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Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Billion-Dollar Mistake : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

69 Kabanata

Unexpected Allies

CHAPTER 31 “So this is what distance feels like.”That was the thought that followed me into the building the next morning.Not relief.Not safety.Just space. Cold and deliberate.The illusion had worked. I could feel it. The office no longer buzzed when I passed. People weren’t watching my hands, my face, or my proximity to Reign’s door.They’d accepted the story we sold.Professional distance.Temporary recalibration.Nothing to see here.And yet….Something else had started.I sensed it before I saw it. That shift in attention. Less curious. More… evaluative.I sat at my desk and logged in.Half my permissions were still restricted.No surprise there.I opened my calendar. Meetings reassigned. Tasks rerouted. Projects I’d built quietly transferred to other names.Not erased. Just redistributed.A test.I exhaled slowly and started working anyway. The basics. Clean. Precise. No room for error.If they wanted to see me stumble, I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.“Ms Carter.”I

whispers in the Hall

CHAPTER 32 Whispers don’t start loud.They start polite.They start with pauses. With looks that linger half a second too long. With voices lowering when you pass, then rising again once you’re gone.By the time you hear them clearly, they’ve already decided who you are.I felt it the moment I stepped out of the elevator.The floor didn’t freeze. That would’ve been obvious. Too crude.Instead, conversations continued. Just… differently.Names replaced with pronouns. Sentences cut short. Laughter that arrived a beat too late.I walked to my desk anyway.Head high. Back straight.Distance had become my uniform now.I logged in. My access is held. No further restrictions. No new permissions either.They were watching. Measuring.I opened my email.Three new meeting requests. None directly from Reign.That was deliberate.I accepted all three without hesitation.If they wanted to test my independence, I’d give them competence.“Maya.”I looked up.It was Julia from finance. Usually warm.

Close Confidences

CHAPTER 33 Some days start loud.Others start with the kind of silence that presses against your chest and refuses to move.This one did both.I woke before my alarm. The city outside my window is still dark. Still undecided about whether it wanted to be morning yet.My phone lay face down on the nightstand.I didn’t touch it.I already knew there’d be nothing there. No warnings. No reassurance. No carefully worded check-ins.Distance, after all, had rules.I got dressed slowly. Dark blouse. Tailored trousers. Hair pulled back. Minimal makeup.Neutral. Controlled.If whispers were turning into records, then today was about documentation. About proof.I arrived early.Too early for the usual crowd. Too early for noise.The lobby smelt faintly of polish and coffee. Clean. Sharp.I rode the elevator alone.When the doors opened, the floor was quiet. A few lights on. A few silhouettes moving behind glass.I walked to my desk and logged in.Everything held.No new restrictions. No restora

Ivy’s Challenge

CHAPTER 34 The day Ivy Hart decided to stop whispering, the building felt it before anyone said her name.Pressure has a sound.A low hum.A vibration beneath polished floors and glass walls.I felt it the moment I stepped inside.People weren’t avoiding me anymore.They were watching.Not with curiosity. With expectation.Today wasn’t about rumours. It wasn’t about speculation or proximity or narrative control.Today was about confrontation.I straightened my shoulders and walked to my desk.Whatever Ivy was planning, she wouldn’t catch me unprepared.My inbox refreshed.Six new emails. All neutral. All operational.No traps there.My phone buzzed.A message. From Helena.“Today won’t be subtle. Stay visible. Stay factual.”I typed back.“I’m ready.”Three dots appeared, then vanished.Her reply came a second later.“Good. Because she’s stepping into the light.”My pulse kicked.She.I didn’t need clarification.Ivy Hart didn’t do subtle exits or quiet returns. When she moved, it wa

Moments Stolen

CHAPTER 35 Some nights don’t let you sleep.They sit on your chest.They replay faces. Voices. Smiles that mean too much.That night was one of them.I lay awake long after the city outside my window dimmed. Ivy’s voice echoed where silence should’ve been.She knows something you don’t.That sentence refused to loosen its grip.By morning, I’d decided something.Waiting wasn’t a strategy anymore.It was exposure.The office greeted me with restraint.Not hostility. Not curiosity.Containment.People kept their conversations clipped. Professional. Almost rehearsed.I stepped into it anyway.Head high. Pace steady.If Ivy wanted control through uncertainty, then clarity—my clarity—was the counter.I sat at my desk and logged in.My access had expanded overnight.Not fully.Enough.A quiet acknowledgement. Or a quiet trap.My phone buzzed.A message. From Helena.“She’s baiting you. Don’t react publicly.”I typed back.“I won’t.”Three dots appeared.Then…“But don’t disappear either.”

