บททั้งหมดของ Doted by the Ruthless Billionaire: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Elias’s Private FloorThe elevator doors slid open with a quiet chime.Elias stepped out, a vision of tailored precision obsidian suit pressed to perfection, briefcase in hand, and a storm-grey expression that made junior staff clear the hallway without a word.The air on the executive floor shifted.“Good morning, Sir,”Kade said with a crooked grin from the lounge, half-eaten croissant in one hand, tablet in the other.“Or should I say... traitor to the breakfast table?”“Didn’t know we were allowed to sleep in fancy wings and skip work rituals now,”Theo muttered from behind the espresso machine, sharp-eyed and irreverent.“Should I be calling ahead to Lyra Moreno’ staff next time?”“Don’t push it,”Elias said calmly, walking past without breaking stride.Rio, ever the quiet one but no less bold, raised a brow from his perch by the window.“You missed Camelle’s scones. Again.”“I had other priorities,”Elias said simply, setting his briefcase down with an audible click.Camelle, dr

Vale EstateDining HallThe room glowed with warm amber lighting and soft classical music playing in the background.A long mahogany table was elegantly set for a private gathering, with crystal glasses, white roses, and a custom-printed menu with the Moreno and Vale family crests embossed in gold.Lyra stepped in beside Elias, poised in a sleek black velvet gown with moonstone earrings that shimmered when the light caught them. Elias wore a classic three-piece suit, dark charcoal with subtle blue thread matching her eyes more than the décor. His hand lightly rested on the small of her back as they entered together.Celeste, Elias's mother, rose first with a soft smile."Lyra, you look stunning tonight."Camelle stood beside her and whispered just loud enough to tease,"And Elias actually smiled when you walked in. A historic event."Lyra gave a small, polite smile."I'm honored, then."From the other side, Lyra's grandparents Elena and Augusto Moreno, seated gracefully, stood and kis

Main HallwayThe soft rustle of fabric echoed down the grand staircase as Lyra descended slowly, a vision of icy elegance ensemble off fitted dove gray dress with structured shoulders, subtle embroidery at the sleeves, and a high collar. Her hair was swept back into a sleek twist, silver pins glinting subtly, like starlight hidden in shadow.Behind her trailed Yani, proud as a peacock in all black, arms crossed smugly."Okay,"Yani whispered, eyeing her from behind."If Elias doesn't faint, I will. You look like royalty that's about to overthrow a government.""Let's hope the photographers agree,"Lyra murmured, expression calm but with a slight curve to her lips.Waiting at the bottom of the staircase was Kade, Elias's personal assistant, pacing with a tablet in hand, muttering into a bluetooth earpiece.His eyes flicked up and immediately, he froze."...Okay, scratch that," he muttered to the person on the call,"we're gonna need a second wave of security. Yes. Because she looks li

A Smoky Underground LoungeBackstreets of the CityA few days after the engagement announcementThe lounge was the kind of place where hope came to die quietly in a glass of cheap liquor. The walls sweated nicotine and dust, and the air clung to the skin with the damp grip of forgotten years. Somewhere near the bar, a slow jazz riff crackled from a broken speaker, distorted and scratchy, the notes bending as though drunk themselves.In the back, past the smoke-choked tables and a hallway that smelled of mildew, two men stood like silent statues before a red velvet curtain. Their throats were marked with curling tattoos that hinted at unspeakable debts. They didn't move when the curtain parted.Behind it lay the real meeting.The private room stank of old cigars, stale whiskey, and blood some dried into the floorboards, some still fresh enough to glisten faintly under the single overhead bulb. The light swayed on a fraying cord, casting warped shadows that clung to the corners like hou

Moreno’s EstateLyra’s Room MidnightThe lavender haze of midnight cloaked the Moreno estate in a deep, velvet silence. The world outside might have been a void for all it mattered the air still, the walls breathing with the slow, stately heartbeat of the house.In her room, Lyra lay motionless beneath a spill of silk sheets, the curve of her form softened by the moonlight that slipped between her curtains. Her hair fanned across the pillow like silver ink, the strands catching pale light in threads that glimmered, then vanished with the rise and fall of her breath.The moonlight kissed her skin, giving it a porcelain sheen that made her seem almost unreal…...fragile, doll-like. Her breathing was soft. Slow. Dreamlike. To anyone watching, she was exactly what they expected her to be…. helpless. Oblivious. Floating in a world of sleep and softness.But her eyes weren’t fully closed.Beneath her lashes, there was the smallest flicker, a barely perceptible shift that betrayed her awarene