All Chapters of Blood Ties and Billionaire Lies: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The week stretched long at Roth Enterprise, deadlines piling like bricks in a wall, but somehow Richard managed to carve out moments for me. We started having lunch together. What was once polite and formal, had grown into languid conversation. We teased each other, telling stories about childhood scars, and dreams we rarely confessed to anyone else.The chemistry between us was undeniable. Everyone knew. The stares got me questioning if people really knows what's going on. I became hyper-aware of my colleagues’ glances, the half-second pauses in conversation when I passed. All these questions kept hovering in my mind.But non of it mattered to me.Let them wonder, let them whisper. The only opinion that mattered to me was Richard’s. The following morning, happiness sat on my chest like a golden weight. My colleagues noticed before I even opened my mouth. “You’re glowing,” one said. Another teased, “What’s the secret? Lottery? Promotion?”Alia, however, seems to be distant lately. We

The morning light poured through the curtains. I could still feel the warmth of Richard’s body. I laid on the bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling, my lips tingled as I remembered how I screamed his name last night.My body was a bit sore and it ached. Gentle reminder of the activity i partaked yesterday.I could barely stand up from the bed.Last night was everything I didn't know I was craving. He went gentle with me, kept checking on me. I felt alive…in a way i’d never experienced.Richard, my supervisor. The man every woman in New York whispered about, and now… mine?I rolled over, clutching my pillow on hearing my phone buzzing on the nightstand, breaking the trance. Alia’s name flashed on the screen.My stomach flipped. Of all people why Alia? She'll notice something is up, she always notices. I answered, trying to sound casual. “Hey.”“Don’t hey me,” Alia shot back, her voice sharp with suspicion. “Where were you last night? I kept calling you, yet, no answer.”“I—uh,

The rooftop air went sharp, my heart hammered as Damien’s voice cut through the silence.“Selena.”Richard stiffened beside me his hand discreetly retreating from mine, but the damage was done. The moment of closeness was burned into Damien’s eyes.I turned slowly. “Mr. Roth,” i managed, voice shaking.Damien’s expression was unreadable, carved in steel, but his gaze flicked from her flushed cheeks to Richard’s composed stance—and something in it darkened.“I’ll need both of you in my office tomorrow morning,” he said coolly, then left without another word.The door shut, leaving only the wind howling between skyscrapers.The next day, Damien was different.He didn’t confront us, didn’t lash out, didn’t say anything to either of us. Instead, he watched.I felt it everywhere. The weight of his gaze in meetings, the way he lingered outside my office door a beat too long, the sudden interest he took in my project reports.Richard noticed it too. “He’s circling,” Richard murmured one afte

Damien shoved Richard in the middle of the executive room, and it immediately felt like the world stopped moving. Assistants froze, wide-eyed. The glass walls reflected Damien’s rage and Richard’s surprisingly calm posture.My heart hammered in my ears. I was standing there when Damien’s voice, sharp, sliced through the air.“You knew how I felt about her, Richard!” Damien barked, his fist raised, his face burning. “You knew…and still you went behind my back like a thief.”Richard, caught his wrist midair. “Don’t make this uglier than it already is,” he said, his voice low. “What happened between Selena and I isn't betrayal….it’s love. Something you wouldn’t understand, because you’ve only ever tried to own people, not cherish them.”Gasps moved through the office. A CEO being accused—publicly—of treating women as possessions? It was blood in the water, and the sharks—employees, board members, assistants—were circling with whispers that would soon spiral into gossip storms.I felt my

Richard’s office burned with a tension hotter than fire. Hours had passed since Damien’s very public outburst in the boardroom, but the storm hadn’t settled—it had simply shifted. Every employee at Roth Enterprise was whispering, gossip spreading like wildfire through hallways and glass partitions.Richard stood by the side of the window, his posture stiff, jaw clenched as though he was holding himself together with force. Behind him, the door creaked open.“Richard,” I whispered.He turned, and the sight of me was enough to crack his defenses. “They’re saying things,” I said in a rush. “About you. About me. About us. Damien…he….”“I know,” Richard cut in, his voice low, almost dangerous. “I heard enough.”I moved closer, my heels clicking against the polished wood, the sound echoing far too loudly in the silence. “Tell me this will blow over. Tell me Damien was bluffing, that he won’t let this destroy you.”Richard laughed bitterly, running a hand through his hair. “Bluffing? No. He