All Chapters of The Billionaire's Ultimatum: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

LAURA The first thing I felt was the cold, not the kind that comes from an open window, but the hollow, the whole long space between beside me where Xavier hit should have been. I reached out, my palm hitting rumpled silk sheets instead of warm skin, and the sinking feeling in my stomach took root before I even opened my eyes. The silence of the room was too deceptive. Beyond the heavy oak door, the world was already intruding. I didn't hear the man who had whispered promises to me under the stars just hours ago. I heard the CEO, the version of Xavier Blackwell who moved pieces on a chessboard with a voice like a sharpened flint, low, clipped, and dangerous. It was his crisis management tone, the sound of a man who was currently burning bridges to save an empire. I didn't reach for my silk robe. Instead, I stood and pulled his discarded dress shirt off the armchair. I practically drowned in it as it fell to my mid-thigh, the fabric still swelling of expensive sandalwood

LAURA After Xavier’s promise to pamper me, I spent the rest of the evening being absolutely spoiled. A private spa came to the penthouse—actual professionals with massage tables and natural oils, hot stones and everything. I was genuinely impressed. I’d never experienced a masseuse before, talk less of all this. They set up in one of the guest rooms and for two hours straight, I was kneaded and buffed and moisturized until I felt like a completely new person. When I emerged, wrapped in a fluffy robe and feeling boneless with relaxation, Xavier was in the kitchen. Cooking. Or attempting to cook, at least. His back was turned to me, his black shirt clinging just enough to emphasize his broad shoulders and lean frame. He was so immersed in what he was doing he didn’t even notice me standing there. His eyebrows drew together in concentration as he sprinkled paprika into whatever he was making. What a sight this was. “What are you doing?” I asked as I moved closer, peeki

XAVIER I smelled the burning before I even opened my eyes.Smoke. Faint but unmistakable. The acrid kind that meant something had been left on the heat for too long.I sat up in bed, already reaching for my phone out of habit, then stopped. The clock read 7:14. Laura's side was empty. The sheets were still warm.I pulled on a shirt and followed the smell to the kitchen.She was standing at the stove with her back turned to me, spatula in hand, shoulders squared with the determined energy of someone who refused to admit defeat. The pan in front of her was doing something questionable. There was toast on the counter that had gone well past golden and was a crusty black at the edges.I leaned against the doorframe and watched her.She hadn't heard me come in. She was muttering something under her breath, nudging the contents of the pan like that might somehow fix whatever had already happened to them. Her hair was loose and she was wearing my old Princeton t-shirt that hit her mid-thigh

XAVIER “Laura. She left a note saying she was shopping with you. Is she with you right now?" "I—no." Juniper said carefully. "I haven't seen her today. I thought she was at the Penthouse." My blood ran cold. "What do you mean she isn’t with you? When last did you speak to her?" "Yesterday afternoon. Before the interview." There was another pause. "Xavier, what's going on?" "Nothing. I'll handle it." I hung up. Marcus picked up before the first ring finished. "Track Laura's phone. Now." "Boss—" "Now, Marcus." I was already moving toward the door. It took four minutes. Marcus called back while I was in the elevator. "Grant Park," he said. "She's stationary. Near the Buckingham Fountain." Grant Park. The Buckingham Fountain. I thought about the way she'd kissed me this morning. Long and warm and slightly urgent. The brightness in her face that hadn't quite reached her eyes. “I'm fine. Go win your board meeting.” She'd known. All morning, she'd known she

XAVIER And Xavier— “Does he know?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Does Xavier know what his father did?” “I don’t know,” Nathaniel admitted. “But Laura, there’s more. And this—this is going to be a real hard pill to swallow.” I almost laughed. Because how could anything be harder than learning my parents were murdered by Xavier’s father? How could anything hurt more than realizing Grace’s kindness might have been rooted in guilt? Nathaniel pulled out another set of documents. “Daniel Blackwell might have been the one to hurt our parents but everything else? Every other bad, cruel thing that's been happening to you? That was someone else.” My blood ran cold. “Who?” “Someone in Xavier’s inner circle. Someone who benefits from keeping you and Xavier together no matter what.” Nathaniel spread the papers across the bench between us. “Think about it, Laura. The contract marriage that forced you together. The constant threats from Alexei. The media leaks that always seem to happe