The Billionaire’s Claim

Chapter 3

Ashley

I had barely slept.

Even after I left the office last night, Kieran’s words replayed in my head, like a needle stuck in the same groove of a vinyl record. His voice — cold, sharp, almost amused at my discomfort haunted me more than I wanted to admit.

And now here I was, sitting at my desk in his glass-walled empire, pretending to type while my stomach twisted into knots.

The soft hum of the building’s air conditioning was the only sound in my corner of the floor. The rest of the team was still on lunch break, and for a moment, I let myself breathe. My fingers stilled over the keyboard, my mind drifting back to a time when Kieran’s voice had sounded different when it had been warm enough to melt every defense I had.

I shoved the memory away. That girl… the one who had stood under fairy lights, smiling at him as though he was her whole world… she didn’t exist anymore.

The elevator chimed.

I didn’t have to look up to know it was him. My pulse betrayed me, thudding hard in my chest as his footsteps approached slow, deliberate, the confident gait of a man who knew the world bent for him.

“Ashley,” he said, and my name on his lips was a strange mix of silk and steel.

I looked up, keeping my expression neutral. “Yes, Mr Black?”

His gaze swept over me not in the way it used to, but as if he was assessing a rival. “Come to my office.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my legs to move. Following him felt like stepping into enemy territory. His office was a masterpiece of power: sleek black furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, and not a single thing out of place.

He walked behind his desk, leaning one hand against the polished surface. “I’ll need you to attend the Gala tomorrow night,” he said without preamble.

The Gala. The event where the city’s most powerful gathered, where cameras flashed and every word was calculated. My chest tightened. “Isn’t that… a job for your PR team?”

His lips curved not in a smile, but in something far more dangerous. “I want you there. At my side.”

A warning bell went off in my head. “Kieran, I don’t”

He cut me off with a look, sharp enough to slice through my protest. “You’ll be there, Ashley. You’ll smile for the cameras. And you’ll do exactly as I say.”

There it was again the man who had replaced the one I’d loved. Cold. Controlled. Unyielding.

But beneath that, I caught something else. A flicker in his eyes. Not quite hate. Not quite longing. Something messier.

“Fine,” I said quietly, knowing it wasn’t really a choice.

He studied me for a moment longer, as though searching for cracks in my composure. “Good.” He turned back to his desk, signaling the conversation was over.

I left his office with my heart pounding, a storm of emotions churning in my chest. Anger. Fear. And, damn him, that same pull I had fought for years.

By the time I reached my apartment that evening, my hands were shaking. I sank onto the couch, pressing my palms over my eyes.

The Gala wasn’t just an event. It was a stage. And I knew Kieran if he was putting me on that stage, it wasn’t for the sake of appearances. It was for a reason.

And I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to like it.

Somewhere deep down, a memory stirred the night I’d walked away from him, from us. The way his voice had cracked when he called after me. The secret I’d carried ever since, the one that had made leaving feel like the only choice.

If that secret ever came to light…

No. I couldn’t think about that now.

Tomorrow night, I’d have to face the world beside Kieran Black. And this time, there would be no running.