All Chapters of One Night Stand with the Secret Billionaire: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The air in the backstage dressing room was thick and suffocating, vibrating with the frantic, high-pitched energy of a high-fashion disaster. Outside the heavy, soundproofed doors, the muffled bass of the runway music was already thumping—a rhythmic, heart-pounding countdown to Selene’s public humiliation. Inside, the light from the vanity mirrors was harsh and unforgiving, reflecting off the mangled remains of six months of her life’s work.Selene stood over the velvet-lined cases, her breath coming in shallow, jagged gasps. The sapphire bodice, which should have been the masterpiece of the decade, was a twisted skeleton of dull metal and clouded stones. The acid Anna had used had not just dirtied the gems; it had etched into their surfaces, stripping away the fire that made them valuable. They looked like pieces of sea glass pulled from a gutter."I can’t do this," Selene whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the air conditioning. Her hands, usually so steady under

The ride back to the penthouse was silent, but it wasn't the heavy, suffocating silence of their past. It was the quiet of two people who had just survived a war. Outside the tinted windows of the SUV, the city of Los Angeles was still buzzing with the news of the Selene’s collection and the scandalous attack that followed, but inside the car, the world was reduced to the space between them.Lucas sat with his jaw tight, his hand gripping Selene’s so hard that her knuckles were white. He wouldn't let go. Not even when the paramedics had tried to look at his shoulder back at the exhibition center. He had waved them away with a low growl, his eyes never leaving Selene’s face. He refused to be treated anywhere but the safety of their home.When they finally stepped into the penthouse, the air was cool and smelled of home. Lucas finally let out a long, ragged breath, but his posture remained stiff. He walked toward the large leather armchair in the living room, his movements slightly

The silence inside the panic room was worse than the sound of the guns. Selene stood frozen, her eyes glued—static on the monitor where, just a second ago, she had seen a rifle pointed at the back of Lucas’s head. Her breath came in short, panicked gasps that made her chest hurt. The air in the concrete vault felt like it was running out, and the walls seemed to be closing in."Lucas," she whispered, her voice disappearing into the thick, soundproof walls.She ran to the phone Lucas had pointed out, but when she picked up the receiver, she heard nothing but a flat, digital hum. They had jammed the signal. The Sterlings hadn't just broken into the house; they had cut her off from the entire world. She was safe behind a steel door, but she was a prisoner, forced to wait in the dark while the man she loved was being hurt outside.She looked at the massive steel door. It was built to be unhackable. Lucas had triggered the emergency lockdown to keep her safe, meaning the door was bolted

The silence following the doctor’s question felt like it lasted a century. Selene’s hand was still gripping her phone, the line to Lucas’s father still open, but she couldn't breathe. She searched the doctor’s eyes for any sign of hope, her mind screaming for a miracle."The surgery was complicated," the doctor began, his voice weary. "The glass was less than an inch away from a vein that would have killed him, but he lost a significant amount of blood. However... Lucas is a fighter. He’s stable. We’re moving him to the ICU for observation."Selene felt her knees give out, and she slumped back into the hard plastic chair, a sob of pure relief escaping her throat. "He’s alive," she whispered into the phone. "He’s alive.""Good," the gravelly voice of her father-in-law, Arthur Yates, crackled through the speaker. "He was always too stubborn to die easy. Now, listen to me, Selene. You’re in the lion’s den. Eleanor Sterling doesn't make empty threats. If she’s at that hospital, it mean

The hospital hallway was a blur of white walls and hushed whispers as Selene made her way back to the intensive care unit. Her mind was a storm of conflicting images... the mysterious man in the black SUV, her mother’s cryptic notebook, and the sharp, cold warnings of a past she barely remembered. Every shadow in the corner seemed to move, and every security guard felt like a jailer. But as she pushed open the heavy door to Lucas’s private suite, the noise in her head instantly went quiet.The room was dim, lit only by the soft, rhythmic glow of the medical monitors. Lucas lay there, looking so still and vulnerable, far removed from the powerful billionaire who commanded rooms with a single look. Seeing him like this—his shoulder heavily bandaged, his skin still a bit too pale—reminded Selene of the only truth she actually cared about.The world was trying to tear them apart. Whether it was the Sterlings with their glass trophies or the ghosts of her past with their hidden notebooks