Todos os capítulos de STUCK WITH MR. BILLIONAIRE FOR CHRISTMAS : Capítulo 41 - Capítulo 50

DANTEI was a mess and had been for weeks. I couldn't escape memories of Cinnamon no matter how I tried. Everything reminded me of her.My morning coffee tasted wrong because she wasn't there stealing sips from my cup. The silence in my office felt oppressive without her voice. Even my own heartbeat seemed to reproach me, each thump a reminder of what I'd thrown away.I chose this, I reminded myself for the thousandth time. Rolling onto my side in bed, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. 4:47 AM now. The insomnia was getting worse.This was for the best. I needed space to focus on the investigation I'd quietly reopened into my father's plane crash. I needed clarity without her presence clouding my judgment.But the logic felt unreasonable at four in the morning.I kept replaying that last conversation, the one that shattered everything. I'd told her I didn't want kids, and made it sound like she was desperate to trap me when all she'd done was exist beautifully in my space.Then I

"You did WHAT?" Tate's hand slammed against my desk hard enough to make my laptop jump.If not for the solid oak construction, the desk would've split in two from the abuse it had taken since we arrived at my home office twenty minutes ago.I'd made the decision to tell someone. Anyone. The weight of carrying this alone was crushing me from the inside out. So I dragged Tate here and told him everything.Everything except the specific details of our night together. Some things remained sacred even in confession."Keep it down," I said, glancing toward the door. "You'll draw attention.""I don't care!" He paced like a caged animal. "I told you not to complicate things. I KNEW this whole arrangement was a bad idea from the start. Moreover, why are you so obsessed with Meadowbrook? What is it about that place? This is the most useless project you've ever jumped on.""It's not useless. This will cement my reputation in the development and real estate sector.""Any other project would do th

DANTEI checked my watch seventeen times in the last hour."Is she here yet?" I asked Tate for what had to be the millionth time, keeping my voice carefully neutral.He didn't even look up from his tablet. "You asked me three minutes ago. The answer hasn't changed."I turned back to my computer screen, pretending to be doing something.Guilt gnawed my insides.I should have checked the door immediately when Thessa had wandered over during our dance. Should have asked her more questions instead of just assuming she was being curious. By the time I'd reviewed the security footage and I'd seen Cinnamon standing there, hope and hurt warring on her face, she was already gone.I'd been trapped after Tate left. Dove needed me. I couldn't abandon her to chase after Cinnamon.I'd wanted to. I wish I did.I tried calling once Dove finally fell asleep. Over and over until my phone informed me the number was no longer in service.I couldn't bring myself to text. Texting felt cowardly. I needed to

DANTEThe text from Tate arrived at two in the morning."Don't you ever put me up for a task like this again. Anyway, she's home. Safe."I stared at the message until the screen dimmed, then set the phone face-down on the passenger seat. Exhaled slowly through my nose.What had I become? A stalker?I couldn’t attend her promotion ceremony; being in the same room would’ve broken whatever remained of my self-control.I'd planned the entire event. Sent Martin detailed instructions starting from her favorite champagne down to the playlist of music. Everything I’d learned about her in Meadowbrook was put to use. The ceremony was designed to make her happy, even if I couldn’t be there.At some point of the evening, I was in the Banbury's VIP section, meeting with my private investigator about my father's case. But my eyes found her through the glass partition when she walked in with Eric from tech. From that moment on, I was distracted. Couldn't stop watching her with the roses, smiling in

DANTE"Yeah." Cinnamon replied."She does that sometimes. Has since she was three. I'm the closest thing to a father figure she has since her actual father is a piece of shit," I explained, stepping closer. "I was going to come to you after I found out that you were already gone.""Oh my god." She sat down hard on the sofa. "I thought, I've been thinking—""That I was married." I crouched in front of her, hands on her knees."She looks so much like you," Cinnamon said, still processing."Genetics are wild." I rubbed her knees with my thumbs. "Doesn't help when I visit her at school. Even her piece-of-shit father thought Thessa was mine at one point. Created a whole scene about it.""Thessa." She tested the name. "That's beautiful.""She is." I paused, choosing my next words carefully. "I thought you hated me because of what I said. About kids. About keeping us secret at work. I thought I'd destroyed everything with my own stupidity."And I had tried to stay away. God, I'd tried. But i