Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire’s Rival Contract: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

Bella I could barely contain my excitement as I showed Sebastian the email on my screen. He read through the email from beginning to end.A small smile slowly appeared across his face.Then he looked back at me.“Congratulations, Bella. Opportunities like this do not come around often, and receiving an invitation from someone you have admired for years speaks volumes about everything you have achieved.”I nodded excitedly.“The CEO wants to meet with me personally. They are interested in collaborating with my company on a major project, I honestly never imagined something like this would happen so soon.”Sebastian handed the phone back to me. There was unmistakable pride in his eyes.“Your hard work is finally beginning to pay off, Bella. You have earned every bit of this through your own determination, talent, and persistence.”His words warmed me much more than I expected. As excited as I was about the meeting itself.Somehow, hearing Sebastian praise me felt equally rewarding.I

Sebastian By the time Bella and I finally arrived home that evening, exhaustion had begun settling into every part of my body.The day had been far longer than I expected.As soon as I stepped into the living room, I instinctively looked around the house.Claire was nowhere to be found. My brows furrowed even deeper. That did not sound like Claire. Especially after I specifically told her that I would see her once I returned home.A strange feeling of uneasiness slowly settled inside me.Without wasting another moment, I reached for my phone and dialed her number. The call rang several times before ending without an answer.I tried again.Once again…Nothing.I switched to sending text messages instead.Still there was no response.With every passing minute, my concern continued growing.I knew Claire well enough to recognize this pattern.Whenever she became emotional, she had a habit of disappearing and refusing to communicate with anyone.Eventually, my phone vibrated.A message

Sebastian Long after Bella and I left the terrace, my mind refused to calm down.The conversation I had with Claire earlier that evening replayed over and over inside my head.Every single word she had spoken.Every single answer I had given.Especially the moment I bluntly told her that I did not love her.That conversation had forced me to confront something I had spent weeks trying to ignore.If I truly did not love Claire…Then why had it become so easy to reject the possibility of ever being with her?Why had I felt absolutely nothing while saying those painful words?More importantly, if my heart no longer belonged to the person I once believed I cared about. Then who exactly had taken that place?The answer appeared almost instantly.Bella.There was only one woman who occupied my thoughts every single day.Only one woman whose smile somehow managed to improve my mood without even trying. Only one woman whose opinions had begun influencing my decisions without me realizing it

BellaThe morning had been unusually busy from the very beginning.Files kept piling onto my desk one after another, emails refused to stop coming in, and several meetings had already been scheduled before noon.I barely had enough time to catch my breath between one task and the next.Just when I was finally beginning to make progress with my workload, a gentle knock sounded on my office door.“Come in,” I said without looking up from the documents spread across my desk.A staff member walked into the office, carrying several beautifully wrapped packages in both hands.“Ma’am, these were delivered for you just now,” the staff member said politely before placing everything neatly on my desk.I stared at the colorful collection of gift boxes with visible confusion.There were several different packages.Some were wrapped in elegant paper.Others came inside luxurious gift bags decorated with expensive ribbons.There was even a bouquet of fresh flowers resting beside the other gifts.I

Sebastian Every time I closed my eyes, I just saw that guy sitting too close to her at the restaurant, looking at her like she was some prize to be won. It made my blood boil.I turned to face her, trying to keep my voice steady, even though my heart was hammering against my ribs.“I don’t feel threatened, Bella,” I claimed, throwing my hands up. I genuinely didn’t understand why she was making me out to be the bad guy here. “Why would you even think that? Seriously, why is that where your mind goes?”Bella just stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at me with this stubborn, angry look in her eyes.“Because you just barged in there, Sebastian! You literally walked into the middle of my meeting like you owned the place!”“I was trying to protect you!” I snapped, my voice rising before I could stop it. I took a step toward her, desperately wishing she would just understand. “Why can’t you see that? Why is it so hard for you to see what was actually happening?”“Prot