All Chapters of The Billionaire's Secret Daughter: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

23 Chapters

CHAPTER ELEVEN

NaomiThe apartment feels heavier than usual. I move around the living room picking up toys, putting back the couch pillows that were on the floor, wiping down a surface that’s already clean. None of it matters. I am just trying to quiet my mind.The woman who picked up the call…Her voice keeps replaying in my head, steady, casual, at ease in a way that suggests she has been in his space more than once.I tell myself it doesn’t matter. Peter is nothing to me now. We have no relationship, no expectations, no obligations.But the heaviness inside me says otherwise.Sophie, beside her notebook, was drawing Button in sky blue crayon. “Do you think he is sleeping, Mom?”“Probably,” I answer, mustering a smile. “He’s had a long day.”She nods, satisfied with the explanation.I envy how easily she accepts things. How simple the world still is for her. How little she understands about disappointment, the grown-up kind, the kind you don’t say out loud because it makes you feel foolish.My phon

Last Updated : 2025-11-21

CHAPTER TWELVE

PeterThe apartment feels different this morning. Colder somehow, though the thermostat hasn't changed. It's quiet in a way it wasn't yesterday—no small dog running in circles on the rug, no faint scratching on the door, no tags jingling against a water bowl. Just silence and the echo of a night I can't stop revisiting.I make coffee but barely drink it. Half the cup sits untouched as I lean against the counter, replaying the moment Naomi opened her front door. The look in her eyes, not welcoming, not cold, just… cautious. Like she wasn’t sure whether to let me in or not.I don’t blame her.The dog settling instantly into Sophie’s arms flashes across my mind. How natural that felt, her relief, his excitement. And then the way Naomi stood behind her like she wasn’t sure how to stand near me without unraveling.I rub my thumb along the rim of the mug. I shouldn’t have gone there. But I also couldn’t have done anything else.Sydney shows up twenty minutes later, she eyes the half-finis

Last Updated : 2025-11-22

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

PeterI drive across the 10 freeway with the windows half down, letting the noise of Los Angeles seep into the car. I am not sure why I'm restless tonight. Maybe it's the air, maybe it's the way Naomi looked at me when I returned the dog—her expression lingering long after she shut the door.I park outside Grandma Pei’s house. The porch light is already on; she is waiting. She always waits.Inside, the place smells like ginger soup and old rose tea. She turns when she hears the door.“You’re late,” she says, but her voice is soft.“Come sit. I made something warm.”I sit, because I never really refuse her. She studies my face the way only she can, like she’s reading my breathing, not my expression.“You look troubled,’ she says.I don’t respond.Instead, she pours tea and reaches for her knitting. “Sydney told me you returned a dog to someone last night.”Of course she did.“She didn’t say much,” Grandma continues, “but she said you became quieter than usual.”I bite the inside of

Last Updated : 2025-11-26

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

NaomiBy Monday morning, Los Angeles is already bright and loud, sunlight against glass buildings. I step into the design office early, hoping for a quiet start. Sophie’s backpack thumps against her chest as she shuffles beside me.She yawns. “Mom, I'm still sleepy.”“I know, honey. You can nap on the couch in my office.”She nods, rubbing her eyes, her small, warm hand in mine. This… this is the part of my life that feels solid. Predictable. Safe.The opposite of everything that happened last week.Inside, the office has a faint aroma of coffee and printer ink. My team’s desks are empty, which is a good thing. I need a moment to breathe.My phone vibrates with a message from Lola.“Come to my office when you arrive. Big project.”I exhale slowly.Sophie curls into the sofa in my office, hugging her stuffed fox. I kiss the top of her head before heading down the corridor, my heart already tapping at my ribs in a warning rhythm.When I step into Lola’s office, she’s standing against

Last Updated : 2025-11-28

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

NaomiBy noon, my concept boards are halfway done. Sophie sleeps curled on the office couch, a blanket over her legs. Every now and then, she makes a small sound and shifts closer to her stuffed fox.I check the time.12:25pm.The meeting for the pediatric wing review starts in five minutes. I quickly gather the boards, samples, and layout sketches. “It’s just a meeting, Naomi,” whisper. “Hundreds of designers do this every day.”Inside the conference room, hospital representatives gather around a long table. Administrators, Project leads, A pediatric nurse, A facilities manager.Not one face I recognize.My shoulders drop half an inch. The knot in my chest loosens, just slightly.The project coordinator gestures. “You must be Naomi.”I nod, offering a polite smile. “Thank you for having me.”I set my boards on the easel and begin presenting, warm-toned flooring, soft curved furniture edge, sensory-friendly textures, and color palettes gentle enough for anxious childr

