Alle Kapitel von Bound by Billion-Dollar Vows: Kapitel 21 – Kapitel 27

Natalie's POVI had never realized how loud silence could be.Every second that passed outside the operating room felt heavier than the last. My eyes remained fixed on the red OPERATING sign above the double doors, silently begging it to turn off. Around me, Mama continued praying with her rosary clutched tightly between her fingers while Migo sat beside her, his head lowered and his hands clasped together. Sasha stayed close enough to catch me whenever my knees threatened to give out. A few steps away, Luca stood quietly near the window with Sebastian. He wasn't speaking to anyone, but every now and then, I'd catch him looking in my direction just to make sure I was still standing.I didn't know how many hours had passed.Time had completely lost its meaning.Then, without warning, the red light above the operating room disappeared.The doors slowly opened.Every one of us stood at the same time.My heart pounded so violently against my chest that I could hear it in my ears.The fir

LUCA"Miss De Dios is asking for you."Sebastian's words followed me all the way back to the car.I stood beside the precinct entrance with my phone pressed against my ear, staring at the traffic moving across the street. For a man who had faced hostile takeovers, courtroom battles, and boardrooms filled with people waiting for me to fail, I had never understood why one sentence from Natalie could make my heart beat faster."Where is she?" I asked, opening the rear door of the Rolls-Royce."She's in the PICU with Olivia," Sebastian answered. "She asked the nurse if they could reach you, and the nurse contacted me."I slid into the back seat and leaned against the leather."How long ago?""About ten minutes.""Drive."The moment Sebastian ended the call, the car pulled away from the curb. I loosened my tie and glanced at the time on my phone. I had been gone longer than I intended, and suddenly every minute felt like an inconvenience.I should have stayed.I knew that.But Mackenzie ha

Natalie's POVOne week later, Olie finally walked out of the hospital with Mama holding one of her hands and me carrying the small bag of medicines the nurse had instructed us to keep within reach, and even though she still moved carefully because of her injuries, seeing her outside those hospital walls felt like something I had once prayed for and never thought I'd actually witness.As expected, every bill had already been settled, every surgical expense, medication, room charge, and follow-up arrangement paid in full by Luca, and when I asked the billing department how much remained, the woman behind the desk simply smiled and told me, "Mr. Hernaez took care of everything, Miss De Dios," as if paying an enormous hospital bill for someone else's family were the most ordinary thing in the world. I stood there staring at the receipt in my hands, feeling gratitude, guilt, and something far more complicated twisting together inside my chest because Luca had never once stood over me deman