I should turn it off. But my arms feel heavy, my bones jelly, and the idea of moving seems like a betrayal to my own body. So I ignore it and close my eyes again.But then—another sound.At first it’s faint, like soft murmurs. Then louder. Closer. A low rumble of voices mixed with frantic shuffling.I freeze.No. Not inside. But—Outside.What the hell?I force myself upright, wincing at the sudden rush of blood to my head. My penthouse is drenched i

  • The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart   CHAPTER 31: FIRST ATTACK

    RONAN POVTalking with Miranda this morning felt like someone finally pulled the curtains off a room I had been stumbling around in for years. She didn’t tell me anything I hadn’t suspected about my mother but hearing it from someone who had nothing to gain or lose made everything snap into place. It made me realize that I’ve allowed Victoria Blackwood, the infamous queen of manipulation, to control the board for too long.And for once… I wanted to knock over a few pieces of hers.Miranda had been calm, brutally honest, and maybe just a little sympathetic when she said, “Your mother doesn’t break because she doesn’t believe she can. Someone has to show her she can bleed.”That sentence has lived in my head all morning.I stand by the window of my penthouse, the city stretching below me like a restless animal, and I know exactly what I need to do. If my mother thrives on control, then I’ll shake the ground underneath her feet. If she enjoys toying with other people’s lives, then it’s t

  • The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart   CHAPTER 30: JOINED FORCES

    RONAN POV“Ronan… Ronan, wake up. Ronan!”The voice comes from far away at first, floating through the haze of sleep like an echo. Warm. Soft. Familiar. Too familiar.Annabelle?I groan, half convinced I’m dreaming again because why else would her voice sound so close? Why would she sound as if she’s right beside me?“Ronan!”A hand grips my shoulder and shakes me hard.My eyes fly open.And I’m staring directly into Annabelle’s face. Her real face, not the dream version that smiles at me like she owns gravity. Her hazel eyes are wide with urgency, a few messy strands of hair falling over her forehead, her lips parted slightly.Not a dream.Hell.I suck in a sharp breath and push upright immediately. “Annabelle…”“You scared me!” she whispers harshly. “I’ve been calling you for the past minute. You weren’t moving.”I blink a few times, trying to gather my thoughts. “I… I slept off.”And then everything crashes back in a tidal wave.My mother’s betrayal.The board’s suspension.The hum

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status