บททั้งหมดของ Claimed By The Alpha Billionaire : บทที่ 161 - บทที่ 170

CHAPTER 161 – LENALena stared at the spreadsheet on her laptop until the words began to blur.Not because she was tired.Because she had finally reached the part of the research where organizing information was no longer enough.Three interviews sat in front of her.Three people.Three decisions that looked similar from the outside and were nothing alike once she listened to the details.She moved the cursor to the notes column and added another heading.What changed the decision?Then she stopped.Her mentor had warned her about questions like this.A question could quietly become an assumption if she wasn't careful.Lena deleted the heading.She replaced it with:What was happening around the decision?That felt better.Less certain.More honest.She leaned back and looked at the screen again.The first participant had delayed acting because uncertainty accumulated before the application.The second had accepted an opportunity and later decided not to attend.The third had also bee

CHAPTER 163 – LENABy Wednesday morning, Lena had stopped trying to guess what the next interview would reveal.She had learned that prediction could become another form of bias if she wasn't careful.Instead, she arrived at the university with a short list of practical tasks and left the rest open.The new participant had confirmed the interview.Unlike the previous participants, this person had been referred through an organization Lena had never worked with.That mattered.It meant the study was beginning to move beyond the places she already understood.She met her mentor before her afternoon class.Her mentor looked over the recruitment update and nodded.“You've got a wider range now.”“I'm trying.”“Don't try to make the range look balanced just for the sake of balance.”Lena paused.“I wasn't.”“I know. I'm reminding you because researchers sometimes start arranging people into neat groups before they understand what the differences mean.”Lena wrote that down.Her mentor poin

CHAPTER 165 – LENAThe road out of the city looked different when Lena wasn't watching the time.Usually, she noticed traffic.Turnoffs.Fuel stops.How long it would take to reach the next appointment.This morning, she noticed the sky.It was clear beyond the windshield, the morning light spreading over the road as the city gradually disappeared behind them.She rested her elbow against the window and watched the buildings become fewer.Kai drove with one hand on the steering wheel.“No work,” Lena reminded him.“I know.”“No checking company messages.”“I know.”“No asking Marcus for updates.”Kai glanced at her.“You're enjoying this.”“Very much.”He smiled.His phone sat in the center console, turned off.Lena's was there too.Neither had touched it since they left.For once, the silence between them wasn't something that needed filling.They had spent so much time discussing what came next that simply going somewhere felt strangely unfamiliar.After nearly an hour, Kai asked, “

CHAPTER 167 – LENALena woke before Kai.For a moment, she lay still, listening to the quiet beyond the balcony doors.The town was beginning to wake.A distant voice carried from the street.Someone rolled a cart over the pavement.The sea moved steadily beyond the buildings.She turned her head.Kai was still asleep.She smiled.Their last full day had arrived.She had expected that thought to make her sad.Instead, she felt strangely peaceful.There was still time.She slipped out of bed and walked onto the balcony.The morning air was cooler than the previous day.She leaned against the railing and watched the first boats moving farther out from shore.Her mind tried to wander toward university.The participant recruitment.The research notes waiting on her laptop.The message from her mentor.She caught herself.Not today.She had promised herself three days.She intended to keep the promise.---Kai appeared behind her a few minutes later.“You're awake early.”“So are you.”“I

CHAPTER 169 – LENALena arrived at the university earlier than she needed to.Not because she was nervous.Because she had changed the way she approached the morning.There was no reason to rush through breakfast, race across the city, and arrive already thinking about the next task.She had learned that much during the trip.She stopped outside the research department and checked her phone.A new message had arrived from an organization she had contacted before leaving.They were willing to help distribute her participant information to young adults who had used, considered, or declined opportunities connected to their programs.Lena read the message carefully.Then she smiled.This was what she had been waiting for.Not more numbers.More perspectives.She replied, thanking them and asking them to share the information exactly as written.No promises.No pressure.No suggestion that participation would benefit them personally.Just an invitation.She put her phone away.The next sta