All Chapters of Byline of My Heart: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

31 Chapters

Chapter 20: The Way You Let Someone Go

Sebastian’s POVI woke up before her. For a moment, I didn’t move. Isla was asleep against my chest, her breathing slow, steady. One arm draped lightly over my ribs like she wasn’t ready to let go even in sleep. The suitcase was still near the wall. Reality returned quietly. She was leaving today.I’ve negotiated million-dollar deals without blinking. Ordered men twice my size without raising my voice. Watched enemies fold under pressure.But this?This was different. Because I couldn’t fight it. I brushed my fingers carefully through her hair. She stirred slightly, brows furrowing before her eyes opened.She looked up at me.No regret.No panic.Just softness.“Good morning,” she whispered.“Morning.”There was something fragile in the air. Not awkward. Just aware.“Still planning to leave?” I asked lightly.She gave a small smile. “Still dramatic?”I almost laughed. Almost.“I’ll drive you,” I said.“You don’t have to.”“I know.”She studied me for a second, then nodded. “Okay.”We

Chapter 21: The City that Doesn't Sleep Clean

Singapore was efficient.Clean.Sharp.Everything moved with purpose, trains arriving on time, people walking like they had invisible schedules printed in their heads. It felt… controlled.Unlike him. Or maybe too much like him.Three weeks.Three weeks since I left.Three weeks of video calls that felt too short and too composed.Sebastian never looked tired on screen.Never distracted.Never weak.“Are you eating properly?” he would ask.“Yes.”“Sleeping?”“Trying.”“You look thinner.”“You’re imagining it.”He would stare at me for half a second longer than necessary. Like he was checking something deeper. Distance didn’t make him softer. It made him sharper. And somehow, that scared me more.The newsroom here was different. More structured. More global.I was assigned to assist in a cross-border investigation involving human trafficking routes disguised as “luxury hospitality businesses.”I didn’t like the phrase.Luxury.Hospitality.It sounded sanitized.My editor, Marcus, brief

Chapter 22: What Profit Really Means

I didn’t tell Marcus. Not yet. I couldn’t.Because once I officially disclosed the ownership link, it would no longer just be an investigation. It would be a war.And I needed proof before I started one.Three days after confronting Sebastian, I went back to Velour Noir.Not as a journalist.As a client’s guest.One of Marcus’s confidential sources arranged access, a businessman willing to bring me in under the guise of “market research.”I hated every second of the lie. The club looked the same. Elegant. Polished. Controlled.But this time, I wasn’t just observing the room. I was watching the system.The girls were assigned to tables with coded wrist tags, subtle, barely visible.Gold meant high-tier. Silver meant standard rotation.No tag?Restricted.I noticed one girl standing near the back corridor. No tag. Just a thin bracelet that looked more like a tracker than jewelry.She didn’t approach clients.She waited. Like inventory. My stomach twisted.“Relax,” the businessman whispe

Chapter 23: Vanished

She wasn’t there. I knew it the second I walked in. Velour Noir was alive like always, soft gold lighting, low jazz humming in the background, expensive laughter floating between tables.But she wasn’t near the corridor anymore.No thin bracelet. No guarded eyes scanning exits.I tried not to look obvious. I tried to act like I was just another observer, another quiet presence blending into velvet shadows.But my chest was tight. Too tight.I approached the bar casually.“The girl from last week,” I said lightly to one of the bartenders. “Slim, long dark hair. Quiet.”He didn’t hesitate.“We rotate staff, ma’am.”“I figured. But she was assigned to the back hallway.”His hands paused for half a second while polishing a glass. “Staff changes are internal matters.”Internal matters.Corporate language.Clean.Dismissive.Dangerous.I forced a small smile. “Of course.”But I already knew. She didn’t rotate. She was removed.I went to the restroom again, not because I needed to, but becau

Chapter 24: Control Is Not the Same As Clean

He arrived the next afternoon.No warning text.No dramatic message.Just a single line sent at 2:14 PM.‘I’m here.’That was it. My chest tightened. Part of me wanted to run to him. The other part remembered Velour Noir’s restricted floor.I replied after thirty seconds.‘Where?’‘Lobby.’Of course. He didn’t hide. He never hides.When I walked into the hotel lobby, he was already there.Black suit. Calm posture. Hands loosely clasped behind his back like this was just another business trip.But I know him.The stillness meant calculation.His eyes found me immediately.No smile.No softness like the airport.Just focus.“You shouldn’t have gone back alone,” he said quietly.“You shouldn’t own places like that,” I replied.His jaw flexed slightly. We stood there for a second, two people who loved each other but were now on opposite sides of a line.“I’m meeting the manager in an hour,” he said.“Alone?”“Yes.”“I’m coming.”“No.”“Sebastian.”“This isn’t a newsroom confrontation, Is

