All Chapters of The Billionaire’s 30-Day Debt.: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The elevator ride to the penthouse was silent, save for the hum of machinery that felt too smooth to be real. Avery watched the floor numbers climb on a digital display that glowed a soft, expensive blue. Beside her, Dominic Thorne was a statue in wool and silk. He hadn't spoken since she’d signed the papers; he simply stared at his phone, his thumb flicking across the screen with surgical precision.The doors slid open directly into a foyer of white marble and glass. The view of the Manhattan skyline hit Avery like a physical blow—glittering, jagged, and indifferent."Mrs. Halloway," Dominic called out. His voice didn't echo; the heavy velvet drapes and thick rugs seemed to swallow the sound whole.A woman appeared from a side corridor, her silver hair pulled back into a bun so tight it looked painful. She wore a charcoal suit that looked like a uniform. Her eyes scanned Avery from her sodden waitress sneakers to her matted hair, lingering on the damp uniform with an expression of cl

The adrenaline of the Gala was beginning to sour, leaving a hollow ache in Avery’s chest. The "Ice King" hadn't let go of her hand until the heavy oak doors of the Thorne Estate’s private guest wing swung shut behind them."That kiss," Avery started, her voice sounding small in the vast, high-ceilinged room. "That wasn't in the contract."Dominic was already shedding his tuxedo jacket, tossing it onto a velvet chaise lounge with a careless grace. He loosened his silk tie, his gray eyes fixing on her with a blunt intensity. "The contract stipulates a 'convincing performance.' Celeste was looking for a crack in the foundation. I simply sealed it."He didn't look like a businessman anymore. With his collar open and his hair slightly disheveled from the night’s wind, he looked dangerous and unpredictable."We need to discuss the itinerary for the morning," he continued, walking toward the wet bar. "My grandfather wants breakfast at eight. He’ll be looking for signs of domestic bliss."Ave

Thorne Island was a jagged tooth of emerald and granite rising out of the Atlantic. At its peak sat the "Villa of Glass" a modern architectural marvel where the walls were floor-to-ceiling windows. It was designed to offer no place to hide, a fact that Avery realized was entirely intentional as Silas watched them disembark from the helicopter with the eyes of a hawk."Welcome to the end of the world," Dominic muttered, his hand clamped firmly on the small of Avery’s back.The villa was beautiful, but it felt like a trap. Every room flowed into the next, and the master suite was essentially a glass box overlooking a private cove. Even the bathroom featured an outdoor shower shielded only by a thin trellis of jasmine."Three days, Dominic," Silas said, leaning on his cane as they entered the foyer. "No reception. No satellite. Just the sea and your future. I’ve had the staff stock the kitchen and then leave. I want to see how you two function when the world isn't watching."The first fe

The return to Manhattan felt like stepping out of a dream and into a cold, pressurized chamber. The private jet had been silent, the air between Avery and Dominic thick with the memory of the jasmine-scented rain. But the moment the wheels touched the tarmac, the "Ice King" had donned his armor again. He was back to his phone, back to his mergers, and back to treating Avery like a high-stakes chess piece."Mrs. Halloway will take you to Vauclain’s," Dominic said, not looking up from his tablet as the black town car sped toward Midtown. "The Merger Gala is in forty-eight hours. You need a gown that doesn't just say 'fiancée.' It needs to say 'untouchable.'""And what if I don't feel untouchable, Dominic?" Avery asked, staring at the blurred grey lines of the city."Then fake it," he snapped, though his thumb hesitated over the screen for a fraction of a second. "That’s what I’m paying you for."Vauclain’s was less a boutique and more a temple to vanity. The walls were ivory silk, and t

The hospital was a cathedral of white noise and fluorescent shadows. Avery didn't wait for the elevator doors to fully hiss open before she was through the gap, her midnight-blue silk gown rustling against the sterile linoleum like a captured bird's wings. She was a vision of shattered elegance a girl in a ten-thousand-dollar dress running through a place that smelled of bleach and impending grief.She reached Room 402. Her breath came in ragged, burning hitches. She stopped at the threshold, her hand trembling so violently she couldn't reach for the handle. For a terrifying second, she expected to see the "Code Blue" team, the flatline on the monitor, the finality of a life she couldn't afford to save.But the red "Critical" light above the door was dark. In its place was a soft, steady green glow.Avery collapsed against the doorframe, the strength leaving her legs as if a tether had been cut. Inside, her mother lay sleeping. The sickly, grey pallor that had haunted her for months w