All Chapters of Love Bet: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Sophia’ POVMornings belonged to me. Before the world remembered my name. Before the weight of expectations settled on my shoulders like a second skin. Before I had to be her—Sophia Moreau, the woman who built an empire from nothing.In these quiet moments, as the city stretched awake beneath the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, I allowed myself the luxury of stillness. A ritual. Black coffee, a deep inhale, the hum of the world just beginning outside.Then, my armor clicked into place.By the time I stepped into the sleek black car waiting outside my building, I was no longer just a woman—I was a force.The morning passed in a blur of meetings, negotiations, decisions that had consequences far beyond what most people could comprehend. I thrived in it. This world of power, of sharp minds and sharper deals.But today, something gnawed at the back of my mind. Tonight, I had a gala to attend.I hated these events. They were nothing more than a parade of egos, thinly veiled conve

Sophia’ POVThe moment I stepped into my office and shut the door behind me, I let out a slow breath.I wasn’t rattled.No. That wasn’t the right word.Annoyed? Yes. Intrigued? Unfortunately.But rattled? Never.I had spent too many years learning how to control my reactions. In a world where men like Travis Cole prowled, waiting for any sign of weakness to pounce, I had learned early on that my best weapon was my ability to stay cold. To never let anyone know what was happening beneath the surface.But damn him.Damn the way he had looked at me like I was a puzzle he intended to solve.Damn the way he had spoken in that infuriating, self-assured tone, like he knew exactly how to get under my skin.And most of all, damn the fact that for a split second, when he had stepped closer, when his voice had dipped just low enough to make the air between us shift—I had felt something.Something I didn’t want to name.I paced to my desk, pressing my palms against the cool glass surface and for

Travis’s POVSome people hide behind walls.Sophia Moreau?She is the wall.Cold. Untouchable. The kind of woman who sharpens her words like weapons and wears power as effortlessly as most people wear their own skin.But today?Today, there was a crack.I saw it the second I walked into her office.For a fraction of a second—before she masked it, before she straightened her shoulders and narrowed those stormy eyes at me—something was off.She was tired. No, more than tired.She looked haunted.And I wanted to know why.I hadn't planned on seeing her again so soon.After our last conversation, I had every intention of letting her stew a little. Letting the intrigue settle, letting her wonder why I was here, what I wanted.But then, for reasons I didn’t entirely understand myself, I found myself back in my car, headed toward Moreau Dynamics.A man like me didn’t do coincidences.So what the hell was I doing here?Chasing a woman who had already made it clear she wanted nothing to do wit

Travis’s POVI had seen Sophia Moreau in a lot of different states.Sharp. Cold. Calculated. Amused, even, when she was toying with me in conversation.But I had never seen her like this.She stood in the doorway, barely holding herself upright, her skin paler than I’d ever seen it. Dark circles smudged beneath her eyes, her usually perfect posture slightly slumped, like even standing took effort.And she was pissed.Not the kind of anger she wielded in boardrooms—the kind that was controlled, intentional, sharpened into a weapon.No, this was different.This was the anger of someone who had been caught.I wasn’t sure what pissed her off more—the fact that I was here, or the fact that she wasn’t strong enough to throw me out."Why do you care?" she snapped.And fuck, if that didn’t hit me harder than it should have.I could have lied. Could have shrugged it off, turned it into a joke, given her the out she so clearly wanted.But I didn’t.Because I did care.And I didn’t know why.Twe

Travis’s POVSome people build walls to keep others out.Sophia Moreau?She builds them so high even she can’t see over them.And yet, tonight—just for a moment—she let me inside.I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.I wasn’t the guy who stayed.I wasn’t the guy who gave a damn about what kept people up at night, what ghosts haunted them, what made them run themselves into the ground just to avoid their own thoughts.But Sophia?I was starting to realize I cared too much.And that was dangerous.She had fallen asleep hours ago, curled up on the couch, her breathing even, her body finally giving in to the exhaustion she had been fighting for days.I hadn’t meant to stay.But the moment she had whispered stay—that quiet, unguarded moment—I knew I wasn’t walking out that door.Not tonight.Not when she had finally let herself need something—even if it was just my presence.So I stayed.I sat in the armchair across from her, one leg stretched out, my fingers absently tracing the rim o