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Alle Kapitel von THE BILLIONAIRE'S BIGGEST REGRET: Losing His Plus-size Ex: Kapitel 31 – Kapitel 40

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WE WANT TO DROP HER

Chapter 31The moment the heavy door to his office clicked shut behind Riley, the silence in the room returned, thick and tense. Ashton didn’t move from his position near the desk. He stood completely still, his eyes fixed on the empty space where she had just been standing. Her final words still echoed in the quiet room...the raw, absolute conviction in her voice when she told him that no one else had ever seen her that way.He knew her before everything, he knew she was keeping herself until marriage. So if she said Fredrick was the only one that has touched her, he'll believe her with his life.A sharp, vibrating buzz broke the silence.Ashton walked back around his desk, picked up his personal phone, and glanced at the caller ID. It was Gabriel, the executive director of Global Media Studios. He swiped the screen and brought the phone to his ear, his voice instantly dropping into his cold, professional executive tone."Speak," Ashton commanded."Dr. Clove, I am so sorry to both

A TERRIFYING REALIZATION

Chapter 32Ashton stayed by Iris’s bed for a few more minutes, adding a stylized white coat to the drawing with the green crayon until the little girl was thoroughly distracted and coloring again.When he finally stepped back, his eyes drifted over to Riley. He gave her a subtle, smooth nod toward the door, indicating for her to step out into the corridor with him once more.Riley’s heart did a nervous little flutter, but she carefully set her laptop down on the sofa, stood up, and followed him out. The heavy door clicked shut behind them, cutting off the cheerful sound of the television and plunging them into the quiet, sterile atmosphere of the hallway.She crossed her arms over her chest, automatically putting up her usual defensive shield. "Did they call you?" she asked, her voice tight as she tried to read his unreadable gray eyes. "Global Media Studios. Did they say they’re letting me go?""They called," Ashton said flatly, keeping his hands tucked casually inside his lab coat

SOMEONE WHO'S YOUNG, BUT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A MOTHER

Chapter 33The next morning, Riley walked into Global Media Studios. Her chest, tight with nerves, but she kept her head up.She had no idea where to go, so she walked up to the wide reception desk, gripping the strap of her handbag a little tighter.As she walked, her mind drifted back to the night before. She had stared at Ashton’s number on her phone screen for an hour, her thumb hovering over the text button. She had desperately wanted to message him, but in the end, her courage failed her. She hadn't sent it. Now, she felt a lingering pang of regret for being too cowardly to just try.A young receptionist wearing a neat black headset was typing away at a computer. The moment Riley stepped up to the counter, the woman looked up. Instantly, her eyes widened. A distinct flash of recognition and curiosity crossed her face...no doubt because she had seen the brutal, twisting headlines Fredrick had splashed across the internet the day before. The receptionist quickly caught herself

SHUT EVERYONE WHO HAD SAID SHE COULDN'T DO IT BECAUSE SHE WAS FAT

Chapter 34The outfit on the rack was a high-waisted emerald green pleated midi skirt and a crisp white silk blouse.Riley changed quickly, smoothed the skirt down and turned to the mirror. The fabric sat neatly at her waist and fell softly over her hips without pulling anywhere. The first thing she noticed was that the clothes weren't chosen because they wanted it to look different.No. If anything, if felt like it was a deliberate action to show her size.Which was perfect because it means they saw her and chose her the way she is.So she had to choose herself too. They don't mind using a plus size lady, then why would she mind showing her herself.The second thing she noticed was how the light makeup naturally blended with her outfit, making her look sophisticated.And it was exactly how it was supposed to be.She rolled the sleeves up, looked at herself one last time, then walked out with her shoulders held high. The two models glanced over at her, a look of surprise appearing o

I'M GLAD WE'RE HERE

Chapter 35Riley got back to the hospital at twelve minutes past three.She had told Iris fifteen minutes and it had taken her forty, but when she pushed open the door to Room 402, her daughter was sitting up in bed with a crayon in each hand and a drawing spread across her lap, completely absorbed. She didn't even look up.Ashton was sitting in the visitor's chair beside the bed with his long legs stretched out and his white coat open, watching whatever cartoon was playing on the wall screen with the same focused expression he probably used in surgery. Like the cartoon deserved his full professional attention.Riley stood in the doorway for a second, watching them interact. And for a moment, she wished...He looked up and their eyes met."You're late," he said."I know." Iris finally looked up from her drawing. "Mummy!" She dropped both crayons immediately and reached out with both arms.Riley crossed the room and pulled her into a hug, pressing her face into her daughter's hair. I

HOW DID YOU KNOW HE WAS HERE?

