All Chapters of BILLIONAIRE'S FAKE FIANCÉE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

41 Chapters

Chapter Eleven

Paige. I wake up before dawn, mostly because I didn't really sleep, all I did was turn and turn all night long. The penthouse is still wrapped in silence, ofcourse he didn't come home and my phone has zero missed calls from him or messages, the city outside barely stirring, the sky a muted gray that feels heavy and unresolved like everything else in my life right now. I get dressed quickly, just simple jeans. A soft cream sweater. Flats. No makeup beyond a little concealer and lip balm. I pull my hair back into a low ponytail, practical and unassuming perfect for viaiting a small baby. I had worked as or for Dante’s company for two years now, and having worked for a man who is always on the papers, a man who scandal follows, you pick up a thing or two about crisis management. And today that was what I was going to do. I have also learnt a few things in the past few days, the power of public opinion and how easily the media can be manipulated, and they had all this narratives abou

Chapter Twelve

Dante. I am woken up by a hand on my chest, not gentle it feels urgent. “Dante,” Keisha says, her voice tight. “You need to see this, wake up.” she says I groan, rolling slightly onto my side, the remnants of sleep clinging to me like fog. The hotel room is dim, sunlight barely filtering through the curtains. My head beats faintly too much wine, too little sleep, and far too many complications waiting for me outside this bed.“What?” I mutter.She doesn’t answer. Instead, she shoves her phone into my face.I blink once or twice before I finally sit up and then I see the headline clearly. WHILE BILLIONAIRE FIANCÉ WAS BUSY CUDDLING HIS EX, PAIGE HARPER WAS SEEN LEAVING A CHILDREN’S HOME ALONEMy jaw tightens instantly.“What the hell?”I grab the phone from her hand, scrolling furiously. Photos load one after another Paige stepping out of the children’s home, dressed simply, no makeup, no entourage. Reporters swarming her. Microphones in her face.Then I see the video.Paige stands

Chapter Thirteen

Paige.I have been pacing around the room for a few minutes before I finally sit on the edge of the bed when my phone buzzes again. Nella’s name lights up the screen.I answer immediately.Nella and I have known each other since we were thirteen, but her family moved away abroad but we always kept in touch and she is literally my only support system. “Please tell me you are okay,” she says without preamble. “I have been refreshing my feed like a crazy person. Paige, this is insane.”I exhale slowly, pressing my fingers into my thigh. “I’m okay. Angry. But okay.”“I swear,” she mutters, “if I ever see Dante De Luca in real life”“Nella,” I interrupt softly.There is a pause. “What?”“He is here, he just pulled up and he seems furious.”I move toward the window, my heart pounding as I peek through the curtain.“Paige”“I will call you back Nella,” I say quickly. “If I don’t”“You call me anyway,” she cuts in. “You hear me?”“I will.”I end the call just as the front door opens downstai

Chapter Fourteen

Dante.I don’t remember slamming the door, only that the sound echoes long after it should have faded.I lock myself inside the room like it’s a bunker, like if I don’t put four solid walls between myself and Paige Harper, I might do something I can’t take back from. My chest is heaving, my pulse erratic, my hands trembling in a way that infuriates me even more.No one talks to me like that. No one threatens me in my own house.And yet she just did.I rake a hand through my hair and pace the length of the room, my shoes heavy against the hardwood floor. The words replay in my head, each one sharper than the last.For Kyla, I would go to war, the audacity. Who does she think she is? The sheer stupidity of thinking she could win.I stop abruptly and grab my phone from the dresser, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. If she thinks public opinion means power, then she has no idea how this world works. Empires aren’t built on sympathy. They are built on control.I tap open one of the go

Chapter Fifteen

Paige.It has been at least two days since my last encounter with Dante, we live in the same house, our bedrooms are on the same floor but yet we had not bumped into each other, not even once. A part of me likes the silence, there had been no outbursts yet, no more developing stories on social media, but a part of me was also worried about what he was thinking. I had threatened the moat dangerous billionaire, who knew what he was planning. The penthouse feels cavernous now, every polished surface reflecting how alone I am in it. I have learned his schedule without meaning to. The quiet hours when he’s gone. The even quieter ones when he’s home but sealed off somewhere upstairs, his presence heavy but unreachable.I cry myself to sleep most nights.Not the dramatic kind of crying, the ugly, silent kind where I press my face into the pillow and bite down so hard on my lip I taste blood, just to keep from making a sound. I refuse to give him that satisfaction. Refuse to let him hea

