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《Bound by paper 》全部章節：第 71 章 - 第 80 章

88 章節

The Silence That Followed

CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE: Jade’s POV The silence after my last slide felt endless. The projector light dimmed slightly behind me, the screen still showing my logo, the symbol of everything I wanted to become—like it was begging for approval from a room that didn't know how to give it. I stood there with my hands clasped in front of me, posture straight, chin lifted. Inside, my ribs felt like they were vibrating against my lungs, but I refused to let it show. I knew these people. Not personally, but I knew the type. They were the gatekeepers. They were the ones who decided who got a seat at the table and who remained a ghost in the hallway. If I showed fear now, they would smell it like blood in the water. And these people… these people didn’t respect fear. They only respected strength. Across the table, the board members stared at me like they were dissecting my skin, my voice, my confidence. They weren’t just judging my company. They were judging whether I deserved to dream. I could f

After the Applause

CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO: Jade’s POV The ride home was quieter than I expected. Not uncomfortable. Not awkward. Just… heavy. Like the air inside the car had physically thickened after the boardroom, weighted down by the gravity of what had just happened. I kept replaying everything in my head. Every word. Every pause. Every question that almost made me stutter. I looked at my hands, resting in my lap, and realized they were finally still. I had stood in front of people who could buy buildings with pocket change, people who usually looked at women like me as background noise and somehow, I had made them listen. Killian sat beside me, one arm resting casually on the leather seat, the other holding his phone as he scrolled through emails like the world hadn’t just shaken my entire existence. He looked so composed, so entirely in his element, that a sudden pang of insecurity flared in my chest. To him, this was a Tuesday. To me, this was the day I stopped being a victim of my circumstances

Weekend Promises

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: Jade’s POV The building felt different when I walked into it this time. Two weeks ago, I had entered that boardroom with fear hidden under a layer of expensive lipstick and a confidence that felt like it was taped onto my spine. Today, I walked in with a leather folder in my hand and my head held high. Not because the nerves were gone. They were there, buzzing under my skin like a live wire. But because I finally understood that nervousness didn’t mean weakness. It meant I was standing on the edge of something that mattered. The lobby was a cathedral of marble and glass, and as soon as I stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted. People looked. It wasn't the curious, "Who is that girl with Killian?" glance anymore. It was, "That’s her." The woman who had commanded the board's attention. The woman who had dared to pitch. I hated that my identity was still partially tethered to his name, but I refused to let it shrink me. I rode the elevator to the top floor, my

No Interruptions

CHAPTER SEVENTY FOUR: Jade’s POV The walk down to the beach felt like a dream I didn't want to wake up from. The resort was a sprawling masterpiece of luxury, but as Killian led me toward a secluded stretch of white sand, the world seemed to shrink until it was just the two of us and the rhythmic pulse of the tide. In the center of a small alcove of palms, a table was set. Candles flickered inside glass hurricanes, casting a warm, dancing glow against the darkening sky. The smell of salt air mingled with the scent of grilled lobster and expensive wine. “Killian,” I whispered, looking at the setup. “You really went all out.” He pulled out my chair, his hand lingering on my shoulder for a heartbeat longer than necessary. “I told you. You deserve expensive. And you deserve quiet.” Dinner was a blur of laughter and soft teases. We didn't talk about the board. We didn't talk about my father. We talked about Aurelia’s latest obsession with dinosaurs and how Caleb was convinced he coul

Kinky

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE: Jade’s POV Killian’s mouth was still on mine when I heard it again. A knock. Sharp. Polite. Annoyingly timed. He didn’t stop immediately. If anything, he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping against mine with a territorial edge that said the rest of the world could burn before he was finished with me. When he finally pulled away, his lips lingered, brushing mine in a silent promise of what was coming. His eyes were dark, swirling with an irritation that felt almost lethal. “Ignore it,” I whispered, my voice sounding like it belonged to someone else—someone breathless and undone. His jaw flexed, a hard line of muscle beneath the stubble. “They’ve knocked twice,” he muttered, his voice a rough grate. “If I ignore it again, I’ll end up killing someone in a resort owned by people I might need.” I let out a soft laugh, the sound shaky. He stepped away reluctantly. His shirt was a mess, his hair disheveled, his presence still vibrating through the room like

