บททั้งหมดของ Surrendering to the Billionaire : บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

**Mia**By the time I returned home, I felt lighter, calmer—almost cleansed. Bashing heads had a way of doing that for me. Yes, that was my secret side hustle. I helped the helpless in my own twisted way. Violence was my language. I ran an anonymous site where women trapped in abusive relationships could reach out. Their oppressors always ended up learning the same lesson: pain humbles. Clara and Diane were just part of the list tonight. After changing out of my bloodied clothes, I scrolled through my phone. It buzzed endlessly with office messages—I ignored them all. My thumb froze on Ariella's name. She'd been spamming me honeymoon pictures, glowing and carefree. I stopped replying when she turned the conversation to my love life.Speaking of the devil, her name flashed across my screen."Hey, Mia," Ariella's face beamed on the caller ID, bright and annoyingly happy. "You've been ignoring my messages again.""That's because you've been asking questions I don't want to hear," I mutt

MatthewI thought I was finally going to end it. Maybe I should have. I didn’t even know why I had stayed alive this long. A piece of me had died with my daughter, and what remained was nothing but hunger, hunger to conquer, to possess, to control. That was how I survived. Anytime memories of her surfaced, I shoved them down, forced myself to forget. Forget her laugh. Forget how complete she made me feel.But when I was about to drown in that pain again, another pair of eyes burned through the darkness, fierce, unrelenting, challenging. Her eyes. And suddenly, I remembered there was still a reason for me to stick around. That reason was wrapped around me now, arms tight, head pressed against my shoulder instead of shoving me away and pretending she didn’t want me.I held her closer, breathing in her scent, sharp, spicy, nothing delicate about it. Nothing fragile. She was fire and steel, and fuck, that made me want to ravish her. That’s when I became painfully aware of the way she was

MatthewI spent the day buried in meetings I could barely follow, my thoughts constantly drifting to a certain redhead. Every attempt at focus shattered with the memory of her flushed face from last night, the way she melted under my touch, the breathless gasp when I pulled away. I had meant to punish her, to remind her who held control, but instead she haunted me. Even jerking off with her panties over my face the previous day hadn’t been enough to erase her. By evening, reports lay ignored on my desk, my patience worn thin. I needed to see her again, needed to know if that fire in her eyes was still defiance or if it had already surrendered to desire.But as much as I wanted to drag her away from work, I knew I could not. It was my own company after all, and I demanded nothing less than the best from her. So I forced myself through the endless meetings, masking my impatience, even as her image lingered in my mind like a brand. Every tick of the clock felt like a test of restraint.

# MatthewMia stared stiffly at me as I looked her over, searching for any sign that she was shaken more than she let on. Her face was slightly flushed, her lips pressed together with that stubborn poise she always wore when she didn't want me to see through her. The faintest curl tugged at the corner of her mouth."People are staring, Mr Foster," she said, her blue eyes meeting mine with cool defiance. "I am alright."I wasn't convinced. She was good at pretending. Still, I gave a short nod and led her toward the car, weaving us through the curious glances. I had parked it hastily across two spaces, my mind too restless to care about order when I rushed here. She slipped inside, graceful even when tense, and only when the door clicked shut did I allow myself to breathe a fraction easier.I slid into the driver's seat and let the silence stretch, studying the way her hands folded neatly in her lap. "Was it about your activities yesterday?" I finally asked, keeping my voice even, thoug

# MatthewIt was obvious from the frown on her face that she and her mother weren't on good terms, and yet she would rather stay with her than with me. That stung more than I cared to admit. I sighed. Clearly, I needed to work on my approach.She hung up with a wince, crossed her arms, and turned to the window, shutting me out as neatly as closing a door. I swallowed hard. The motion pushed her arms higher against her chest, lifting the curves I'd once tasted, and just like that, the memory of her soft moans threatened to undo me. Damn it. My lust was spiraling out of control, and she wasn't even trying.I kept my hands tight on the wheel and let the silence stretch, hoping she might mistake it for me being upset and compromise a little. But knowing Mia… I wasn't holding my breath.To distract myself, I turned my thoughts to Renson and how to get him off Mia's back. Knowing Renson, it didn't matter if Mia was innocent or not—someone had to take the blame. And instead of blaming his us