Semua Bab A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE: Bab 141 - Bab 150

KALMIA’S POV I remained standing at my studio’s center while holding Arrow’s letter in one hand and my shattered feelings in the other. Aching heart, roaring pride, shattered mind. That’s when Jade walked back in, arms crossed, gaze fierce. No smile this time. She’d had enough of my merry-go-round nonsense. “No, Kalmia,” she stated plainly, words cutting through the silence. “I won’t let you do that to Arrow.” I whipped around to face her. “Excuse me?” I blinked in confusion. “Do what?” “Shut him out. Pretend like none of this matters. Like you don’t still care,” she said, advancing toward me. “You’re mad. I know. You should be. But don’t make him pay for doing what we prayed he’d finally do—change.” Heat swelled in my chest. “Jade, please. You can’t know what this man did to me. “I know I don’t,” she said, much quieter now. I witnessed how his actions affected you. My hands were holding yours while you cried yourself to sleep. Your body twisted inwards which made me think

KALMIA’S POV “From what?” she asked loudly. “From love? From healing? From your own happiness?” “From getting hurt again!” I cried, my voice breaking. “You don’t know what it felt like, Jade. Those words he said left me feeling completely empty. How worthless he made me feel.” She pulled away sharply like I had struck her with my hand. “I know I don’t,” she replied gently. “But I know what it looks like to lose yourself in bitterness. I saw you transform from someone who brightened every space to someone who struggles to face her reflection. My eyes burned from tears which I fought to control with furious blinking. “Don’t act as if you understand my best interests. She raised her hands up in exasperation. “Then what, Kalmia ? What do you want? From where I’m standing it sounds like you want everything to stay just the way they are in your anger.” Silence fell between us, painful and thick. A trembling breath escaped me as I quietly said “I need tranquility, Jade.” I long for

KALMIA’S POV I was in the kitchen fast. The scent of home sunk deep into my bones and soaked them, soothing them like a tonic. The walls were warmer; the silence gentler. I wasn’t on edge or berating myself for still being. I wrapped the scarf around my head and pulled on a fresh pair of shorts and tank top before digging around in the cabinet. Something easy but filling, something that smelled like peace. I was chopping onions. But something compelled me to slam the knife against the cutting board. I looked up through my watery eyes, pushing my hand behind them. I was not sure if it was the sting of onions or the choking artist in me. I was so focused that I only then realized he was behind me, holding me around the waist. “Oh!” I yelped. “Arrow! You scared me.” He nuzzled against my neck. “I missed you cooking. Smelling like home. You.” “Finish cooking first,” I said while chopping onions but my lips kept twitching from overwhelming joy. “I understand,” he murmured int

GAVIN’S POV The door to the warehouse creaked shut. It was over. I stood motionless for a moment, alone with the silence and the last feeble pleas dying on her lips. There was no great sense of satisfaction, no swell of emotion. Only a quiet, cold feeling that the score was settled. It wasn't the first time that I thought of my father, a good man, whose life she had ended without a second thought. I was his arrow, swift and true. She had built her life on fear, on breaking the human spirit. I'd seen it, time and time again: the empty eyes, the ravaged minds, the empty husks of people who were once filled with lives, loves, families. I'd hunted her for years, driven not just by some warped sense of balance, but because she was the destroyer of my family, my enemy. I found her and we talked. Her attitude displayed arrogance mixed with a delusional belief in her own invincibility. As her wrists and ankles felt the pressure of ropes she sneered and spat before attempting to manipulate

JEMIMA’S POV The Morning After The office was buzzing. Same as always, pre-workings of a hive. Same as any other morning. But not for me. I was in orbit. Floating. Walking on clouds. Eryx and I had shared small knowing glances across our open-plan office a few times that morning and I could not contain the flush on my cheeks, the tight feeling in my throat from the knowledge that we shared a secret between us. A secret from the night before that vibrated through the air like electricity. I opened and shut files, I sat in meetings and meetings, and tried to pretend to be a normal human being. But in the sanctuary of my own thoughts I played back his voice, his hands, his smile. A beautiful problem. It most certainly was that. I was frowning at an email trying to figure out who, on earth, I would send an email to that made no sense when suddenly the entire office was cast in a silent hush and people began to crane their necks toward the main door. There he was. Eryx. Although he was