Wake Up Call

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX: Killian’s POV The sunlight in this part of the world was too bright. It cut through the gaps in the balcony curtains like a blade, sharp and unforgiving. I stayed still, watching the way it caught the gold in Jade’s hair. She was draped across me, a tangle of limbs and soft exhales, her skin still marked with the faint, fading ghosts of my possession from the night before. I should have been satisfied. I had unraveled her until there was nothing left but her name on her lips. And yet, watching the slow rise and fall of her shoulders, I felt the hunger stirring again. It was a bottomless pit, a craving that didn’t just want her body, but the very air she breathed. The bedside telephone shrieked. The sound was jarring, a violent intrusion into the quiet. I moved carefully, sliding out from under her without waking her, and snatched the receiver before it could ring a second time. “Speak,” I bit out, my voice a low, morning rasp. “Mr. Montclair,” the concier

Uninvited

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN: Jade’s POV Killian and I spent the rest of Saturday studying each other in the most intimate ways. He booked me a spa session at the resort before we left on Sunday afternoon. A session that was very much needed to soothe my aching body. I got back to the room to meet killian dressed. " The car is waiting outside" he said before continuing his call and walking out. I changed my outfit and joined him. The silence in the back of the SUV was deafening. It wasn't the comfortable, charged silence of the resort. It was clinical. Heavy. It felt like the air was being sucked out of the cabin by the sheer force of Killian’s focus. He was back in the armor, the tailored charcoal suit, the iPad gripped in his large hands, and the phone that hadn't stopped vibrating since we pulled out of the driveway. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He was reviewing a series of acquisition contracts, his brow furrowed in that specific way that meant he was loo

Private Talk

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT: Jade’s POV The air in the dining room turned frigid. I looked at Aurelia, who was still blissfully unaware, laughing at a character on her screen. I couldn't let that laughter be cut short by the poison Vivienne carried. "Margaret," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "Take Aurelia upstairs. Now. Play a game, put on a movie, just keep her away from the windows." Margaret didn't hesitate. She ushered a confused but compliant Aurelia out of the room. Once they were clear of the stairs, I turned back to the housekeeper. "And call Killian. Tell him exactly who is at the gate." I didn't have to wait long. The sound of Killian’s footsteps on the marble was like a rhythmic drumbeat of war. He rounded the corner, his jacket off, his sleeves rolled up, and his expression so dark it was almost unrecognizable. "Where is she?" he demanded, his eyes sweeping the room until they landed on me. "She’s still at the gate, Killian. Security hasn't let her through

Warnings

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE: Killian’s POV The door to my home office clicked shut, the sound heavy and final. Caleb didn't wait for an invitation. He walked straight to the mahogany bar, the crystal decanter clinking against the glass as he poured two fingers of whiskey for both of us. He slid a glass across the desk and sank into the leather chair opposite mine. He took a long, slow sip, his eyes fixed on the liquid, saying absolutely nothing. The silence stretched too long. I didn't have the patience for his theatrics today. "I don't have all day, Caleb," I snapped, sitting behind the desk. "If you came here to drink my top-shelf scotch in silence, do it in the lounge." Caleb finally looked up. The usual smug, arrogant light in his eyes was gone, replaced by a clinical sharpness that reminded me why he was the best at what he did. "I’ve always joked about you being obsessed with her, Killian," he started, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "I called it a crush. A fixation. But I

Apologies

CHAPTER EIGHTY: Jade’s POV When the door clicked shut behind Caleb, the silence in the study felt like a physical weight, pressing against my lungs. I didn't want to be in this room anymore. I didn't want to be under the heavy, calculating weight of Killian’s gaze. For the last few hours, I had felt like a ghost haunting my own life, visible only when I was needed for a briefing, but invisible the moment the "real" work began. I stood up immediately, my chair scraping harshly against the floor. "Camille is waiting for me," I said, my voice tight. I didn't look at him. I couldn't. If I looked at him, I was afraid I’d either scream or shatter, and I wasn't sure which was worse. "If she waits too long, she'll get the memo," Killian said. His voice was a dark, smooth velvet that usually made my pulse jump, but today it felt like a tether, pulling me back into a cage I wasn't ready to be in. Before I could reach the handle, he was there. He moved with that predatory grace he ha

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