บททั้งหมดของ Priced By My Billionaire Nemesis: บทที่ 181 - บทที่ 190

The rhythm of the road settled around us until it felt almost unreal that the world could move so calmly after everything that had come before. The RV rolled forward with a steady motion that I felt through the seat and into my bones, a quiet vibration that seemed to reassure my body that forward meant safe. Nathaniel slept against my chest, his small weight warm and constant beneath the blanket while the sound of the engine filled the silence in a way that felt almost protective.I had imagined this going back home many times in the weeks before, but nothing in those imagined versions resembled the reality of sitting here wrapped in warm blankets with a newborn pressed against my heart. The sky outside the window stretched pale and clear above the highway, and the openness of it felt strange after the close weight of the mountains and the storm. Every mile carried us farther from the place where fear had lived with us for so long, yet the memory of it still clung like cold that had n

By the time the RV crossed into the lights of Salt Lake City, evening had settled into the kind of quiet winter darkness that softened the edges of buildings and turned the streets into ribbons of reflected gold. The long hours on the road had blurred into one continuous stretch of motion and rest, feeding and sleeping, waking and drifting again, until the city appeared almost unexpectedly beyond the glass.Nathaniel slept against my chest as we moved through the last miles of traffic. His weight felt both impossibly small and impossibly real, a steady warmth that anchored me more firmly than anything else could have done.Boone guided the RV through the final turns without hesitation. He had made this drive before, and the route unfolded with practiced certainty through quieter streets until the building rose ahead of us, its lights warm against the deepening blue of evening. The sight of it stirred something deep inside me, a sense of return that felt both unfamiliar and steady at t

When the doorbell rang, the sound carried through the apartment with a clarity that made my heart jump before I could stop it. The sharp awareness that followed surprised me, as though some part of me still expected danger where none remained.Adrian went to answer it, his steps steady and unhurried.I stood waiting with Nathaniel held close against my chest, my fingers curved protectively around him while footsteps sounded in the entryway and voices murmured softly beyond the open space.Their entrance had been anything but calm.I had heard the door open and close in the entryway, the muted sound of voices carried inward along the hall. For one suspended moment I could not move. My heart beat so hard that the rhythm echoed in my ears, and my arms tightened instinctively around Nathaniel as though protecting him from something that no longer existed.Then my mother appeared in the doorway.She stopped the instant she saw me.Her face crumpled without warning, composure dissolving so c

The word was simple. The truth inside it was not.I told them about replaying old conversations so I would not forget their voices. About imagining holidays and birthdays. About longing to put my head in my mother’s lap, just for a minute, like I could hand her the fear and let her hold it for me. About missing chess arguments with my father, the way he would pretend to be stern while he was secretly pleased when I cornered him. About wanting to sit beside Evelyn and pretend we were not afraid, the way she had always mastered that kind of courage.I did not mention Adrian.Not once.No one seemed to notice.Except him.He had grown impossibly still, watching me with a focus that felt almost like pressure. He did not look hurt. He did not look offended. He looked like a man cataloging what mattered, and noticing what was missing.“And him?” my father asked. “What was he like?”“Controlled,” I answered. “Obsessive. He believed he was saving me. Correcting something.”“Did he threaten yo

Across the room Adrian’s gaze moved briefly through the living room before shifting toward the dining area. His eyes lingered there for a moment as if he had reached a quiet decision.“We should eat,” he said calmly.My mother reacted immediately, her first instinct still the polite concern of someone who believed she might be imposing.“You have barely been home a few days and we are already taking over your evening,” she said. “We did not come here expecting to be waited on.”Adrian’s expression did not change, but the calm certainty in his voice left little room for argument.“You are not imposing,” he said.He reached for his phone and placed a brief call, speaking quietly but clearly.“Please prepare dinner for six and serve it in the dining room.”He ended the call almost as quickly as it began.The effect was immediate.A few minutes later the dining room doors opened and Adrian’s household staff entered with quiet efficiency. The butler led the way, his posture formal but rela