All Chapters of The Billionaire Queen's Collateral : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

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

VALERIAElena hated me.I saw it in the way she looked at me, her eyes sharp, burning, unfiltered. The kind of hatred that had weight. It lingered in the air, heavy and restless. But there was something else, something buried beneath that hatred, something she didn't know how to hide yet.Her breath.It betrayed her.The way it hitched every time I stepped too close. The way her chest rose too quickly when my fingers brushed her skin. Fear, yes, but not only fear. It was what. Curiosity. Awareness.Elena was a walking temptation. She was soft where she ought to be strong. Defiant where she ought to be afraid. She challenged me without realising it and I found myself enjoying every second of her resistance.Now she was under my roof.She was mine.The walls of my mansion were built to keep my enemies out and secrets in. A house that swallowed stronger people than he and reshaped them. I had brought her in as leverage, as punishment, but somewhere along the line she had become something

ELENAI couldn’t sleep.No matter how many times I tried. I turned and turned on the bed, no matter how tight I shut my eyes, the memory of Valeria’s touch wouldn’t let me be. The way her voice had dropped, the way her fingers had moved slowly, like she already knew what my body would do.I tried to push the thought away. It was just a game, I told myself.A psychological game.But I was losing.Eventually, exhaustion won. My thoughts blurred, my breathing slowed and sleep finally pulled me under.I didn’t know how long I slept when I suddenly felt a strange movement underneath my sheets.A hand. Warm and firm. The hand was curling around my waist.I stiffened, my eyes flashed open, fear rushing through me.Valeria was lying behind me. She was too close.Her arms wrapped around my body as if they belonged there. Her breath was warm against the back of my neck.“You thought you could run away from me,” Valeria murmured.Her voice was low and smooth.I tried to move but Valeria held on