บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire's Contract Wife : บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The thud of the car door was the sound of a prison gate slamming shut. Elara sat frozen in the opulent silence, the ghost of Kaelan Thorne’s expensive cologne clinging to the air, a taunting reminder of the man who now owned the next year of her life. Rain still streaked the tinted windows, turning the city into a smeared watercolor of grey.She risked a glance at him. He was already engrossed in his phone, the cold, sharp lines of his profile illuminated by the screen. He hadn’t looked at her once since she’d signed her name.“My things…” she began, her voice a fragile thing in the vast quiet.“Will be collected from your apartment and brought to the penthouse,” he stated without looking up. “Consider your previous employment terminated. Your new role requires your full attention.”Elara’s fingers tightened on the ruined fabric of her purse. Just like that, her old life was erased. He reached into the console and produced a sleek, black smartphone. “This is yours. My number, my assis

The car ride back to the penthouse was a journey through a frozen tundra. Kaelan didn't utter a single word, his profile a sharp, unyielding line against the passing city lights. The air in the limousine was so thick with his suppressed rage that Elara found it hard to breathe. She replayed the moment at the opera, the visceral shift in him at the mere mention of her name. This wasn't grief. This was something else—something raw and furious.Back inside the sterile penthouse, he didn't retreat to his wing. Instead, he went straight to the bar, pouring two fingers of amber whiskey into a crystal tumbler. He downed it in one go, the ice cracking loudly in the silence.Elara stood awkwardly by the elevator, unsure if she was dismissed. The performance was over; the actor had left the stage, leaving behind this volatile, wounded stranger."Who was she?" The question left Elara's lips before she could stop it, soft but clear in the vast space.Kaelan stilled, his back to her. For a long

The ride back to the penthouse was a silence of a different kind. It wasn't cold or angry, but thick, heavy, and pulsating with the memory of the kiss. Elara’s lips still tingled, a brand that felt more real than the diamond on her finger. She stared out the window, unable to look at him, her mind a chaotic whirlwind. Kaelan was equally still, his gaze fixed ahead, his jaw clenched as if physically holding back the words that needed to be said.Inside the penthouse, the door had barely hissed shut before the dam broke."That cannot happen again," Kaelan’s voice was rough, a stark contrast to the tenderness of his mouth on hers just moments before. He raked a hand through his perfectly styled hair, disheveling it. "It was a mistake. A moment of... heightened emotion for the performance."Elara’s courage, forged in the fire of his kiss, flared. "Don't," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "Don't you dare cheapen that by calling it part of the performance. That wasn't for anyone bu

The world didn’t pause. It slammed to a stop.Elara stared at the drenched woman trembling in the doorway, her breath catching somewhere between her ribs and her throat. Kaelan stood a few feet ahead of her, frozen in a way she had never seen—not even when confronting billion-dollar crises or boardroom coups.His voice cracked like old glass.“Genevieve?”The woman’s chapped lips parted, a faint tremor rippling through her body. “K–Kaelan…”Her knees buckled.Kaelan surged forward, catching her before she hit the floor. His arms locked around her with a desperation so raw Elara felt it like a physical blow. He lifted Genevieve effortlessly, as if terrified she would shatter in his hold.A sharp sting spread through Elara’s chest. Not jealousy—no, that would have been easier. This was something deeper. Something she couldn't name without breaking.“Kaelan,” Elara whispered, stepping forward.He didn’t hear her.“Get me a blanket,” he said sharply, already moving. “She’s freezing.”The

The storm outside pounded against the penthouse windows, a relentless rhythm echoing the chaos inside. Elara sat rigid on the edge of the sofa, every nerve alive, every sense sharpened to a painful edge. Kaelan stood by the locked guest suite door, eyes fixed on the rain-streaked windows as if the storm itself could bring him answers. But the truth was inside. The danger had never left. “Elara,” he said quietly, voice low but urgent. “I need you to stay calm. No matter what happens, do not open that door.” She nodded silently, though her body screamed for action. She wanted to run toward Genevieve, to do something, anything. But she obeyed. She had learned the hard way that Kaelan’s instinct for control wasn’t a flaw—it was survival. A sharp knock shattered the tense silence. Kaelan’s eyes narrowed. “They’ve come back.” Before Elara could react, the guest suite door rattled violently. A shadow loomed in the gap beneath the door. The intruder’s voice, chilling and deliberate, sli