Semua Bab THE BILLIONAIRE HEIR: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Selene sat still, her arms wrapped around her legs, her forehead pressed against her knees as if the world might go away if she just made herself small enough.But the world didn’t go away.The pain didn’t stop.And the echo of Duke’s voice still burned in her ears."Is everything just for show with you, Selene?"A sob caught in her throat and clawed its way out before she could stop it. Her shoulders shook. Her nails dug into her arms. Her chest ached from holding in too much—for too long.He made her feel like nothing.Like the love she gave him was a performance.Like the truth she told him was a lie.And yet, it wasn’t just the words.It was the way he looked at her.Like she disgusted him.Like he regretted touching her.Her breath stuttered. Her tears came harder now—raw, messy, helpless. The kind of crying you don’t come back from. The kind that empties you.She cried not just because he hurt her tonight, but because she finally understood:He never planned to stay.She had com

She wore oversized sunglasses and let her long hair fall freely over her shoulders, hoping to stay unrecognized by anyone who might spot her.“Thank you, Rogie,” Selene said softly as she stepped out of the car. The driver, loyal as always, gave her a respectful nod before driving away.Instead of checking in, she walked into the Sandoval Hotel lobby and sat in one of the corners near the café, pretending to be waiting for someone. She only needed a few minutes—just enough time to make sure Rogie was gone.Once the coast was clear, she quickly hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to La Union.The trip took over three hours. By the time she arrived, the sun was starting to dip toward the horizon. She had booked a room in a modest three-star resort—one of Sandoval Hotel’s biggest competitors. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was peaceful.And more importantly, it was far from him.This was where she planned to stay while she figured out her next steps. She didn’t want to go back to work just

Her chest burned with suppressed anger and shame as she walked away from her conversation with Ingrid.She felt like a fool. No, she was a fool—for believing, even for a second, that she and Duke could still have a second chance. That maybe, just maybe, there was still something between them worth salvaging.But she was wrong. And once again, she was the only one hurting.She gave everything—her time, her emotions, her heart—without leaving even a single piece for herself.And now, forgetting him would be ten times harder.Selene found herself by the shoreline, the waves lapping against the sand as if echoing the turmoil inside her. She cried until there were no more tears left to shed.The moon hung low in the sky, casting a cold light over her figure as she sat there in silence, grief gripping her like a vice.When she finally came to her senses, she dusted the sand from her clothes, her limbs sore from sitting too long on the shore. Slowly, she made her way back to the hotel.The s

Duke sat motionless on the edge of Selene’s bed, the room cloaked in a silence so heavy it felt suffocating. His hands trembled slightly as he held her diary — the worn leather cover soft beneath his fingertips, yet it might as well have been made of knives, each page cutting deeper than the last.He read the words over and over again, unable to believe what he was seeing.The pages revealed secrets she had carefully concealed: how she had trailed him from a distance, stealthily stealing glances. She had accompanied her cousin Alliyah to watch him play basketball at his university, sitting quietly among the crowd so he wouldn't notice her.The diary recounted moments he had always thought were accidents — the time they ran into each other at a coffee shop, the shy smile she gave him that day, and the nervous way she scribbled her number on a napkin when he asked.He thought fate had simply thrown them together.He was unaware that she had crafted those fleeting moments of intimacy, mu

How Addison had discovered that he was at the Sandoval Condominium was a mystery to him.Maybe she did not even have to ask. Maybe she just knew—knew him as well as any family member could.She was his cousin, after all.She had always been able to feel it, to find him when the weight of everything became too much, when the world he had worked so hard to keep together began to crack and fall apart.Addison knew. She has always done this.And now, in the thick silence of the night, without any demands or judgment, she was simply present—an unspoken reminder that he was not alone, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise.The place was a complete wreck.Duke had not changed his clothes in days. His usually sharp, commanding presence had devolved into something hollow and ruined. With the glassy gaze of a man who had already lost everything that mattered, he sat slouched on the couch. The air smelled of whiskey, sweat, and something else, maybe grief. Defeat.Addison's h