Semua Bab Bound to the Cruel Billionaire: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Nana Marie sat beside Thalia with her hands folded tightly in her lap. The tension in her fingers betrayed the stillness of her frame. She had not moved for hours not even to eat or rest her eyes. Her entire focus remained locked on the girl lying broken in the bed.Even in sleep, Thalia looked like she was suffering.Her brows occasionally twitched, her breath came in shallow rises, and the tremor in her fingers hadn't stopped...not even once since they'd brought her in. The bruises on her arms were dark and ugly, like cruel fingerprints left behind by something inhuman. Her skin that was once vibrant, was now ghostly pale. Lips cracked and colorless. There was no peace in her expression and it made Nana’s chest ache.She had seen many young women in pain before—abandoned daughters, battered wives, grieving mothers—but none had ever looked so... hollow.When Thalia had first arrived at the emergency bay, limp in Kael’s arms, everyone thought she was already gone. But by some miracle,

The doctor stood at the foot of my bed. He was flipping through his clipboard with his brows furrowed in concentration. The fluorescent lights above made everything look too sterile and too clean, like the ugliness of what had happened to me didn’t belong in a place like this.“You have a few cracked ribs and significant bruising,” he said at last, keeping his tone level professional. “There were no damage to your internal organs. No broken bones, thankfully. That’s… the good news.”Good news.I nodded slowly, though even that movement sent dull shocks of pain across my back and shoulders. My fingers twitched beneath the blanket and my body was still adjusting to the steady throb of pain medication dulling the worst of it. It wasn’t that painful anymore but just a lingering ache.But I was alive.Barely.“You were dehydrated and malnourished when you were brought in,” the doctor continued as his eyes briefly scanned me before returning to the clipboard. “We’ve started IV fluids, antib

Thalia's POVThe ride back to the estate was short. Peaceful, maybe—to anyone else.But not to me.Every bump in the road twisted deeper into my stomach. Every second that passed, the pain grew tighter and sharper. It wasn’t just physical...it was everything. My thoughts were too loud, my breath too shallow, and my chest ached with something I didn’t have the words for.When the car finally turned into the long driveway of Kael’s estate, I pressed a hand to my side, hoping it would calm the ache. I drew in a breath and forced myself to sit straighter, composing my expression.Like nothing inside me was breaking.The car rolled to a stop in front of the grand entrance. Nana Marie stepped out first, then turned to help me.“Easy now,” she murmured with her warm arms around me as she supported me.I nodded and pushed myself up with grace. Every limb felt like it was made of stone. Every step forward felt like I was dragging invisible chains behind me.As we stepped inside the mansion, th

Alina looked radiant and untouchably alive in a silver evening gown, laughing softly with a group of foreign executives with a flute of champagne in hand. Her hair was curled, lips painted the same red he remembered from that night, and for a fleeting second, Kael thought his eyes were deceiving him.But no...he knew her face. Every angle. Every expression.That was her.His Alina.His fiancée.The one whose funeral he’d attended.The one he thought he’d lost forever.Kael took a sharp step forward with his breath snagging in his throat and his vision narrowing only on her.But before he could move any closer, Alina stilled as if her instincts caught something. As if someone was watching her and so she began looking around.And the very moment their eyes locked, he didn't expect that her smile would immediately vanish. The flute in her hand slipped slightly in her grasp, and in an instant, the color drained from her face. Her eyes widened but not with joy at the sight of him.Alina di

The question lingered between them and Conrad didn’t answer right away. Neither did Hana.Their playful exchange faltered mid-breath, and a quiet tension fell upon the room like a curtain drawn shut. Both siblings froze in place, their gazes meeting not in confusion, but in understanding.Then, just as Conrad opened his mouth to speak, Hana stepped forward, her tone gentler but laced with bitterness that had clearly been waiting far too long for release.“You mean Mikael’s father, I’m sure?” she said, slowly setting a bag of oranges on the table. “Most people don’t talk about him anymore… but we remember.”Her eyes didn’t leave Thalia’s as she pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “Our dad was a good man. Brilliant, too. He spent years developing a project proposal that would’ve changed everything. It wasn’t just a business pitch...it was his dream. His shot at building a legacy that would lift us out of mediocrity. He poured everything into it. Days. Nights. Missed birthdays. S