All Chapters of NEXT BILLIONAIRE IN NINE MONTHS : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I stood in the kitchen, my hands trembling as I clutched my phone, staring at the screen like it was some kind of grenade. The name flashing on it made my stomach churn: Matt. I hadn't heard from him in weeks, and I'd hoped, prayed, even—that he'd finally gotten the message to leave me alone. But here he was, disrupting my life again, just when I thought I could finally move forward."Who is it?" Konrad’s voice startled me, his deep, smooth tone laced with curiosity. He was sitting at the dining table, scrolling through something on his phone, oblivious to the storm brewing in my chest.I fumbled with the phone, pressing the side button to silence it. My throat felt dry, my pulse hammering in my ears. "It’s just…my boss," I lied, trying to sound casual as I shoved the phone into my pocket. "Probably about the budget meeting tomorrow."Konrad raised an eyebrow, glancing up from his phone. "This late?"I shrugged, pretending to be unbothered, even as my palms grew clammy. "Yeah, he’s l

I leaned back in my chair, the sound of Ruth’s laughter echoing faintly from the other room. I couldn’t trust it. Ruth only ever laughed like that when she wanted something—and right now, I was sure she wanted something big. A house. She’d been talking about it for months, planting the idea like some insidious seed, hoping it would sprout into an actual investment from me. But I wasn’t stupid. Ruth’s charm came with strings attached, always. She wasn’t the woman I married anymore or maybe, I had never truly seen who she was until it was too late. Still, the mother of my son knew exactly how to manipulate a situation to her benefit. And when Ruth decided she wanted something, she became relentless. She waltzed into my study, wearing that smile—polished, practiced, and hollow. “Lev,” she said sweetly, too sweetly, “you’ve been working too hard. Why don’t you take a break for a minute?” I glanced up, arching an eyebrow. “What do you want, Ruth?” Her expression didn’t falter. “Wh

It was all going as planned—well, as Konrad planned, not me. Sitting beside him in the conference room of that real estate office, I could feel my palms growing clammy. He was completely oblivious to what was going on around him, smugly flipping through the paperwork. His eyes glinted with victory as he leaned over the table, pen in hand, ready to seal the deal that would make this house ours. The house. That damn house. I couldn’t let him do it. Not after what I’d seen. It had been days since I stumbled into the basement. Days since I discovered the truth lurking beneath the polished floors and pristine walls of that suburban dream home. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up to him without sounding crazy. How do you even start a conversation like that? “Oh, by the way, the house we’re buying has a basement full of illegal drugs. Thought you should know.” Yeah, right. So, I had to improvise. “Konrad,” I said softly, trying to steady my voice. He didn’t even look up from the

Konrad left early the next morning, long before I’d had a chance to say anything to him. The sound of the front door shutting echoed through the house as the sun began to rise, its first rays stretching lazily across the floor. I’d been sitting in the kitchen nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee, unable to sleep after everything that had happened the night before. My thoughts had tangled into a tight knot, questions and concerns jostling for space in my mind. Was it over? Had we done enough to stop things from spiraling out of control? I wasn’t sure, and Konrad’s abrupt departure left an uneasy weight in my chest.Lev found me not long after, his broad frame silhouetted in the doorway. His face was drawn but calm, and there was a softness in his expression that I hadn’t seen before. He crossed the room without a word, his boots thudding against the wooden floor, and took the seat across from me. For a moment, he said nothing, his hands folded on the table, his gaze fixed on me.“You did

The car was silent for what felt like an eternity, the kind of silence that wrapped around me like a heavy, suffocating fog. I sat in the passenger seat, staring out of the window, watching the blurred city lights pass by. I had no idea where we were going, or if I even cared anymore. The distance between us was palpable, thick enough to drown in. He hadn’t said a word since we’d left, and I had no intention of starting the conversation either. But then, his voice broke the silence, cutting through the air like a blade. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, his tone a mixture of regret and something else I couldn’t quite place. “I shouldn’t have—” He sighed, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. “I should’ve known better. I shouldn’t have made it harder on you.”I didn’t respond at first, trying to keep my emotions in check. He apologized so easily, but it didn’t feel like it meant much. The damage had already been done. It wasn’t just the argument we’d had earlier that was stil