Semua Bab When the Billionaire Loved Her Back: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Elena didn’t sleep that night.The guest bedroom at the Vale Residence was larger than her entire old apartment, wrapped in soft gray tones and silence so deep it felt unreal. Rain tapped gently against the tall windows, but even that sound couldn’t drown out the storm inside her chest.She lay awake, staring at the ceiling, replaying the night again and again—Victor’s words, the message on his phone, the way her life had cracked open in seconds.And then there was Sebastian Vale.She had known his name for years, seen him on magazine covers and business headlines, always distant, always untouchable. Yet tonight, he had looked at her as if she were… real. Not a burden. Not a liability.A soft knock sounded at the door just as dawn began to tint the sky.Elena sat up. “Yes?”The door opened slightly. A housekeeper smiled politely. “Mr. Vale asked me to tell you breakfast is ready. No pressure.”Elena hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you.”She changed into the simple clothes left for her—

The morning sun poured into the Vale Residence like liquid gold, highlighting the modern elegance of the penthouse. Elena stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the city below. The streets looked ordinary, yet the stakes she had just stepped into made every ordinary detail feel charged with tension.Sebastian appeared silently behind her, coffee in hand. He set the cup on the glass table beside her and leaned casually against the window frame. “You’re quiet,” he observed. “Thinking about last night?”She didn’t turn to him. “I’m thinking about how quickly everything changes. One wrong glance, one careless word, and the entire world shifts.”He smiled faintly. “Welcome to my life.”Elena looked at him then, really looked, noticing the subtle lines around his eyes, the way his jaw was always slightly tense. She had spent hours imagining what he would be like in the boardroom, in magazines, in rumors. But this—this close, unguarded presence—was something else entirely. It was i

The following morning, the city was already awake, but Elena felt as though the world around her had shifted overnight. The gala had ended hours ago, yet the echoes of whispered speculations and pointed glances seemed to follow her at every step. She could feel the weight of being Sebastian Vale’s fiancée pressing against her, a silent but constant reminder that she had crossed into a world she barely understood.Sebastian appeared in the kitchen, dressed sharply in a tailored gray suit, reviewing his tablet. “Morning,” he said, without looking up.“Morning,” Elena replied, sipping her coffee. “Are we… going to face Victor today?”He glanced at her, eyebrows raised. “If by ‘face,’ you mean deal with his first real move to destabilize you, then yes. That’s inevitable.”Her stomach tightened. She had anticipated confrontation, but the idea of being a pawn in his schemes made her uneasy.“He’s already started,” Sebastian continued, turning toward her. “I received a call from your company

The media storm lasted three days.Three days of headlines, speculation, anonymous “sources,” and relentless scrutiny. Elena learned quickly that silence was a luxury she could no longer afford. Every word mattered. Every expression was dissected.By the fourth night, exhaustion settled deep into her bones.She sat alone in the quiet living room of the Vale Residence, curled on one end of the sofa, a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The city outside glowed softly, but tonight it offered no comfort.Sebastian had been in meetings since dawn.When he finally returned, Elena barely heard the door open.“You should be resting,” he said gently.She looked up, startled. His tie was loosened, suit jacket gone, sleeves rolled up—small signs of fatigue he rarely allowed anyone to see.“I tried,” she said. “My mind won’t stop.”He crossed the room and sat at the opposite end of the sofa, leaving space between them. “Victor released another statement,” he said. “It’s weaker than the la

The silence inside the car was suffocating.The city rushed past the windows, lights streaking like fractured stars, but Elena barely noticed. Her hands were clenched in her lap, nails biting into her skin as the images from the auction replayed relentlessly in her mind—her father’s face on the screen, the whispers, the doubt in strangers’ eyes.Sebastian sat beside her, rigid, his jaw tight enough to ache. He hadn’t spoken since they left.Finally, Elena broke the silence.“I should have stopped him,” she said quietly. “I should have seen it coming.”Sebastian turned to her instantly. “No.”The force in his voice made her look up.“This is not on you,” he said. “Victor crossed a line tonight.”“He’s crossed many,” she replied bitterly.“Yes,” Sebastian agreed. “But tonight, he made it personal.”The car pulled into the underground garage of the Vale Residence. The moment the doors closed behind them, Sebastian’s composure cracked—just slightly.He removed his jacket and tossed it ont