Semua Bab Engaged To The Ruthless Billionaire : Bab 11 - Bab 20

Eliana's POVThe flea market was alive with the sounds of haggling and the faint honks of cabs from the neighboring streets. The scent of churros swirled through the air, and everywhere I looked, I saw an explosion of different colors, textures, and fabrics.I’d been visiting the same market every Saturday for years. It was a treasure trove of inspiration and one-of-a-kind items I couldn’t find in the carefully curated luxury stores, and it never failed to pull me out of a creative rut. It was also my favorite place to visit when I needed to clear my head.Today, however, it did neither of those things.No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the memory of Alexander’s heated gazes or the tingles his touch gave me.It was infuriating.There’d been a moment when I’d liked Alexander, though that might’ve been my loneliness talking.“We’ve been to this stall already,” Katherine said.“Hmm?” I toyed with the fringe on a purple patterned scarf.“This stall. We’ve been here already,” sh

Alexander’s POV“Another one bites the dust. Something must be in the water, with the way everyone around me is suddenly getting hitched,” Christian drawled. “How are things with your blushing bride? Blissful, I hope.”“Cut the crap, Davenport, or I’ll throw you out myself,” I growled. My engagement party was insufferable enough without dealing with him.I was still unsettled from that kiss with Eliana last night, and now I had to make small talk with a bunch of people I didn’t particularly care for.The only thing worse than pretending to be in love with someone was pretending not to want them at all.A wicked smile slashed across Christian’s face. “Not blissful, then.”In the fourteen years I’d known Christian Davenport, not a single one had passed without him inciting me to near murder. It was almost impressive on his part.Instead of strangling him like I wanted, I smoothed a casual hand over my tie. “Compared to your pining? It’s fucking paradise.”His eyes narrowed. “I don’t pin

Eiana’s POV“Maybe you guys will finally fuck tonight.”Katherine’s voice crackled through my phone, which I’d propped against the bathroom wall while I touched up my makeup. Her dark curls bounced as she leaned closer to the screen, eyes alight with mischief.“It’s not a proper truce without an orgasm to seal the deal.”“Katherine.”“What?” she said innocently. “You deserve some fun after working your butt off these past few weeks.”A pause followed, then the sound of her keyboard clacking furiously. Her pet snake, Jasper, draped around her neck like a silk scarf, flicked his tongue near the camera.“Speaking of fun,” she added, eyes narrowing in thought, “should my main character’s signature murder method be poison, strangulation, or good old-fashioned axe to the throat?”“Poison.” It was the only one that didn’t make me nauseous.“Axe it is. Thanks, darling.” She grinned, already deep in fictional bloodshed.Katherine thrived in chaos. Where most writers needed silence and tea, she

Eliana's POVThe penthouse was too quiet without him.I never thought I’d miss the sound of Alexander Grayson pacing. Or the clipped, deliberate cadence of his voice when he spoke on the phone. Or the way his presence filled a room—not just filled it, but took ownership of the walls, the air, the silence.But now he was gone. Off to California for… meetings. Deals. Power games. Whatever it was that billionaires did behind private jets and vague texts. He barely said goodbye. One line: Back soon. Don’t do anything stupid.Too late.Because I couldn’t stop thinking about him. About us. About what happened at Marlowe Club.I dreamt of Alexander three nights in a row.I couldn’t recall what happened in the dreams, but I woke up each morning with the phantom touch of his hands between my thighs and a tight ball of need in my stomach.Cold showers only helped temporarily, and Alexander’s absence while he was in California was both a blessing and a curse.A blessing because I didn’t have to

Alexander’s POVThe apartment smelled like soup and roasted chicken when I returned home. Cora had been fussing over Eliana since the robbery, which in her world meant plying her with enough food to feed the entire Upper East Side through winter.Eliana had insisted she was fine, but few people recovered from having a gun pressed to their head that quickly. According to Cora, she was currently napping—and she never napped this late in the day. Or at all, now that I thought about it.I turned off the water, my thoughts as clouded as the steamed-up mirror.I’d done my part. I’d personally handled the men responsible, and spoken to Damien during the ride back from security HQ. He’d bounced back as expected—slightly shaken, but already brushing it off with the reckless ease only the young and foolish possessed.But he wasn’t the one who’d had a weapon in his face.Dammit.With a low growl, I toweled off, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the kitchen, where I had to pry a bowl of s