All Chapters of Protecting the Billionaire’s Daughter: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Aria’s POV The villa smelled like paradise and captivity at once. Sea salt, orchids, money — and the faint metallic scent of fear I couldn’t wash off. Everyone kept saying how lucky I was. How beautiful the honeymoon was. How every girl dreamed of this. If only they knew. Carl had spent the morning in meetings, even here — men who flew halfway across the world to talk about expansion, mergers, and power. I sat through it all, the perfect wife, the perfect smile. My hands ached from clenching the tablecloth beneath it. When the meeting ended, he kissed my temple, told me to “rest up,” and left to take a call on the terrace. The moment he stepped out, I exhaled for the first time in hours. A maid appeared, silent as a ghost, with a tray of fruit and cold tea. Behind her came the cook — short, stocky, with kind eyes that didn’t meet mine. He set the tray down carefully, then leaned closer under the pretense of arranging the napkin. Something brushed my hand. A slip of pape

“You’ll sleep even better tonight,” he continued, taking a casual sip. “I’ve been patient, Aria.” His eyes lifted, slow. “I won’t be anymore.” My fingers tightened around my glass. My body went still. I tried to keep my heartbeat from showing in my face. “Tonight,” he said, as if announcing a business meeting. “I want what’s mine.” The rest of breakfast passed in silence — the kind of silence that was too loud, too sharp. He left for a meeting afterward. I stayed behind, air frozen around me like I’d stepped into a grave. I had to get to Damon. He was already there when I reached our hidden spot — the sliver of open beach beyond the gardener’s quarters where the security cameras didn’t reach. Sitting on a rock by the water, wearing the driver’s uniform like a disguise for his soul. He stood as I approached, every line of him alert the second he saw my face. “Wh

The plane touched down with a soft jolt, but it felt like a crash landing in my chest. The island was behind us—its golden sands, its secrets, its lies. Ahead loomed home. Carl’s world. My prison. And now, I was no longer just trapped. I was carrying a lie thick as blood on my skin.I couldn't even look at him as we exited the jet. He walked ahead, phone pressed to his ear, barking orders like the world bent for him. The staff hovered, taking bags, nodding at his every command. My silence was expected. My obedience, required.Inside the car, the tinted glass sealed me in with him—all polish and calm. His hand grazed mine on the seat between us. “You’ll be fine,” he said, not looking at me. It wasn’t tenderness. It was ownership.Fine. I wanted to laugh. If only he knew what had really happened on that island.I swallowed hard and stared out the window, pretending the thrum in my chest was just the engine.The city came into view—familiar, cold, and full of memory. The house was already

Carl didn’t raise his voice when he was angry. That was the problem.He smiled. Too calmly. Too easily. Like he was enjoying the sound of his own control.Dinner was perfect — too perfect. The kind of perfection that only existed when something was about to break. The silver gleamed. The candles burned low. The servants moved like ghosts.And across from me was Damon. My bodyguard. My secret. My sin.He stood behind Carl’s chair, silent, composed, his expression unreadable. But I could feel him — the tension in his stance, the way his hand hovered close to his jacket like he was ready for anything.I’d begged Father to let Damon stay, and Carl had agreed too easily. That alone should’ve been my warning.Carl leaned back in his seat, sipping wine. His eyes flicked between me and Damon with that half-smile that never reached his eyes.“So,” he said finally, voice soft. “How are you settling in, Aria?”I forced a smile. “It’s home now.”“Home,” he repeated, tasting the word. “Good. I lik

Aria’s POVThe phone buzzed once — a single vibration that sliced through the dark like a secret begging to be caught.Carl’s arm was heavy around me, his breath warm against my neck. I didn’t move. Not yet.Another buzz.My pulse stuttered.Carefully, I slid my hand beneath the pillow, finding the phone by touch alone. The screen lit up, soft and dangerous.Damon: Can’t stop thinking about you. Need you. Now.My throat tightened. The audacity of it. The recklessness. The truth.For a second, I forgot how to breathe. The man sleeping beside me — my husband — could crush Damon’s entire life with one command. Yet here he was, sending me messages like sin had no consequence.I typed before fear could stop me.Me: You’re insane. He’s right beside me.Damon: Then be quiet. Come to me.My heart started hammering. That tone — low, commanding, familiar.It wasn’t just desire. It was danger. And I’d always been weak for both.Carl shifted behind me, and I froze. His hand brushed my hip, posse