All Chapters of Claimed By The Billionaire's Enemy: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Ariana pov:The boardroom smells like desperation and old money, mahogany polish, leather chairs, and the faint tang of coffee gone cold.I’m standing at the head of a table that’s worth more than my apartment, my hands trembling as I clutch the edge of a folder that holds the last shred of my family’s name. The Blake legacy, or what’s left of it, is slipping through my fingers like sand, and I’m not ready to let go. Not yet.“Ms. Blake, you have five minutes to explain why I shouldn’t sign this deal and bury Blake Enterprises for good.” Damien Voss’s voice cuts through the silence; it was as sharp as a blade and as smooth as silk. He’s leaning back in his chair, all tailored suit and cold blue eyes, like a predator sizing up his kill. The other suits, his team of sharks watched me with the kind of pity you’d give a wounded animal. I hate it. I hate him.My heart pounds, a traitor to the calm I’m trying to project. “You know why,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “This compa

Ariana pov:The elevator hums as it climbs, each floor ticking by like a countdown to my execution. I’m dressed in my best, a navy pencil skirt and white blouse I ironed twice last night, but I feel like a fraud, like the world can see the cracks in my armor. My reflection stares back from the polished steel doors: Ariana Blake, twenty-four, former heiress, current fool walking straight into Damien Voss’s world. My stomach twists, and I grip my bag tighter, as if it can anchor me against the storm waiting on the forty-seventh floor.I didn’t sleep last night, not really. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dad’s face, heard Mom’s warnings, felt Lily’s trembling hands in mine. And worse, Damien’s smirk, those piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through me. I hate that he’s already under my skin, that my heart races at the thought of facing him today. It’s not just fear. It’s something darker, something that makes my breath catch and my cheeks burn. I shoved it down, deep wh

Ariana’s POVThe hum of Voss Enterprises is a dull roar in my ears as I sit at my desk, sorting through Damien’s endless emails. My second day here, and I’m already drowning in his demands, calendars, reports, and coffee runs. The glass walls of his office loom behind me, a constant reminder that he’s watching, waiting for me to crack. I won’t. Not for him. Not for anyone. But my hands are still shaky from yesterday, from the way his eyes lingered too long, the way his voice dipped when he said my name.I shove the thought down, focusing on the screen, when the elevator dings.I glanced up, expecting another courier or one of Damien’s assistants. Instead, my heart stops. Jake. Jake Matthews. He’s striding across the reception area, all broad shoulders and easy confidence, his dark hair tousled just like I remembered, his hazel eyes locking onto mine like no time has passed. My breath catches, and the world tilts. My first love. My first heartbreak. The boy who held me when t

Damien’s POV:The penthouse is a prison tonight, its glass walls and sleek lines closing in like a noose. The city skyline glitters beyond the windows, cold and untouchable, a reminder of the empire I’ve built from nothing. But it’s not enough to quiet the storm in my chest, the echo of Ariana Blake’s voice cutting through me: “You don’t own me.” Her words burn, like a splinter I can’t pull out, and I hate her. Hate her for being a Blake, for carrying her father’s poison, for making me question the revenge that’s been my lifeline for eight years. I stand in the living room, a glass of scotch in my hand, the burn of it sharp but useless against the chaos in my head.I rebuilt Voss Enterprises from ashes, nights coding in a basement, deals with men who laughed at my name, my mother’s hands raw from diner shifts, my sisters’ dreams crushed under debt. All because of Richard Blake. Her father. The man who smiled while he gutted us, whose merger was a lie that shattered my family. I wa

Damien’s POV:The office is a battlefield this morning, the glass walls of Voss Enterprises reflecting the city’s gray light like a blade. My desk is a fortress of contracts and screens, but my mind is a storm. Ariana Blake’s defiance from yesterday, “You don’t own me,” was cutting through me like shrapnel. I hate her for it, for the way her fire burns through my resolve, for the way she makes me question the revenge I’ve carried since my father’s grave. Elise’s words from last night, sharp and accusing, echo in my head: “She’s getting to you, Damien. It’s dangerous.” My mother’s grief, her raw hands, my sisters’ broken dreams, they’re all screaming at me to end this, to crush Ariana and be done with it. But I can’t. Not yet. Not when her fight, her refusal to break, is a challenge I can’t ignore.She’s at her desk outside my office, her head bent over a stack of files, her dark hair spilling over one shoulder. Even from here, through the glass, I see the tension in her frame, the w