All Chapters of Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

I was at the kitchen table with the last of the house papers spread in front of me when Gideon came in and set his keys down harder than usual. He was humming something off-key and stopped when he saw me hunched over the same page I'd been reading for the last ten minutes."You were on the floor today."I didn't look up straight away. "I went to see Lena and the others. It wasn't work.""Michael told me you smiled at him." Gideon pulled out the chair across from me and dropped into it, stretching his legs out under the table. "By the time the story reached my office, you'd hugged three people and brought cake.""Brownies.""He called them cake.""He calls everything cake."Gideon leaned back and watched me shuffle the papers into a neater pile without actually reading any of them. My shoulders had been up near my ears all afternoon and sitting back made me feel how long I'd been stuck in the same position. He noticed the neck rub. He didn't say anything about it. He just reached into

Elias set the bag on the counter and started pulling things out. The plates came first, wrapped in newsprint, cream with a thin gold rim. He held one up to the window like he was checking it for defects, turning it once, then set it down and reached back in."The candles are in here somewhere. I saw them when I was packing and then I lost them again."He found the box and opened it. The smell hit before I saw them. Vanilla and something green, like cut stems. He slid one out and set it on the table between us."Where'd you find these?""There's a little shop off Crescent that Marcus mentioned. I went in for the plates and came out with these instead." He shrugged and went back to the bag. "The plates came from the same place, actually. I just found them second."He had a list in his back pocket. I'd watched him pull it out and fold it back up three times since Tuesday without saying anything about it. He kept his hand near his pocket now, like he was trying to remember not to reach fo

Elias found the cake tin behind the fruit bowl while he was clearing the counter."Your mum left this."I looked over from the table. "She'll want it back.""I'll put it by the door so she can grab it when she comes."He set it on the floor near the coat rack and went back to the dishes.The kitchen still had bits of yesterday in it. A ribbon still tied around one of the cupboard handles. A candle burned down to a stub next to the flowers. The good napkins still out. The bin was full of wrapping paper from the gifts we'd opened at the table because neither of us wanted to haul them into the other room."You've been at this a while," I said."Since I woke up.""It's not even eight.""I woke up early. Your side of the bed has a gap in the curtain. The light comes through.""I keep meaning to fix that.""You don't have to. I just woke up."He dried his hands and came over with two mugs. He set one in front of me and sat down."Your mum texted. Last night, after she got home.""What did s

Elias was on the floor beside the hospital bag, a list in one hand and a few things spread out around him. The bag was open. He had already sorted some into small piles. I watched him for a moment, then pulled the blanket back and sat up. He looked over."Morning." He set the list down and stretched his back."How long was I asleep?""Not long. You needed it."I glanced toward the window. The curtains were half open, letting in a thin strip of grey light. "It feels longer than that.""You were sleeping hard. I didn't want to wake you."I pushed my hair out of my face. "Did you carry me?"He didn't look up from the bag. "You were asleep.""That wasn't my question. Did you sleep at all?"He smiled and shook his head. "I woke up a while ago." He looked past me. "Where are you going?""Bathroom."He moved the things beside the bag out of my way before I reached the door. When I came back, he was still there, checking the list. I went to the wardrobe and pulled out a loose dress."You've b

David's name came up on my phone. I had my tea in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. Elias looked at the screen, then at me. I set the tea down and answered."Adeline. Is this a bad time?""It's fine. Go ahead."A pause on his end. A breath came through the line. Long enough that I sat up straighter. Elias put his fork down."I'm calling about Shane.""I'm listening.""He died in prison. Early this morning. They're treating it as related to the debts he owed, there were unresolved circumstances surrounding his death, but nothing that ties it to you or the case."I looked at the mug in front of me. The tea had stopped steaming. Outside, a car went past."I wanted you to hear it from me before it turned up somewhere else.""Was it quick?""From what I've been told, yes. He was in the medical wing.""Alright.""The debts. Are they going to come back to us?""No. That's all closed. This is separate.""I'll send the formal note once everything's confirmed. Do you need anything fro