All Chapters of Bound to the Cruel Billionaire: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Thalia's POVI woke to the sound of footsteps echoing across the floor like a warning. I stirred with my eyes barely fluttering open, and my limbs stiff from sleeping curled in the same position all night. The cold in the room was already biting. I had pulled the thin blanket tight around me before falling asleep, but it hadn’t done much. The sheets beneath me remained cold even from hours of lying still.But I didn’t have time to think.A second later, a sudden wave of freezing water slammed into me.I gasped, choking on the shock. My body jerked upright and my lungs seized from the chill. The blanket clung uselessly to me, soaked, heavy, and icy as it dropped from my shoulders. The water had drenched everything...my clothes, the mattress, my hair. My fingers clawed at the fabric sticking to my chest as if I could pull it off fast enough to stop the sting. My breath came in sharp, broken bursts.My eyes immediately flew up and there he was.Kael.He was standing just a few feet away,

Thalia's POVI remained seated in the shadows far longer than I intended. The night had grown cooler, and though I felt the breeze brush across my arms and neck, it did little to quiet the feverish ache pulsing in my chest.Part of me had hoped that speaking the truth aloud might have lightened the burden somehow. That maybe, in telling him, I would feel free. But freedom had not come.And as I was out disheartened and alone, without warning, the silence broke.It began faintly, in a soft stir of voices. Then came laughter, sudden and loud. Cheers, whistles, applause and then a rising wave of energy crashing through the rooftop bar.My brows furrowed. I turned my head toward the noise, uncertain. My heart already beginning to race out of dread. A strange hush fell just before the clapping swelled again, louder now, and more insistent. And then someone shouted:“Say yes!”I instantly froze.For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.I rose from the bench slowly, drawn forward against my will, a

Flashback Continuation...A day had passed since Thalia last saw Alina, but the memory of their encounter clung to her like a bruise that refused to fade.She tried to return to her routines. She answered work emails, read proposals, edited drafts. But no matter how much she busied her hands, her thoughts remained restless. Every quiet moment was haunted by Alina’s face,. That pale expression, the hollow eyes rimmed with tears, and the sharpness in her voice when she’d screamed at her to leave.Thalia had replayed it over and over in her mind. She had gone there to make amends. She wanted to be happy for her friend. She had made a choice that cost her her own heart and yet, Alina hadn’t let her in. She had shut her out completely. Without explanation. Without a single word of what had broken between them.And now, no matter how many times Thalia had tried calling and messaging her, she wouldn't answer. Maybe Alina just didn’t want to see her. Maybe she was still angry. Maybe she had e

Thalia's POVI remained curled on the cold, soaked mattress while my body trembled. Everything hurt...my arms where he’d gripped me, my back from where I’d hit the dresser, and my chest from all the accusations I have received from him and from everything I’d lost in a single, brutal moment.Still, I pushed myself upright.I didn’t even know why. Maybe because some desperate part of me still hoped Kael would see the truth if I just endured long enough. Maybe because I knew giving up now wouldn’t change anything. Or maybe… maybe I was already too numb to feel the difference.The cold floor bit into my bare feet as I staggered toward the bathroom. My soaked clothes clung to me like second skin, heavy and suffocating, and peeling them off felt like tearing at my own flesh. I stepped under the shower.The water ran warm yet I barely noticed.I stood there, staring blankly at the tiled wall as it streamed down my face and shoulders, washing away the remnants of his hatred...but not the ach

Thalia's POVI didn’t even have time to scream.Only enough breath left to wonder what I had done this time.Pain throbbed through my back and my scalp still burned from the force of the yank. My chest rose and fell in ragged, startled gasps as I lay sprawled on the cold marble floor, the ceiling above me blurring through tears I didn’t remember letting fall.But as I slowly looked up still dazed and still trying to steady my breath...I froze.It wasn’t Kael.It was Amara.Alina’s older sister.She stood above me like a storm in human form. Her eyes were blazing, lips curled into a sneer, and her fury was practically shaking off her in waves. Her expensive heels clicked as she stepped closer, her fingers twitching like she could barely restrain herself.“I’ve waited so long for this,” she hissed.My heart plummeted.I pushed myself up weakly, but my limbs were still too unsteady. My hands slipped on the floor, useless, as she crouched beside me.“You don’t deserve to stand,” Amara sai