Last Updated : 2025-12-02

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

NaomiBy the time I reach the street level and turn onto sunset, my hands are trembling on the steering wheel.Sophie is quiet in the backseat, crayons in her lap, the little blue flower she drew now smudged with her thumb. The silence inside the car feels heavy–thick enough that I have to roll the window down halfway just to breathe.Wind rushes in, cool and sharp, carrying that faint Los Angeles evening smell, eucalyptus, traffic, something burnt from a street vendor cart. None of it settles me.My pulse won’t come down.I can still feel Peter’s voice in the parking lot.The way he said my name–not gently, not coldly, just…with a kind of familiarity he shouldn’t have.Please…don’t, I'd said.I had no idea what I was begging for.Don’t ask questions?Don’t come closer?Don’t remember?I let out a deep sigh.Behind me, Sophie kicks her feet slowly against the seat.“Mom?”I try to steady my voice. “Yes, baby?”“Why did you look scared?”The air tightens in my chest.“I wasn’t scared,”

Last Updated : 2025-12-04

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

PeterNight shifts are supposed to numb you.By the fourth hour, most physicians move on autopilot, checking charts, adjusting medications, slipping in and out of rooms like ghosts in scrubs.Tonight, I can't find that rhythm.Everywhere I go, my mind drifts back to the parking lot.The way Naomi stepped in front of her daughter like I was a threat.The way her voice cracked on one single word.Please… Don’tBy midnight, I’ve walked the pediatric wing twice. My notes are complete, scans have been ordered, and staff have been debriefed.Still restless.I stop at the nurses’ station for water, glancing at the hall. There’s a strange pull in my chest.It makes no sense.I don’t know her, but my instincts whisper that something is wrong.Sydney texts again.You sure you’re okay? I can come by.I type back:No. I’m fine. Go to sleep.Before she can reply, I put my phone on silent.I need clarity.Control.Distance.But instead, I find myself pulling up a c

Last Updated : 2025-12-06

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

NaomiBy morning, the air feels dry and sharp, as if Los Angeles has woken up on edge just like I have.I do everything on autopilot:Dress Sophie.Pack her lunch.Tie her shoes.Drop her off.Then I drive to the office with my heart packed tightly behind my ribs.The elevator climbs to the fifth floor, and I feel my pulse rise with each ding. I’ve been here every weekday for years, but today the building feels different. Like every corner remembers yesterday.I walk into the design studio, head down, hoping no one says anything about my abrupt exit. Thankfully, they’re all absorbed in their screens, sipping coffee, arguing about color palettes.Normal.Thank God.I slip into my workstation, open my laptop, and force myself into Wednesday’s designs.My hands move steadily, but my mind keeps drifting.He asked if we’d met.He said my name like it meant something.I shut the thought down.I need distance. Space. Silence.Of all days, Lola chooses today to appear over my shoulder.“

Last Updated : 2025-12-06

CHAPTER NINETEEN

NaomiBy Friday morning, LA sunlight paints everything in sharp gold, but it does nothing to quiet the knot in my chest.I’m standing outside Cedars-St. Adrian Medical Center, portfolio tube slung over my shoulder, coffee cooling too fast in my hand. Cars stream through Beverly Boulevard.A delivery truck blocks half the view. Nurses in navy scrubs rush past me, chatting, laughing, living in a world that feels too close to one I’ve spent years running from.Lola’s Voice echoes in my head from last night:“The hospital needs design sketches, Naomi. A site walk-through on Friday. You’ve got this, right?”Right. Because I always “have this.”Because I always do whatever it takes to keep our lives steady.Sophie is at school.I’m here.Everything is fine.Except it doesn’t feel fine.It feels like walking straight into a memory I never wanted to revisit.I take a slow breath and push the glass door.Inside, the hospital smells faintly sterile, like lemon floor cleaner, cold air-condition

Last Updated : 2025-12-09

CHAPTER TWENTY

NaomiBy the time I reach the lobby, my pulse still hasn’t settled. I push through the revolving doors and step into the warm LA afternoon. The parking lot stretches out across the front courtyard, dotted with cars and faint sounds of traffic.A gust lifts my hair. I tighten my grip on my portfolio tube. I should get in my car and leave. I should forget the way his eyes searched my face, like I’d left some unfinished sentence floating between us.But my hands shake as I unlock the car. Not because of fear.Because of everything I can’t let myself feel.I settle into the driver’s seat, breathing until my heartbeat stops echoing against my ribs. I place the tube beside me carefully, snapping the seat belt across my chest.Even as I turn toward Beverly, one thought loops in my mind:He didn’t look away.He looked at me like he knew something he wasn’t ready to admit.And I looked back like I wasn't ready to let anything slip.PeterI stand in the hallway longer than I should, staring at

Last Updated : 2025-12-11

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