All Chapters of The Billionaire Queen's Collateral : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

ELENA“You need to leave. You’ve become my weakness.”Valeris’s voice was low, steady, but her eyes betrayed her. They were darker than I had ever seen them. I saw the fear she tried to dress as control. She stood a few feet away from me, her hands clasped behind her back like she was holding herself together by force alone.I laughed softly, because the alternative was breaking.“Funny,” I said. “I didn’t realise I had that kind of power.”She didn’t smile.“That’s exactly the problem, Elena.”The room smelled of rain, gun oil and something expensive I couldn’t name. Outside, the sound of thunder rumbled like a warning. Inside, my heart was beating too fast, too loudly like it was trying to escape my chest.“I’m not asking,” she continued. “I’m telling you. Leave tonight. Before I forget why I should let you.”I wanted to ask her what she meant by those words. I wanted to ask her why her voice quivered when she said my name. I wanted to ask why her idea of protection felt like a loss

ELENAI was busy at work that day that I didn’t notice Marcus’s sudden absence.Deadlines sure had a way of swallowing time. My head was full, rearranging schedules, shuffling between emails and phone calls. By the time I finally got home, the sun had settled, painting the living room windows in orange lights.“Honey, I’m home,” I called out as I shut the door behind me.No response.I dropped my bag on the sofa and walked further in. The apartment was unusually quiet. No television noise, no clatter from the kitchen. So unusual.Marcus always got home before me, and if anything kept him out late, he always let me know. I checked the bedroom, then the bathroom. Still nothing.I shrugged it off.Marcus could be unpredictable like that. Sometimes, he would disappear for days. Work meetings, last-minute plans that ran longer than expected. It was normal and wasn’t new enough to worry me.Maybe he was going to be late, I thought.I waited for him to return.Hours passed.I scrolled throug

VALERIAThe moment Elena walked into the private room, my breath caught.I had imagined this….no, that wasn’t true. I had tried not to imagine it. Since the night Marcus brought her to the charity event, her face had lived rent-free in my mind far longer than it had any right to. I had replayed the way she stood beside him, the way her beautiful eyes looked around the room like she didn’t belong in it, like she was too honest for that space.I had told myself to forget her, but I didn’t succeed.Now she was here, walking toward Marcus with that soft smile meant only for him. The dress hugged her perfectly like it had been designed with her body in mind. Every step she took felt like a quiet accusation. She was stunning. Too stunning.Everything about her was right, the curve of her wathe, she confidence she didn’t even know she carried, the warmth that clung to her like light. I had wanted this woman from the moment I first saw her and seeing her now only confirmed my desire.Yes, it