Chapter 71

LIA POVI watch the world pass by in a blur as Nikolai drives down the road. The wind stings my cheeks, my lips are sore from biting them too hard to stop my tears, my eyes feel heavy, weighed down by bottled-up emotions I can’t seem to release. I feel… numb.It’s like I finally gave peace to the inner girl inside of me, the one bruised and battered by past years of torment from people I once called my friends.But standing up for myself doesn’t bring me at peace as I thought it would. If feels underwhelming, hollow, like a cold relief. I expected it to feel like freedom, like closure. Instead, it makes me question why it took me so long. Why did I let Sally stomp all over me for many years? Why did I endure those years of mistreatment, and took it with a smile even?I’d like to say I didn’t know any better, that I was oblivious to her passive-aggressive digs in high school. But that isn’t true.I knew, I just didn’t care.Sixteen-year-old me was overjoyed that a girl as beautiful as

Last Updated : 2025-10-02

Chapter 72

LIA POV“It’ll get us there quicker.” A hand goes around my waist while the other beneath my thighs before he scoops me off the ground. He does it so effortlessly like I don’t weigh a ton, no grunts, no mumbles under the breath, no sweat.I cross my arms around his neck and stay perched on his arms. His earthy, minty scent with a hint of morning dew wraps around me, so I have to fight not only the urge to bury my head in his chest, but also to not get lost in his eyes that the newly revealed moon is scattering into many colorful asteroids.We walk in silence, the night calm and still. A cool breeze drifts through the trees, carrying the faint chirping of birds in the distance. The moon shines above, soft and gentle, lighting the path ahead.I catch my breath every time his hand moves, no matter how slight. The faintest brush of his skin against mine sends shivers racing down my spine. And whenever his gaze drops to meet mine, I have to quickly look away, pretending I wasn’t just caugh

Last Updated : 2025-10-04

Chapter 73

NIKOLAI POVI’m not much of a talker, so I like silence. I like the absence of conversation, the ease of being alone with my own thoughts. I like when people don’t interact with me, when I’m not involved in meaningless chatter. Silence is a relief. Always has been.But this silence, the one filling the space between Lia and me inside this boat, is anything but a relief.It’s suffocating.Lia and I haven’t exchanged more than a cold, obligatory “good morning.” No accidental brushes of conversation, no fleeting meaningless chatter that I despise so much. Just stiff acknowledgment and then nothing. And it’s driving me insane.I should prefer this. I should welcome the distance, but apparently, when it comes to Lia, silence isn’t something I can stomach. It’s not peaceful. It’s not easy. It’s a fucking wall that she’s built higher and thicker with every passing day.It’s been like for a week.A week of Lia ignoring me, acting like I don’t exist. She doesn’t talk to me anymore. She doesn’t

Last Updated : 2025-10-04

Chapter 74

NIKOLAI POV“Noted boss.” His chuckles drifts through the phone. I can already hear the relief in your voice. “Let me hang up now. You seem to want to kill someone else at the end of the line.”I drop my hand down, shoving my phone back into my pocket. My eyes find Lia again because I can’t help myself. Thankfully, she’s alone now and is walking toward me.She settles on the seat opposite me, and another strode of silence settles between us like a heavy weight. Still not talking to me. still paying me no attention. In a normal job, this would have been professionally and I would have been thankful that my client isn’t trying to form any familiarity with him and is keeping in line. But this is Lia. I don’t want this from Lia. I don’t care about the line, or my boundaries, my sanity, or professionalism. I want her to disrupt every single one of them rightfully so.She pulls up her tab and starts strolling through it, going through work certainly. Before I can say word, Rick appears out

Last Updated : 2025-10-04

All Chapters of Protecting The Heiress : Chapter 71 - Chapter 74

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74