Chapter Sixteen

Paige.The moment we walk into the coffee shop, something inside me twists.It’s not dramatic. No flashing warning signs. Just a quiet, sickening pull low in my stomach, the kind that tells you something is wrong long before your mind catches up. I try to shake it off as nerves, everything lately makes me anxious, but the feeling refuses to leave.The place is warm and crowded, filled with the low murmur of conversation and the comforting smell of coffee beans and baked bread. Normally, I would like it here. Normally, I would relax into a corner booth and pretend, for a moment, that my life isn’t a carefully balanced lie.But today, even the air feels too heavy.Dante doesn’t say much as we take a seat near the window. He is unusually quiet, his attention mostly on his phone, his jaw set in that way that tells me he’s thinking three steps ahead of everyone else. It puts me on edge.He orders a latte for himself and, without asking, croissants and a cappuccino for me.The familiarity

Chapter Seventeen

Dante. From the moment she spots Diana, the shift in her is immediate.One second Paige is sitting across from me, guarded but composed, her hands wrapped tightly around her coffee cup like it’s the only thing tethering her to the table. The next, her entire body goes rigid. Her shoulders tense, her breathing shallow, her eyes, those eyes flash with something I don’t see often, Fear.I feel it before I fully register it. The air between us changes, thickens. Even Diana notices. She straightens in her chair, her confident posture faltering just slightly, like an actress who suddenly realizes she’s forgotten her lines.This should feel good, This is what I wanted. To have her completely shakenI wanted Paige off balance. Wanted to remind her that she doesn’t get to threaten me and walk away unscathed. I wanted control back in my hands, wanted her to understand that I see everything, that I can reach into the parts of her life she’s hidden and drag them into the light.And yet, somet

Chapter Eighteen

Paige.I was not going to keep siting there, so I slowly got up and just started walking away. The moment the cafe door closes behind me, my body betrays me.My legs wobble like they are no longer connected to the rest of me, my breath coming out in sharp, shallow gasps that burn my chest. The noise of the street crashes into me all at once, cars honking, people talking, life moving on as if my world hasn’t just imploded.I stumble a few steps away from the entrance, my hands shaking so badly I have to press them against my thighs to steady myself.I can’t breathe.My heart is racing too fast, pounding violently against my ribs like it’s trying to escape. A sharp pain shoots through my chest and for one terrifying second, I think, This is it. I’m having a heart attack.“No, no, no,” I whisper, panic clawing up my throat.I scan the street desperately and spot the restroom sign just inside the café lobby area. I don’t care if I look unhinged. I rush back inside, past confused stares

Chapter Nineteen

Paige. The drive back home feels unreal, like I’m moving through a fog that refuses to lift.The city lights blur past my windshield, streaks of white and gold against the darkening sky. My hands are tight on the steering wheel, knuckles aching, my body still humming with the aftermath of everything that happened today. The cafe Dante. Diana. The cemetery. Lila.My chest feels hollow and too full at the same time.The car is quiet except for the low hum of the engine, but my phone keeps vibrating on the passenger seat, relentless, insistent. I ignore it at first, my nerves too raw, my thoughts too tangled. But eventually, I can’t stand the not knowing anymore so I just pick it up.I tap the first voicemail from Nella.“Paige, please call me back. I’m worried. I have been calling you nonstop and you are not answering. Whatever is going on, you don’t have to handle it alone. Please, okay?”I swallow hard and skip the next fewmore of the same. Panic creeping into her voice. Fear for m

Chapter Twenty

Paige.I barely slept, but for once it was out of excitement. My baby was finally coming home with me. For the first time in a long time, I woke up before the sun had even fully risen, and something inside me was light. Excited and hopeful. I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually woken up feeling good.I blinked a few times, taking it all in, this was the last time I was going to wake up alone. Today was the day we would go shopping for her final preparations before her arrival. My chest fluttered at the thought, a pure kind of happiness I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in what felt like forever. A few twinges of worry tried to creep in, the shadow of Dante’s unpredictability, the calculating glint in his eyes, but I pushed it away firmly, I was not going to think about that or him today, Today I would focus on positivity. I got myself ready quickly, letting my hair fall loose in soft waves, choosing a simple but cheerful dress. I didn’t want anything fancy, not for toda

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