All Chapters of Under His Billionaire Roof: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Noah's phone rang at midnight.He'd been staring at his laptop for three hours. Unable to focus on anything except the silence from Leighton.Five days. Five days of messages going undelivered. Calls going straight to voicemail.Unknown number. He answered."Hello?""Noah." Vanessa's voice. Smooth. Satisfied.His grip tightened on the phone. "What do you want?""Just checking in. How's your girl? Leighton, right?"Ice flooded his veins. "How do you know her name?""I know lots of things. Like how she got some very interesting photos a few days ago." Vanessa laughed. Light. Musical. Cruel. "Of us. At the coffee shop. Looking very cozy."The room tilted. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. "What did you do?""What I had to do. You really thought I'd changed?" Another laugh. Sharper. "God, you're even more naive than I thought.""So you had someone on standby, who took pictures of us, and made it look like we were back together?""Of course I did. Along with a nice little message a

Daniel's hand rested on the gear shift as they turned onto the tree-lined drive. Leighton stared out the window, watching the estates get bigger with each passing mile."You're quiet," he said."Just thinking.""About the party? Or about him?"Her stomach twisted. Daniel always knew. That was the problem with dating someone observant."Both."He squeezed her knee. Brief. Supportive. "It's going to be fine. You'll give your speech, smile for photos, and we'll leave early if you need to."The mansion appeared through the trees. White columns. Manicured lawns. String lights already glowing in the late afternoon sun. Cars lined the circular drive. Expensive cars. The kind that made her old sedan look like it belonged in a junkyard.Daniel parked. Killed the engine. Turned to look at her."I'm here. Whatever you need. Okay?"She nodded. Couldn't quite meet his eyes.They walked up the stone path hand in hand. Her heel caught on a crack. Daniel steadied her. Inside, the foyer was packed. Ch

Chloe grabbed Leighton's wrist and pulled her through the crowd. Past the champagne fountain. Past Marcus's aunt telling some story. Past everything. Into the house. Up the stairs. Down a hallway lined with family photos.The bathroom door slammed behind them. Locked.Chloe whirled around. Her face was flushed. Eyes bright with anger. Or tears. Maybe both."What the hell is going on?"Leighton's back pressed against the marble counter. "What do you mean?""Don't. Don't do that. Don't play dumb with me." Chloe's voice shook. "Daniel just left. He looked devastated. Said he had a work emergency but I saw his face. And you and Noah have been eye-fucking across the garden all afternoon.""We haven't...""Yes, you have. I'm not blind. The way you looked at each other during the toast. The way you both disappeared at the same time. The way he followed you into the garden like a damn puppy." Chloe crossed her arms. "So I'm going to ask you one more time. What is going on?"Leighton's throat

Dr. Voss's office smelled like mint tea and old books. The same as always. Noah sat on the couch, elbows on his knees, staring at the worn rug."Tell me about the engagement party." Dr. Voss settled into his chair. Notepad ready. Pen poised."I told her I love her.""Leighton?""Yeah. And Chloe. I told them both.""How did that feel?"Noah's throat tightened. "Terrifying. Like jumping off a cliff.""But you survived.""Barely."Dr. Voss wrote something. The scratch of pen on paper grated on Noah's nerves. Everything felt too loud. Too bright. Like his skin was rubbed raw."What happened after you told Leighton?""She said she'd think about it. About trying again. Then Daniel showed up. Her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend now. He saw us together and just knew." Noah's hands clenched. "He was so calm about it. So understanding. It made me feel like shit.""Why?""Because he was everything I'm not. Stable. Sure. Not constantly running from his own feelings.""And yet she chose to end things with

The envelope sat on her kitchen counter for two days.White. Standard. Her name in Noah's handwriting. Messy capitals that slanted right. She'd walked past it a hundred times. Picked it up twice. Set it back down.She knew what it was. What it had to be. The letter he'd mentioned. The explanation. The apology. Maybe another promise he couldn't keep.Wednesday morning, she finally opened it.Her hands shook as she unfolded the pages. Three of them. Covered front and back in cramped writing. Words crossed out. Ink smudged in places like his hand had dragged through it.She started reading.By the second paragraph, tears blurred the words. She wiped them away. Kept going.*I blamed myself for years. Thought maybe if I'd been better, smarter, less trouble, he would have stayed.*Her chest ached. She knew that feeling. Had felt it when her own father left. When her mother worked three jobs and still couldn't look at her. When every boyfriend before Noah had proven she wasn't worth staying