Chapter 25: A Pause in the Storm

Sebastian’s POVSingapore looked different at night.From the balcony of the hotel suite, the city glittered like something carefully designed, every light deliberate, every building placed with precision. It reminded me of a chessboard.Controlled. Strategic. Predictable.But Isla Carter was none of those things.And right now, she was the only thing on my mind.Inside the suite, she was sitting quietly on the couch, scrolling through something on her phone. Her brows were slightly furrowed, probably still thinking about Velour Noir.About what she saw.About what it meant.About me.I loosened the cuffs of my shirt and watched her for a moment longer before speaking.“Put the phone down.”She didn’t even look up. “Bossy.”“It’s a date. Not a board meeting.”That made her pause. Her eyes slowly lifted to meet mine.“A date?” she repeated.“Yes.”She crossed her arms slightly. “Sebastian Romano asking someone on a normal date? That’s new.”“I’m capable of normal things.”She raised a

Chapter 26: The Quiet Place

The city pulsed with life. Cars, lights, people moving through the streets like currents in a river. It was beautiful, efficient, and alive.But sometimes even I needed silence.And tonight, I needed Isla away from the noise.“Where are we going now?” she asked from the passenger seat.She had asked that question three times already. I smirked slightly as I turned the wheel onto a quieter road.“Patience.”“That’s not an answer.”“It’s the only one you’re getting.”She sighed dramatically and leaned back in her seat.“You know, normal people explain things.”“I’m not a normal person.”“That much is obvious.”I glanced at her briefly. The city lights slipped across her face through the windshield, and for a moment she looked softer than usual. Less like the sharp reporter who could dismantle a lie in seconds.Just Isla.And that thought alone made my chest tighten.We drove farther away from the city center. The skyscrapers slowly gave way to quieter neighborhoods, then private roads

Chapter 27: The Cost of Truth

The first call came at 5:12 in the morning.I woke before the second ring. Years of running an empire built on shadows had trained my instincts well, no one calls at dawn unless something is wrong.Very wrong.Isla stirred slightly beside me when I reached for the phone on the nightstand. The morning light barely touched the room, soft grey filtering through the curtains of the rest house.For a moment, I almost ignored the call.But the screen told me everything.Matteo.I answered immediately.“What happened?”No greeting. No small talk.On the other end, Matteo sounded tense. “Sir… you need to see the news.”My eyes narrowed. “What news?”A short pause.Then the words that made my chest tighten. “It’s Isla.”My gaze moved slowly toward the woman sleeping beside me. Her hair was slightly messy against the pillow, her breathing calm and steady.She had no idea the storm had already arrived.“What about her?” I asked quietly.“She published the article.”The words landed like a gunsh

Chapter 28: The Breaking Point

Isla’s POVThe newsroom was louder than usual.Phones ringing. Keyboards clacking nonstop. Editors talking over each other. Television screens flashing the same headline again and again.My article.My investigation.I stared at the monitor in front of me, the glow of the screen reflecting in my tired eyes.“Isla,” my editor called from across the room. “The numbers are insane.”I barely reacted.“International outlets are picking it up,” he continued, walking toward my desk. “Singapore authorities confirmed the raid. The financial crimes division is investigating the club.”I nodded slowly. “That’s good,” I said quietly.But it didn’t feel good. Not completely. Because I knew who would be affected the most.Sebastian.I hadn’t heard from him since that morning.Not one message.Not one call.Which somehow felt worse than if he had shouted at me.My editor leaned against my desk. “Do you have more?”I blinked. “What?”“More evidence,” he said. “Your article hinted the club is linked t

Chapter 29: What I Saw

I didn’t expect to see him again so soon. After the breakup, I tried to convince myself that it was the right decision. That choosing the story over Sebastian Romano was the only path I could take.But knowing something is right doesn’t make it hurt less.Three days had passed.Three very long days.The newsroom had been my refuge. Long hours, endless research, drowning myself in documents and financial records so I wouldn’t think about him.And for a while, it worked.Until that afternoon.I pushed open the glass door of a small café a few blocks from the newsroom. The smell of roasted coffee beans and warm pastries wrapped around me instantly.“Hi, ma’am,” the barista greeted.“Just an iced latte,” I said, forcing a small smile.It was supposed to be a quick break.Nothing more.I stepped further inside, already reaching for my wallet when something, no, someone caught my attention.My body froze.Sebastian.He was sitting at a corner table near the window. Of course he looked exact

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