The Boardroom Battle

CHAPTER 36 The building smelt different that morning.Not coffee. Not Polish. Not that faint hum of electronics.It smelt of steel and expectation.Ivy Hart had arrived. Not quietly. Not subtly. She walked in with the kind of confidence that made walls feel narrower.Every glance followed her. Every whisper sharpened.I didn’t flinch. I couldn’t.I straightened my blouse and walked past her. Head high. Back straight. Armour disguised as professionalism.My phone buzzed in my bag. I didn’t check it. I already knew. Helena would’ve sent instructions if anything urgent had shifted.Ivy’s smirk was quick. Calculated. As if she knew every move before I even thought it.“Good morning, Maya,” she said lightly, her voice sweet, carrying poison.“Ms Hart,” I replied evenly.She didn’t pause. She passed by my desk and whispered under her breath, just enough for me to hear:“Hope you’re ready.”I let it slide. That was the trap—getting a reaction.I didn’t give her one.By nine-thirty, the boar

Hidden Danger

CHAPTER 37 The city was quiet that morning. Too quiet.The kind of quiet that presses against your ears until every footstep sounds amplified.I walked into the building and immediately felt it—the subtle shift in air.Not tension from Ivy. Not from the board. Something else.I paused at the elevator. Breathe steadily. Observing.I didn’t move until the doors opened.Inside, the lobby smelt faintly of polish, coffee, and… something else. Metallic. Cold.I swallowed.Something was off.At my desk, things seemed normal. Emails, notifications, calendar reminders. Neutral. Operational. Controlled.I sat and logged in. Checked the usual folders. Everything looked normal. Too normal.My phone buzzed.“Trust your instincts.”No name. Unknown number.I froze.Then typed back.“What is this about?”Three dots appeared.“They’re hiding something.”I exhaled slowly.It wasn’t Helena. Not her style.It felt more urgent. Closer. Personal.I slid the phone into my bag and glanced around.No one se

The Confession

CHAPTER 38 The night air felt heavier than usual.Not cold. Not crisp. Just… dense. Like the city itself was holding its breath.I stepped out of the elevator and immediately felt it—the quiet tension that clung to the floor.People weren’t just moving. They were watching. Listening. Waiting.I adjusted my blazer, fingers tight around my bag strap.Helena had warned me. Something was about to surface. Something more than numbers, spreadsheets, or rumours.And she hadn’t been exaggerating.Reign was already in the office when I arrived.Not in his usual commanding posture behind the desk.He was seated, hunched slightly over his laptop, jaw tight, eyes unreadable.“Morning,” I said softly.He didn’t look up. Just tapped the keyboard, paused, then finally met my gaze.“Morning,” he echoed. Tone low. Cautious. Heavy.I sensed it immediately.This wasn’t about Ivy, the board, or operational leaks.This was personal.By nine, Helena had found us. Quiet, efficient, and sharp.“You’ve got f

Unwelcome Visitor

CHAPTER 39 The office felt different that morning.Not the usual buzz of activity. Not the careful, measured hum of productivity.It was tense. Electric. Like the air itself was holding its breath.I stepped into the lobby and immediately noticed it.Security was unusually alert. Not rushing. Not flustered. Just… watchful.Something had changed overnight.I adjusted my blazer, straightened my skirt, and walked toward the elevators.The tension wrapped around me like a physical weight.My phone buzzed as I stepped inside.Unknown number.“They’re here.”I paused, pulse quickening.I typed back carefully: “Who?”Three dots appeared.“Closer than expected. Not Ivy. Not the board. Someone personal.”I swallowed.My mind immediately went to Reign. But no. It wasn’t him. Not directly.By the time I reached my floor, the office felt like a battlefield.People moving with unusual caution. Glances darting. Whispered conversations cut short as I passed.I walked to my desk. Helena was there, w

The Storm Breaks

CHAPTER 40 The city felt heavier that morning.Not weather-heavy. Not rain or storm.But a weight of anticipation, pressing, like the skyline itself, was bracing for impact.I stepped into the building and immediately felt the tension.Not Ivy. Not the board.This was different. Personal. Precise. Dangerous.My phone buzzed as I reached my desk. Unknown number.“They’re moving.”I froze. Pulled the phone out carefully.“Who?” I typed back.Three dots appeared.“Everything you’ve prepared for—tonight it becomes real.”My pulse quickened.Tonight.Real.Reign appeared minutes later, eyes sharp, jaw tight.He didn’t greet. Didn’t smile.He just said, low and controlled, “Check security protocols again. Double everything.”I nodded immediately.“Already on it,” I replied.He exhaled sharply. “Good. They’ll strike when least expected. And they know us well enough to do it.”I swallowed.This wasn’t a game anymore.It was war.By mid-morning, Helena appeared quietly at my desk.“Listen,” s

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