All Chapters of The Billionaire's Brat: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

NovaI knew today was going to be a lot the second I opened my eyes and saw twelve missed calls. Twelve. From one man. My father.I sat up slowly on my bed, my blanket half-draped over one leg and my bonnet halfway off my head. I rubbed the crust from the corner of my eye with one hand while the other scrolled through the endless call list. First one at eight thirty in the morning. Then nine fifteen. Then nine thirty-two. Then back-to-back missed calls like he thought I had fainted on my way to pick up the phone.I didn’t even bother listening to the voicemails. I already knew what they said. Something like "Pumpkin don’t be late" or "This party is important" or "Please try to dress appropriately for once." My dad had a whole playlist of passive-aggressive messages and he played it on loop every time there was a party with important people.I dropped the phone on the bed and groaned into my hands. But I got up anyway.After dragging myself into the shower and letting the water steam a

NovaThe music inside the ballroom was low and fancy like something from a period drama. Laughter floated in the air like perfume and the clinking of champagne glasses made it feel like everyone was celebrating something more important than a birthday. The walls sparkled with golden lights and expensive decorations and everyone looked like they had been dipped in money. I didn’t belong there and I knew it. I felt like a well-dressed outsider watching the movie of someone else's perfect life.I slipped out to the balcony to breathe. The cold air hit me the moment I stepped outside and it was honestly a relief. I leaned on the railing with one hand, my champagne glass in the other, staring down at the gardens below. The air smelled like roses and winter. My heels were already hurting my feet but I didn’t take them off yet. Not here. Not yet.My thoughts started spinning again. I still hadn’t seen Jace and that was weird. He had probably been pulled away by his mom who acted like she was

NovaI woke up to sunlight stabbing through the blinds like it was angry with me. My whole body felt tangled and stiff, like I had slept inside a knot. My mouth was dry. My eyes burned. I blinked up at the ceiling, trying to piece together where I was. Then it all came back. The cake. The gasps. Genevieve’s smug little face. My father’s voice. My heart sank all over again.I reached over for my phone on the nightstand. The screen was too bright but I looked anyway. The time made my stomach flip. I had class in one hour.“Shit.”I groaned, tossing the covers off me. My legs felt heavy as I dragged myself into the bathroom. I didn’t even bother to look at my face in the mirror. I just brushed my teeth like a zombie and splashed cold water on my skin until I felt halfway alive again. I stood under the shower longer than I should have. The hot water helped clear my head a little. Not much. Just a little.After toweling off, I walked back into my room, still wrapped in the towel, hair drip

Roman's pov The alarm buzzed before the sun even finished rising. I reached for my phone and turned it off with a quick swipe, groaning as I sat up. The room was quiet. Cold, almost. The kind of cold that reminded you you were alone. I sat there for a minute, elbows on my knees, hands raking through my hair.My mind drifted before my feet even touched the ground. I saw cake. Silk dresses. Champagne glasses clinking. A hundred fake smiles. And one real one. Hers.Nova.I hadn’t expected her to look like that. I didn’t even recognize her at first. Not until she smiled and said my name. It was like seeing someone from a dream — someone who used to belong to another life. She had grown up. More than that, she had turned into something sharp and bright and unbothered. But I could still see it. Underneath all that leather and silence. I could still see the little girl who used to tug at my coat sleeve and ask me for stories.I forced myself to stand.I had left the party early. People prob

NovaI was on the floor again. Not crying or anything. Just sitting there with my back against the wall, legs stretched out, and my textbook open but untouched beside me. I was supposed to be reading for my test next week, but of course, I wasn’t. I had my phone in my hand, eyes staring at the message Maya had just sent. No words. Just a video and that one wide-eye emoji.I already knew it was going to be nonsense.I pressed play.The video opened with a shaky, zoomed-in clip of me leaving my shift at the restaurant last night. It was dark, so the video wasn’t even clear. You could barely see my face, but my hair and bag gave me away. Someone had recorded me through the window like a little creep. Right across the screen in bold white letters was the caption:“Miss campus queen by day, waitress by night???”I blinked. The video cut to another clip. This time, it was daytime. I was walking across campus wearing one of my favorite oversized hoodies and slides. Nothing fancy, just comfy.