Chapter 36By nine o'clock that evening, Iris was fast asleep, her breathing deep and even, one small hand still loosely curled around the edge of her drawing.Riley sat on the sofa, her legs tucked up under her chin. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was wide awake, replaying the events of the day in a relentless loop.She leaned her head back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. He was playing a dangerous game, stepping into her life and acting like he belonged there. Sending up meals, talking to Iris about her being a star, defending her to the board...he was chipping away at the foundation she had spent ten years building. He wanted her to lower her guard. He wanted her to look at him the way she used to.But she couldn’t. Every time her heart wanted to soften, the memory of her pretty wedding dress would rise up. He had walked away once. She would never give him the chance to do it again.She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, shutting her eyes and forci

SCARED OF THE ANSWER SHE'D GET

Chapter 37Riley sat on the edge of the sofa, her hands folded in her lap, staring at the door long after it had clicked shut behind Fredrick.Her pulse was still unsteady. Her legs still felt like they were made of something soft and unreliable. But the fear was beginning to quiet itself down, little by little, replaced by something that sat warmer in her chest.He had come immediately.She hadn't called him. She hadn't sent for him. The moment Abigail had said his name, Ashton had dropped whatever he was doing and walked through that door like there had never been any question about whether he would.She didn't know what to do with that.She wasn't sure she was supposed to do anything with it at all. But it sat there regardless, quiet and stubborn, refusing to be ignored."Thank you," she said finally, looking up at him. "For coming when you did."Ashton was standing near the window, his arms loose at his sides. He looked at her for a moment, something unreadable passing through his

COULDN'T HELP BUT FEEL THANKFUL

Chapter 38Riley freshened Iris up while Ashton stepped out to make arrangements.She helped her daughter wash her face, brush her teeth, and change into the spare clothes she kept folded in the bottom of the hospital bag. A soft yellow dress with small white buttons down the front. Iris had picked it out herself weeks ago, when they'd both gone out for their little shopping.When Riley pulled it over her head and smoothed it down, Iris looked like herself again. Properly herself. Not a patient. Just a little girl."There," Riley said quietly, tucking a loose curl behind her ear.Iris grinned at her reflection in the small bathroom mirror, turning slightly from side to side. "Do I look nice?""You look perfect."They heard a knock at the door. Riley opened it expecting a nurse with a wheelchair and found Ashton instead, still in his dark shirt, no lab coat. He had his car keys in his hand.Riley looked at the keys. Then at him. "Where exactly are you taking us?""Get her bag," he sai

IT WAS REAL AND SHE CAUGHT IT

Chapter 39The sun had shifted by the time they made their way back through the park, dropping lower and turning the light that warm, honeyed gold.Iris had gone quiet in the wheelchair, not the brittle quiet of exhaustion or pain, but the full, satisfied quiet of a child who had used up every good thing the day had to offer and was now simply sitting inside it. Her yellow dress had ketchup on the front and a grass stain on the hem from where she had leaned too far over the railing at the rabbit pen, and she looked entirely unbothered by both.Riley walked beside the wheelchair, one hand occasionally drifting to Iris's shoulder as the path narrowed, and she kept catching herself doing it and not stopping. Ashton pushed the wheelchair at an easy pace, navigating around a group of children who had stopped in the middle of the path to argue about which direction the exit was. He said nothing, just steered around them patiently.He'd become so much more mature than how he was few years

SEE WHAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM

Chapter 40The faint click of the door closing behind Ashton left the room entirely silent, save for the comforting hum of the monitor. Riley remained on the sofa, her knees pulled tight against her chest, staring at the empty space where he had just stood. Her own words still seemed to hang in the air, a quiet confession she hadn't intended to make.It was the best day. She was right.She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Her mind, usually so disciplined at erecting barriers, was a chaotic mess of conflicting emotions. For years, her memories of Ashton had been frozen in the amber of her heartbreak...he was the boy who had walked away, leaving her to face the world alone. But today, the man he had become had completely shattered that old image.He hadn't just given Iris a day out; he had given her a piece of her childhood back. And the way he had looked at her in the car, without demand, without expectation, just offering his presence like a steady anchor...

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