All Chapters of The Billionaire's Little Thief: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The words wouldn’t leave my head. Girls like her don’t last around men like Mr. Blackwood. Sooner or later, he’ll remember where he belongs. I hated how much those words stayed with me. Because the worst part? A small, annoying part of me believed them. Every time I closed my eyes, Clarisse’s voice replayed again and again until it became impossible to ignore. Maybe she was right. Maybe I had gotten too comfortable. Letting myself forget exactly who I was in this house. A debt. Leonardo Blackwood belonged to a completely different world—a world where people like Natalia fit effortlessly, a woman from a powerful family who had his grandmother’s approval.” Not girls who came with grief, betrayal, and too much emotional damage hidden behind sarcasm. So by morning, I made a decision—I’m going to keep my distance. Which was exactly why I skipped breakfast. The last thing I wanted was to sit through some uncomfortable dining table disaster involving Natalia acting like she owned t

By the time morning came, I somehow ended up back in the garden again with Damien. “You know,” Damien said, lounging lazily across from me, “at this point, I’m starting to think this garden belongs to you.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I just enjoy peace.” “You came to the wrong house for that.” A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. We stayed there longer than I expected, talking about random things. Damien somehow managed to make even the most boring conversation entertaining. One second we were talking about terrible food combinations, the next he was dramatically explaining why rich people secretly enjoyed suffering. “I’m serious,” he said. “Nobody willingly chooses sparkling water unless they hate themselves.” I laughed harder than I meant to. Eventually, Damien checked the time and sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately,” he said, standing, “I have work to do.” “That sounds like the end of our conversation.” “It is.” I stood too, brushing invisible dust from my clothe

The rest of my conversation with Damien felt normal. He stayed beside me, talking about random things while occasionally making fun of my dramatic relationship with staircases. “You really should avoid anything with steps,” he said casually. “That was one time.” “You fell down an entire staircase.” “When are you going to stop jesting about this?” “Never.” I rolled my eyes, but laughed anyway. Still… every now and then, my thoughts drifted back. Leonardo can’t know. Know what? I hated how suspicious it made me feel. Eventually, I blamed the medication for making me overthink and stood carefully. “I should go back inside.” Damien frowned immediately. “Am I boring you already?” “No," I said amused. “I just need to rest.” His gaze lingered for a second longer. “…Take care of yourself, okay?” Something about the way he said it felt oddly serious. I nodded once “Bye, Damien,” and headed back inside. The moment I got to my room, I dropped onto the bed and scrolled mindless

Sofia stood first. “Maybe it’s not that bad,” she said weakly.Clarisse snorted. “Oh, sweetheart. It’s definitely bad.”I swallowed slowly. This was not how I planned to spend my evening.“Come on,” Clarisse said, already turning toward the door like she had front-row tickets to my downfall.I shot Sofia one last look before carefully following.The shouting downstairs only got louder the closer we got.“Where is she?” an older woman’s sharp voice echoed through the house. “Bring her to me immediately!”The second I stepped into the living room, I stopped.An elderly woman sat elegantly in the center chair like she owned the entire room.Which, judging by the way everyone looked nervous around her, she probably did.Everything about her screamed expensive,From her perfect posture to the elegant jewelry resting against her skin.Sharp eyes that somehow managed to feel judgmental before she had even spoken.Natalia stood beside her, arms crossed, expression smug.Clarisse stepped aside

The next morning came with me still sitting near the front entrance, hoping Leonardo would walk in any second.The morning was quiet like the entire house was holding its breath.I hadn’t slept, not even for a second because all I could think about was Leonardo. The thought of him hurt somewhere I couldn’t reach.The sound of a car pulling into the driveway snapped my thoughts apart.I sat up immediately, my eyes felt heavy, exhaustion sitting beneath them.A black SUV stopped near the front entrance and Damien stepped out quickly.He looked like he had driven through the night.The second he saw me, he stopped and his expression shifted immediately.“Riley?” He frowned.“You look terrible.”“Good morning to you too,” I muttered.His expression shifted immediately from surprise to concern.“Wait,” he said, stepping closer. “Didn’t you sleep?”I looked away but that was enough of an answer.His expression shifted. “You stayed up all night?”Before I could speak, Adrian stepped out from