All Chapters of Bound by a billionaire : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

~JESSICA~Daniel came down for breakfast like a ghost…polite, quiet, and distant. I wanted to go upstairs and call him because he's wasting so much time upstairs till I saw him coming down. He sat across from me at the dining table, thanked Kareem for the food, and barely said a word. No morning kiss. No teasing smirk. Not even a brush of his fingers against mine like he always used to do.I tried not to panic. Maybe he really was tired. Maybe he had too much on his mind.But I watched him closely as he ate.His eyes never met mine.His smile never reached his eyes.And the warmth I had grown used to in his presence had faded, replaced by a wall I couldn't see through.“Daniel?” I asked softly.He looked up quickly, startled, as though I'd yanked him out of some deep, dark thought.“Yes?”“You're quiet. Is everything okay?” I asked.He hesitated for a moment too long. “I'm fine,” he replied, his voice calm, guarded.“You sure?” I asked again, giving him a s

~JESSICA~I didn't need to stress myself for too long as the truth presented itself to me so easily.Three days later, it happened.I was at home, folding laundry in the bedroom, when a message pinged on Daniel's phone.It wasn’t like me to snoop. I trusted him.But something about the preview made my stomach twist.“Hope she likes the view. You look so intense when I was in control.”—Unknown Number.What view??I was about to pick up his phone when my own phone beeped.It was a message from the same unknown number that texted me before.My heart pounded. I tapped the message.Attached was a video.My fingers shook as it loaded.And when it did….My world shattered.It was Daniel.Naked. Dazed. In bed.With her.Crystal.She was sucking his dick, her face toward the camera. Smiling. His eyes—barely open. Lips parted. He was clearly enjoying it.Another video entered and I played it.Daniel was passionately and aggressively making love to Crystal. Kissing her lik

~JESSICA~The airport was a blur of motion and noise…rolling suitcases, crying babies, overhead announcements echoing on repeat…but none of it registered in my mind.I walked through it all like a ghost.The dogs sat quietly in the customized pet bag I'd carried them in…heads poking out through the mesh window, eyes darting left and right. They were restless, sensing my tension, but they stayed calm, huddled close together.“Shh… it’s okay,” I whispered, crouching next to them for a second as I waited in line at the boarding gate. I stroked their little heads. “We’re gonna be okay… I think.”I swallowed hard and stood up, gripping the handle of my carry-on like it was the only thing keeping me upright.I could feel eyes on me. Not because I looked out of place, but because I probably looked like I was about to fall apart.And maybe I was.Because no matter how strong I pretended to be…No matter how many times I told myself not to cry…The ache in my chest wou

~JESSICA~It was past midnight when I crept downstairs, unable to sleep.The house was quiet except for the occasional snore from the living room where Grace had fallen asleep watching a crime documentary, half a bowl of popcorn still on her lap.I padded softly into the kitchen, the dogs trailing behind me like sleepy shadows. I poured myself a glass of water, leaned against the counter, and stared at the faint reflection of myself in the window.My face looked different.Not older. Just… changed.Grief could do that. So could betrayal.But what hurt the most wasn’t the betrayal.It was how much I still wanted him.Even after the video, even after the lies, even after the silence… I wanted Daniel.And I hated myself for it.I pressed the cold glass to my forehead and sighed.Suddenly, a small buzz came from my phone on the counter.I glanced at it, expecting it to be Grace or some late-night spam notification.But it wasn’t.It was him.Daniel: “Are you okay?”

~JESSICA~I didn’t sleep much after the bookstore.My mind kept circling back to Leo’s words, his eyes, the careful way he’d chosen each sentence like a man who knew more than he said. And yet, I couldn’t prove anything.The next morning, as I was walking past the cafe, he was there again.Seated by the window.Of course he was.He saw me through the glass, rose from his seat, and stepped outside before I could pretend not to see him.“Jessica,” he said. His voice was calm, almost... weary. “Can I talk to you?”he asked.I hesitated, arms folded tightly across my chest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea” I told him.“Just a minute. Please” he pleaded.I didn’t say yes. But I didn’t walk away either.We stood beneath a gray sky, the smell of rain clinging to the air. He studied me like he was looking for cracks in a wall.“You asked me something at the bookstore,” he said. “About Daniel.”I stiffened.He continued, “I don’t know him. Never met him. The name so