All Chapters of Protecting the Billionaire’s Daughter: Chapter 121 - Chapter 123

Aria’s POVThe silence of a neighborhood group chat is a specific kind of violence.I sat at the kitchen island, the marble countertop cool against my forearms, staring at my phone until the screen timed out. I tapped it awake again. The blue bubbles of my sent messages—bright, hopeful, and containing a digital flyer with two watercolor elephants—remained suspended in a vacuum.“Lyra and Elara are turning Two! Join us for a ‘Two-Wild’ Safari Brunch this Sunday at 10:00 AM. 🎈🦁”Delivered. Read by Sarah at 9:14 AM. Read by Chloe at 9:16 AM. Read by Bianca, the undisputed architect of the cul-de-sac’s social hierarchy, at 9:20 AM.It was now 2:45 PM.In the living room, the twins were engaged in a high-stakes negotiation over a single, slightly chewed-on wooden block. Lyra, the firebrand, had her hand firmly clamped on one side, her brow furrowed

Aria’s POVThe fluorescent lights of the 24-hour Super-Mart hummed with a depressing, low-frequency buzz that matched the state of my nerves. It was 11:14 PM. Damon was still "at the office"—though after my trip to 5th Avenue, I knew that was a flexible term—and the twins had finally succumbed to a bout of teething-induced exhaustion.I was standing in Aisle 4, staring at a box of Glitter-Puffs.They were neon pink, coated in a crystalline sugar that looked like it could power a small city, and featured a cartoon unicorn that looked high on its own supply. In the world of Oakwood Estates, this box was a war crime. We were a neighborhood of sprouted grains, kale-infused smoothies, and "ancient grain" puffs that tasted like lightly seasoned drywall.But Lyra hadn't eaten a solid meal in two days, and Elara was currently only accepting foods that were "vibrant pink." I was tired. I was being stalked