Semua Bab Dear Billionaire Ex, I am more than an arranged marriage: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The wedding day began with a cold and quiet feeling. The sky over San Francisco was pale blue and dull, very different from the bright colors Eva remembered from her childhood. She didn’t feel excited or nervous. Instead, there was an empty ache in her chest. This wedding was not about love. It was a deal, a cold and careful joining of two broken lives.The ceremony was a blur of soft whispers and flashing cameras. It happened in a private, very fancy ballroom in one of Lucian’s hotels. The room was full of flowers, but the beauty felt strange compared to the serious mood. Business leaders in sharp suits, rich socialites covered in diamonds, and reporters with eager eyes filled the space. They whispered quietly, looking closely at Eva and Lucian. Some said it was a smart business move. Others thought it was blackmail, a desperate act by the Langston family. Only Eva and Lucian knew the full, messy truth and even that truth was filled with pain, secrets, and old wounds.Eva wore a simp

The temptation was like a siren’s song, calling Eva back to a life she thought was lost forever.She sat across from Miles Rourke at a busy downtown café, the noise of the city buzzing around them. It felt like a secret rebellion a small act of defiance against the golden cage she now lived in.Miles, once her colleague and something more for a brief moment, still had that spark in his eyes. Now an editor at a promising online media startup, he leaned forward, earnest and hopeful.“E.L. Verity,” he said, pushing a steaming mug of coffee toward her. “That’s the name we want back. Your work was groundbreaking still is. We have an open spot. Full creative control, Eva. No corporate meddling.”Eva’s throat tightened. Full creative control. No interference. Everything she’d once dreamed of. The chance to be E.L. Verity again free and unapologetic.But then, just as quickly, Lucian’s cold, unreadable face flashed in her mind.She swallowed and said quietly, “I… I need to think about it, Mil

The red dot on Ari’s forehead in the photograph burned into Eva’s mind like a brand. It wasn’t just a threat it was a declaration of war. The message that came with it was brief, chilling.You’re not the only one watching. Stay in your lane, Mrs. Thorne.Her heart pounded violently, each beat a drum of panic. It hadn't stopped since Lucian thrust the image in front of her.Lucian’s reaction had been immediate cold, controlled, and terrifying in its efficiency. The penthouse transformed overnight into a high-security fortress. Silent security operatives moved like ghosts, cameras were re-angled, biometric systems rechecked. No window, no hallway, no entrance was left unguarded.Ari slept peacefully, blissfully unaware, her fever finally broken. Eva couldn’t take her eyes off her daughter’s tiny chest rising and falling. Every breath was a relief.Lucian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his silhouette cut sharply against the city’s neon glow.Eva’s voice broke the silence, barely a

Evelyn Cross didn’t just arrive in San Francisco….she descended. Her entrance was less of a reappearance and more of a coronation. Society pages buzzed, political circles whispered, and business elites straightened their spines. She was elegance personified: poised, brilliant, and strategically untouchable. Where Eva’s presence had always been unassuming and human, Evelyn’s was meticulous every smile rehearsed, every glance calculated. Her engagement to Lucian wasn’t love it was legacy. A political alliance dressed in silk and champagne.Her first public appearance was a high-profile charity auction, and Lucian insisted Eva accompany him.“You need to be there,” he said simply, not offering it as a suggestion but an obligation. “Optics matter.”Eva had wanted to say no. To stay hidden behind the safety of silence. But that wasn’t who she was anymore. Not after everything.When Evelyn swept into the ballroom that night, time paused. She entered on the arm of a well-known senator, wrapp

The ballroom glittered with cold elegance, all polished marble and chandeliers that dripped like icicles. Eva stood beside Lucian, her hand resting lightly on his arm as they worked the room. She smiled where needed, nodded politely at investors, but her thoughts were elsewhere on her father, on the weight of her decisions, on how trapped she felt despite the pearls around her neck.That was when he walked in.Gavin Pierce.He was the kind of man who drew attention without trying. Tall, lean, sharply dressed in a charcoal suit that fit him like second skin. He moved with quiet confidence, each step measured, his gaze scanning the room like a man who already knew its secrets.Lucian’s arm tensed slightly beneath Eva’s fingers.“Who is that?” she asked, noticing his reaction.Lucian’s lips twitched into a practiced smile. “Gavin Pierce. CEO of Veritas Capital. A rising star in the investment world. And someone I don’t particularly trust.”Before Eva could ask more, Gavin approached them