All Chapters of Bound by paper : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE: Jade’s POV The next day started with chaos. Not the dramatic, high stakes kind that usually followed the Montclair name, but the quiet, domestic kind that wears you down by inches. I had woken up feeling as if every muscle in my body had been replaced by lead. The adrenaline from yesterday, the boardroom victory and that jagged phone call with my father, had finally drained away, leaving me hollowed out. Killian had noticed it before he even reached for his watch. He had paused by the bed, looking down at me with an expression that was no longer guarded. "The office can survive without you for eight hours," he had said, his voice a low vibration in the quiet room. "Stay here, Jade. That is not a request." But the house had other plans. Aurelia’s tutor was a no show. By eleven, the living room had become a cage for a very restless five year old. Aurelia was pacing the length of the rug, her small face twisted into a scowl that looked terrifyingly like Killian’s

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE: Killian’s POV I didn’t sleep. Not because I couldn’t, but because every time I closed my eyes, my skin remembered the heat of her. I felt the way her body had trembled beneath my hands, the way she had breathed my name like a prayer she didn't want to be heard. Jade lay curled against my chest now, a warm, soft weight that felt far too natural. Her leg was tangled with mine, and her breathing was slow and deep, the kind of peaceful rhythm that only comes when a woman feels entirely safe. That should have relieved me. Instead, it made a knot tighten in my chest. I was not supposed to be her safety. I was supposed to be her partner on a legal document. But last night had not been a strategy. It had been instinct. Possession. A hunger that had been clawing at my insides since the moment I saw her walk into that boardroom. Jade shifted, her back pressing closer into the heat of my body. My jaw clenched as my own body responded instantly, unforgiving and alert. Sh

CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE: Killian’s POV The house had been too quiet. After Camille whisked Jade away and my mother’s driver collected Aurelia, the silence of the estate became a physical weight. I had spent the afternoon drowning in spreadsheets and legal briefs, making calls that should have felt like victories, but my mind kept drifting back to the pool. Back to the cold, clinical look in the evaluator’s eyes when he asked about the past. By the time the sun began to dip, I found myself back at the edge of the water. I was not working anymore. I was just staring. Jade sat down beside me slowly. She left a small space between us, as if she were testing the air, unsure if she was allowed to invade the territory of my grief. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice a gentle ripple in the quiet. I did not answer immediately. I was not sure if I could. I was not sure if I deserved comfort, or if I was simply meant to exist in this state of perpetual penance. But Jade did not push. She did n

CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN: Jade’s POV Killian’s gaze dragged slowly over my body, and I felt the air leave the room. His eyes darkened, shifting into something primal, like a wire inside him had finally snapped. I knew instantly that I was in trouble. The good kind. He climbed onto the bed with the patience of a predator, his gaze never leaving mine as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. When it finally fell from his shoulders, he leaned down and claimed my mouth in a kiss that made my thoughts scatter. It was not gentle. It was not careful. It was hungry, as if he had been starving for the taste of me all day. He broke the kiss only to remove my robe and my slip, until I was bare beneath him. His eyes memorized every curve, every flush of my skin, every shiver. "Tu es magnifique," he murmured, his voice a rough vibration against my skin. (You are magnificent.) My breath hitched as his mouth found my breasts. The moment his lips closed around me, I forgot how to breathe properly. I arched

CHAPTER FIFTY NINE: Jade’s POV The children’s museum was louder than the aquarium we had just left. It was not chaos, because everything here was organized and carefully designed for curious little hands, but it was a different kind of noise. Children’s laughter echoed off bright walls, and tiny footsteps ran across polished floors while parents chased after toddlers with a desperation that reminded me wealth did not make motherhood any less exhausting. Aurelia looked like she had stepped into heaven. Her eyes were wide, her little sundress swaying as she skipped from one activity to another, her tiny denim jacket hanging off her shoulders like she was too excited to care about the details. "Mama, look!" she squealed, tugging my hand toward a section filled with colorful blocks and miniature cranes. I laughed softly, bending down beside her. "Okay, show me." She explained her architecture with a seriousness that made me have to bite my cheek to stop from laughing. The yellow blo