CHAPTER FOUR BILLIONAIRE MODE ACTIVATED
1517 Words
Rachel woke with the heaviness she had come to grow familiar with, sitting deep in her chest, the sort that hinted her the day would demand more than she had to give. She blinked at the dim light leaking through the curtained window, listening for one thing.
Her son’s quiet breathing. He was still here, still safe. She exhaled deeply.
The room was cold, the paint chipped, the single bulb flickering like a dying heartbeat. It was the kind of apartment no one deserved to live in, but she’d long accepted that survival looked different for everyone, especially for someone like her.
Especially now that Kael was back.
She pushed the thoughts of Kael away before it could even form. No. She wasn’t doing that again. She had been there and she barely made it out alive. Whether or not he abandoned her, she didn't care. He wasn't there as he promised and she suffered for years, running, hiding, protecting her child. To achieve that, she had to dig deep and bury her feelings. She wasn’t letting old emotions climb out of the grave she buried them in.
She padded to the kitchen, opening the cupboard for breakfast. Her hand froze.
Shelf after shelf… was full.
Cereal she knew she couldn’t afford. Baby snacks she only dreamed of. Real milk. Fresh pasta. Packets of spices. Five different brands of tea. A basket of fruits, all fresh, gleaming, expensive.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. This wasn’t here last night. Her throat went dry instantly. She checked the fridge, panic rising.
There was more food. Vegetables, meat, packaged meals. A small tub of yogurt with her child’s favorite cartoon character on it.
“God,” she whispered, stepping back.
Her palms trembled as she shut the fridge and leaned against it.
There was only one person in the world who would go out of his way to break into her house and do something like this.
A knock sounded at the door.
She jumped, nearly yelping, but she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, stifling the yelp. Her son stirred in the bedroom. She tiptoed to the door, pulse pounding, and looked through the peephole.
Tara, her friend, stood there, holding two envelopes.
Rachel opened the door quickly. Tara stepped in with a dramatic gasp.
“Girl,” Tara breathed, shutting the door behind her. “You have to tell me everything, every bit of it.”
Rachel was confused. “What’s that? Every bit of what?”
“How your life turned around in less than a day. Look at these, babe.” Tara lifted the envelopes.
“One was in the mailbox. One was taped to the door.”
Rachel took the first and tore it open.
Her breath caught.
PAID IN FULL
Amount Due: 0.00
Tuition Balance Cleared.
She read it again. And again.
Her knees nearly buckled. She couldn't believe her eyes.
The second envelope trembled in her hands. Inside was a typed letter,
"Your apartment has been approved for urgent repairs. Plumbing, roofing, and electrical faults will be handled this week at no cost to you."
She felt her soul leave her body.
Tara grabbed her arm. “Rachel. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Rachel couldn’t speak.
Because she knew who. Of course it had to be him.
Kael, Alpha, billionaire, and whatever it was he had become in her absence, sweeping in like a storm she could never outrun. She slowly sank into a chair, palms pressed to her eyes.
“Rachel,” Tara whispered, now worried. “Is this the same guy who showed up yesterday? The one who looked like sin in a suit? The one you pretended you didn’t almost faint for?”
Rachel let out a broken laugh and rolled her eyes. “He’s… not just a guy. I wish he would just leave me alone.”
“Well obviously, he's not a just a guy.” Tara shrieked. “He paid your tuition like he was buying ice cream! Wait. What do you mean leave you alone? If not that he very obviously has eyes for you, I'd be tying myself to his shoelace right now."
Amina swallowed hard. Her chest ached—not from joy. Not even from gratitude. But from the cruel reminder of the man she once knew. The man who left her when she needed him the most.
The man she still dreamed of… even when she hated herself for it.
She whispered, “He’s trying to fix things, Tara. Kylian can't...”
Tara raised a brow. “He's Kylian's father?" She whistled loudly. "My God, that boy has such luck. Your genes and that god's genes in one body. Damn."
Rachel shut her eyes.
“Stop, please."
She stood, pacing the small kitchen.
She hated this, the way Kael barreled into her life, smoothing edges, patching wounds, making her feel seen, cared for, cherished. It was dangerous.
She had survived the last five years by teaching herself to feel nothing for him.
But he was making it impossible. A soft knock interrupted her spiraling thoughts. A gentle, almost cautious sound, nothing like landlords or neighbors.
Rachel froze.
Tara froze.
The knock came again.
"I can tell him to go away" Tara offered even though it was clear she didn't want to.
Rachel inhaled shakily and went to the door. When she opened it, her heart stopped. Kael stood there.
Tall, dark skinned, breathtaking in a charcoal suit that clung to him like it was tailored by the gods. His hair slightly tousled. His eyes, those impossible silver-blue eyes fixed on her with a softness that made her throat tighten.
“Rachel,” he breathed, like her name itself hurt him. His gaze swept over her, checking for harm. “Are you all right?”
She didn’t answer. She only sighed.
He sighed too, quiet, pained, aching. Then he held up his hands. “Before you say anything, I didn’t come here to fight.”
She folded her arms. “Then what do you want?”
His jaw flexed. He swallowed. And he said the words too gently, too reverently, “To make your life easier. Even if you never look at me again.”
Her chest squeezed painfully.
“Stop doing things for me,” she whispered.
“I can’t.”
“You don’t have the right.”
“You’re my mate. I can't turn away.”
The word crashed into her like a tidal wave.
Her mark burned faintly at his confession, as though waking from a long sleep.
Kael seemed to notice, his eyes softened, almost sorrowful.
“I’m not asking for forgiveness, I know I don't deserve it.” he said quietly. “I just want you safe. You and… him, our child.”
His voice broke slightly on the last two words.
Rachel's eyes stung. She blinked hard. “You can’t just come back and buy your way into our lives.”
“I’m not trying to buy a place, Rachel.” His voice was deep, steady, controlled, but filled with pain. “I’m trying to earn one. I'll do anything to get one.”
The silence thickened between them. She felt his presence like gravity, pulling, warm, dangerous. Her wolf-mark throbbed again, and she knew he felt it too. His breath hitched slightly.
Kael stepped back. “If you want me to stop helping… say it. And I will.”
Her lips parted.
One word. That was all it would take. One word to push him away again. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Not when he had looked at her with longing so raw she could feel it.
Not when he had found their child.
Not when he had come back stronger, gentler, and painfully human beneath all the power he now carried.
Her silence broke something in him. His shoulders lowered, like he’d been holding up the sky.
“Okay,” he whispered. “I’ll keep my distance. But don’t make me stop protecting you. Please.”
Emotion clawed up her throat. “Why do you care so much?”
Kael looked at her like she was the only thing that had ever mattered.
“Because losing you was the one thing I never recovered from. I've lost a lot, Rachel. I know the things I've survived. And I know losing you again after finding you now will be my end.”
Her breath shuddered.
His next words were a vow, spoken low, reverent, and devastating,
“I’m not here to take from you, Rachel. I’m here to give back everything I owe, everything you deserve.”
He stepped away, then paused.
“And if you let me… I will spend the rest of my life earning the right to love you again.”
Her heart twisted so hard she had to grip the doorframe to stay upright.
And Kae turned around and walked away without forcing anything more.
For the first time in years, she let herself watch him go. And for the first time in years,
it hurt.
- Writer
