All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Broken Angel… and His Darkest Desire: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The town librarian's hands trembled as she slid the old newspaper clipping across the oak desk, her eyes darting toward the door as if expecting someone to burst through at any moment. "You shouldn't be asking about him," Clara whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the ancient fluorescent lights. "Some names are better left unspoken in Moonlight Cove."Maya's fingers touched the yellowed paper, and her blood turned to ice. The headline screamed across the decades: LOCAL MAN VANISHES AFTER TIDEWATER INN FIRE—FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED. But it was the name beneath the grainy photograph that made her world tilt sideways.Nathaniel Cross. Last seen: October 15th, 1985.The same name carved into the hidden door she'd found in the inn's basement. The same name whispered in the recordings her grandmother had left behind. The same name that made the handyman—Elias—go stone-still whenever it was mentioned, his storm-gray eyes flickering with something that looked like recognition. Or gu

The moment Maya saw the woman's hand on Ethan's arm, something cold and familiar slithered through her chest. She stood frozen in the doorway of the Tidewater's kitchen, watching through the window as Ethan laughed at something the blonde said, her perfectly manicured fingers lingering on his flannel shirt like she had every right to touch him.Maya recognized that laugh. The easy, unguarded one he saved for people he trusted. For her.She slammed the tray of muffins onto the counter harder than necessary, the clatter sharp enough to make Mrs. Henderson jump at table three. "Sorry," Maya muttered, but she wasn't sorry. She was furious, and she couldn't even explain why. They weren't together. Not officially. Yes, there had been those stolen moments—the near-kiss in the pantry last week, the way his eyes followed her across every room, the electricity that hummed between them whenever they were alone. But they hadn't defined anything. Hadn't made promises.So why did watching another w

The flowers arrived at 6 AM, before the sun had fully risen over Moonlight Cove.Maya stared at the massive arrangement of white roses through the inn's front window, her coffee cup frozen halfway to her lips. Twenty-four hours. She'd had twenty-four hours of peace after shutting down Marcus's attempt to worm his way back into her life at the town meeting, and now here they were—three dozen perfect white roses in a crystal vase, sitting on her porch like a beautiful threat.White roses. His signature apology. The same flowers that had appeared after every fight, every bruise, every night she'd locked herself in the bathroom and cried until she couldn't breathe. White for purity, he used to say. For starting fresh. For the clean slate he promised every single time.She'd burned the last arrangement he'd sent her. She was tempted to do the same with these."Those weren't there when I left last night." Caleb's voice came from behind her, rough with an edge she rarely heard. He'd stayed o

The locked door should have been her first warning.Maya stood in the hallway of the Tidewater Inn, staring at the deadbolt Liam had installed on her bedroom door without asking. The shiny brass gleamed in the morning light, accusatory and wrong. She'd come upstairs to grab her jacket before meeting with the historical society, and found her own room barricaded like a fortress."Liam!" Her voice echoed through the empty inn, sharper than she'd intended.He appeared at the bottom of the stairs within seconds—too quickly, like he'd been waiting. His jaw was set in that stubborn line she'd come to recognize over the past four months. The line that said he knew best, that he was protecting her, that she should just trust him."I can explain," he said, climbing the stairs two at a time."You locked my bedroom door." Maya's hand trembled as she pointed at the offending hardware. "From the outside.""It's for your safety. After what happened with Derek showing up last week—""Derek is in jai

Maya's fingers were still tangled in Ethan's hair when the guilt hit her like a wave crashing over the rocks below the inn.She pulled back abruptly, her lips swollen from kissing him against the doorframe of her grandmother's office—her office now—where they'd been inventorying linens and somehow ended up with his hands on her waist and her back pressed against the wall. His breath was ragged, his storm-gray eyes dark with want, and the heat between them still crackled in the air like electricity before lightning strikes."Maya?" His voice was rough, questioning. His thumb traced her jawline, gentle despite the hunger she'd felt in his kiss just seconds before.She stepped back, creating distance that felt both necessary and unbearable. "I can't do this."The words came out broken, and she hated herself for the flash of hurt that crossed his face before he carefully schooled his expression into something neutral. Something safe. He was good at that—at giving her space, at reading her