The Billion Dollar Wife의 모든 챕터: 챕터 31 - 챕터 40

Ava reached out, her fingers searching for the warmth of the man who had held her so possessively only hours before, but all she found was cool, smooth silk. Dominic was gone. A hollow ache blossomed in her chest—a sadness that felt dangerously like loss. She sat up, clutching the duvet to her skin, wondering if the intimacy of the night had been a bridge or merely a beautiful hallucination.She moved through the morning with the limbs of someone grieving. In the bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face, trying to scrub away the lingering sensation of his touch, but her reflection only showed a woman who looked more haunted than loved.The sudden, harsh vibration of her phone against the marble vanity made her jump. An unknown number flashed on the screen.Her pulse hammered against her ribs. In her world, an unknown number was never a friend; it was either Cain’s cold demands or Silas’s oily threats. She stared at the device, wanting to throw it against the wall, but she knew si

The drive to his father’s corporate headquarters was a blur and simmering resentment. Dominic didn't slow down as he navigated the sterile, glass enclosed hallways of the executive floor. He reached the double doors of the primary office and shoved them open without a flicker of hesitation. Manners were for those who still had something to lose, and Dominic felt as though he were walking through the wreckage of his own life.Inside, George was huddled over a spread of architectural blueprints with three senior board members. The air in the room was thick with the scent of expensive floor wax and stale ambition.George looked up, his brow furrowing as he took in his son’s disheveled state and the cold, flat look in his eyes. He didn't need to be told that the atmosphere had changed. With a curt wave of his hand, he dismissed the men. They scurried out like mice, the door clicking shut behind them and leaving the father and son in a vacuum of silence."Sit down, Dominic," George said, h

Dominic's jaw tightened almost immediately. The irritation of being interrupted was obvious on his face.Ava looked between him and the guard."What anomalies?" she asked.The guard shifted awkwardly."Nothing to worry about, ma'am."Dominic shot the man a warning look that seemed to say he'd already said too much. Then he looked back at Ava.For a brief moment neither of them spoke. The confession sat between them like a fragile glass sculpture waiting to shatter.Ava's stomach twisted painfully.She had imagined this moment dozens of times in her head, over and over again.Sometimes she imagined herself blurting everything out at once.Other times she imagined carefully explaining every mistake she'd made, every lie she'd told, every reason she'd convinced herself to keep going.None of those rehearsals had prepared her for the reality of sitting across from Dominic and seeing how completely he trusted her.That trust made the truth infinitely harder to tell.She knew exactly what t

“He shouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least a month or two,” Dominic said, turning on his heel toward the heavy oak door.“Hey! You said you'd let me go!” Silas’s voice cracked, a desperate, raw sound that bounced uselessly off the dry stone walls.Dominic paused, his coat swirling around his ankles, though he did not grant the man the satisfaction of a backward glance. “I never said I would release you, Silas. I said I would consider it.” He adjusted his cuffs, his movements deliberate. “I did. And I have come to the conclusion that a man who flings himself about like a petulant child requires a disciplined hand to correct his course, lest he ruin himself entirely.”He stepped out into the corridor, closing the door firmly behind him. Silas’s muffled cries of agony bled through the wood, but Dominic felt entirely hollow, an icy numbness settling deep into his bones. The sound of his own breathing felt detached, distant.The words he had received earlier echoed like a cruel,

After a few minutes, she forced herself to stand, smoothing down her coat. She was ready to leave, ready to drive back to the estate and accept whatever judgment awaited her.Then, her gaze caught on the window.A familiar figure had just stepped out from the side of the building, walking briskly across the asphalt.Ava’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart seemed to stop mid-beat. “No. That wasn't possible.”Her eyes locked onto the man in the face cap, the entire world around her instantly blurring into insignificance. The ambient chatter of the café, the clink of silverware, the passing traffic, everything fell away until there was only him.The man moved with a familiar, purposeful stride, heading directly toward a sleek black sedan idling by the curb. It was a car she recognized instantly. Cain’s car.Ava took a blind, unconscious step toward the glass, her pulse roaring like a tempest in her ears. ‘No, no, no.’ Her mind violently rejected what her eyes were screaming at her t