All Chapters of Mister Billionaire’s Treasure: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

“Give me the umbrella,” Reign said as soon as we stepped out through the main door of his mansion, and one of his men immediately handed him the black umbrella waiting nearby.I looked at it in confusion. The morning was still young, the air still cool, and the sun had only begun to rise beyond the island. Its light was soft enough to touch the skin without hurting it, so I could not understand why Reign would need an umbrella until he opened it and placed it above my head.Not above himself, but above me.I turned to look at him, but he only continued walking beside me as if protecting me from the faint morning light was something he had always intended to do. I wanted to ask him why, but the warmth that suddenly crept onto my cheeks made me look away instead.To distract myself, I focused on the house and the vast land around it. I already knew Reign came from a wealthy family, and I knew he was powerful on his own, but seeing the whole estate beneath the morning sky still made me sp

“What is your reason for helping me?” I asked, making an effort to sound merely curious instead of suspicious, although I had already seen enough in Sharmon’s eyes to know that whatever concern she was pretending to offer had very little to do with my welfare. It was obvious that she liked Reign, and that alone would not have bothered me if she had chosen to keep her feelings to herself, but what irritated me was the way she seemed intent on dragging me into whatever bitterness she carried.Instead of answering at once, Sharmon glanced toward the two guards stationed several feet behind me. Their presence clearly displeased her, and the brief tightening of her jaw told me she was reluctant to continue while they remained close enough to overhear us.“Can we speak privately first, without them listening?” she asked.I raised an eyebrow, more at her expectation than at the request itself. “And how exactly am I supposed to do that? They are not my men. They are under Reign’s orders, not m

The chatter below rose in polished waves, mingling with the delicate clanking of glasses and the practiced laughter of people who belonged to rooms like this. It was a familiar kind of noise, almost too familiar, because it reminded me of the auction in a way that made my stomach tighten. The place was different, brighter, grander, and filled with people who wore their wealth like a second skin, but the feeling was the same. I was standing at the edge of a world that knew how to price everything, including people.Reign looked at me, and the worry in his blue eyes deepened. “Are you okay?” he asked, his hands rising to my cheeks before I could answer. “You look pale. What’s wrong?”I tried to speak, relieved when my voice finally obeyed me. “I worked for two years in a luxurious bar, so I know what it feels like to serve rich people. I have seen men spend more money on one bottle than others spend on months of food. I have heard women laugh while wearing jewelry that could buy someone

“The lady’s food was contaminated with anticoagulant rodenticides.”The sentence drifted into my consciousness before I was fully awake, arriving like a distant murmur through the fog that still clung to my senses. My body felt unbearably heavy, as though I had been pulled from deep water and left to recover on shore. I tried to move, but even the simple act of swallowing sent a sharp pain through my throat. Somewhere near me, another voice responded, lower and rougher, and despite the haze clouding my mind, I recognized it instantly.“A rat poison?”Reign.I forced my eyes open little by little. At first the world was nothing but blurred pale blue, then slowly the familiar décor sharpened into view. The carved ceiling, the curtains, the soft blue walls, the polished furniture. I was back inside Reign’s mansion. I could not immediately tell which room, but the smell of medicine lingering in the air told me enough to understand that I had not merely been carried upstairs. I had been tre

“Where is Thraia?”The question left my mouth the moment I saw that it was not her standing outside my door.A younger maid had come to fetch me for lunch, bowing politely as she informed me that Master Reign was already downstairs waiting, but instead of immediately following, I found myself looking past her shoulder as though Thraia might suddenly appear from the corridor. When she did not, an odd uneasiness settled in me.It had been a month since the poisoning.Doctor Greg had just concluded what he called my final scheduled examination, and after studying my pulse, my eyes, my breathing, and every other bodily function he seemed professionally entitled to inspect, he announced with satisfaction that the poison had completely left my system. There would be no need for several more months of restrictive medicine as originally expected. My body, according to him, had recovered much faster than anticipated.Reign had tried to persuade him to stay for lunch in celebration of my miracul