Semua Bab The billionaire's secret vow : Bab 11 - Bab 20

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Ariiiiaaa—happy birthday to you!” Zara’s off-key but enthusiastic voice rang through the phone speaker, instantly bringing a smile to Aria’s face.“Zara!” Aria laughed, rolling her eyes fondly as she sat up on the edge of her bed. “You’re insane.”Zara chuckled. “Insanely in love with you, duh. And guess what? I’m coming over. You’re not spending your birthday holed up in a mansion with broody Mr. Tall-Dark-ice-and-Dangerous. I’m kidnapping you.”“Hold on—Zara—”But Zara had already hung up.Minutes later, Miss Hayes, the house manager, knocked gently on Damian’s study door, where he and Jaxon were in discussion. “Sir, there’s a young woman here to see Miss Aria. She says her name is Zara.”Damian arched a brow. “Let her in.”Zara marched into the grand foyer like she owned the place, dressed in a crop jacket, leather boots, and a sparkling attitude. When Aria came rushing down the stairs, the girls collided in a tight

The morning sun filtered through the beige curtains of Zara’s small studio apartment, illuminating the racks of fabric samples and pinned sketches littering her walls. She pulled on a crisp beige blazer over her fitted trousers, slipped into heels, and grabbed her oversized tote.Zara was always early. She liked the calm before the buzz.The sidewalk was busy as usual, but Zara turned into the little café on 3rd and Vine—a cozy nook that always smelled like cinnamon rolls and fresh espresso.“Morning, Zara!” the barista, Annie, greeted her with a smile. “The usual?”“You know me too well.” Zara grinned. “Black coffee, no sugar. And… let’s go wild—add a ham sandwich.”Annie laughed. “Big day?”Zara exhaled. “Final fittings and two stubborn brides who keep changing their neckline preferences. If I survive today, I deserve champagne.”“Or a spa weekend.”Zara winked and paid, then took her coffee and sandwich and stepped out onto the street, blending into the city rhythm.Her office was

The house was quiet when Damian returned home, the kind of silence that pressed into the walls and settled over the furniture like an unspoken secret. He shrugged off his blazer as Marta, the older housekeeper, appeared near the foyer with a polite smile. “Dinner is ready, sir.” He nodded, voice low. “Thank you, Marta.” Without another word, he headed up the staircase to change. His mind was still tangled in knots—Zara, Calder, Amelia, and now this haunting sense that Aria was slipping further from him. Again. At the top of the staircase, he took a sharp turn around the corner and almost collided with her. Aria froze in the doorway, halfway out of the bedroom. Her eyes widened for a second. “Good evening.” It was the first time they’d come face-to-face like this since the gala. Since the kiss that neither of them could confront. Damian stood still, pulse thudding low in his throat. “Good evening,” he mumbled, brushing past her and disappearing into the en suite without anothe

A week passed since the letter arrived from Amelia, and yet Aria still felt the tremble in her bones. Fear lingered under her skin like a second heartbeat. Every morning she would wake up hoping the entire thing had been a cruel joke, but the envelope with Amelia's name remained real—tucked away in the bottom drawer of her desk at the flower shop.On the seventh day, her phone buzzed. AMELIA: In an hour meet me at an old white building just past the outskirts of town. Come alone.Aria’s heart dropped. Her hands shook as she closed the shop early, giving the staff a flimsy excuse about having a migraine. She didn’t want anyone asking questions. Not yet.She stepped into a cab, directions clenched in her mind like a lifeline. What she didn’t know was that someone followed her—a tall figure in plain clothes, discreet and silent. Damian's bodyguard, Mikhail had seen her leave and, sensing something off, trailed her from a distance. When the cab veered out of town, he immediately called D

“Damian is a heartless bastard! What the hell was he thinking?!” Zara fumed, pacing the living room as Aria sat numbly on the couch, her eyes swollen and red. “He didn’t even give you a chance to speak, Aria. He just threw you out like trash!”Aria wiped her nose, her hands trembling. “I tried. I begged him to listen. But he looked at me like I was nothing. Like I disgusted him.”Zara dropped beside her and wrapped her arms around her best friend. “You don’t deserve this. You gave everything to him, Aria. Everything! And what did he do? Humiliate you. Toss you out like a used napkin!”Tears slipped down Aria’s cheek silently. “He wouldn’t even let me explain. He just showed me those stupid pictures and assumed the worst.”“I swear, if I ever see that man again, I’ll punch his arrogant face,” Zara snapped. “Jaxon should’ve known better too. He knows you!”“What does he know? They both believed Amelia or whoever took those pics,” Aria whispered. “She got what she wanted.”Zara looked at