Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

Chloe's heart was pounding. She locked eyes with Connor, her face turning serious.

This was ridiculous, she thought. He sounded so casual, almost joking, like none of this really mattered. But that one unexpected sentence-out of nowhere-set off fireworks inside her chest.

Connor knew she wouldn't believe him. Who would? He was just testing her, feeling things out. He'd been waiting for this moment, planning it for a long time. He was determined to find his way back into her life.

He couldn't lay out the truth all at once. It wasn't just because he thought Chloe wouldn't believe him. He didn't want to hit her with that much heartbreak in one blow. If she found out now that Lucas had secretly taken her away... If she learned Aaron wasn't her real son, but Tim was... Could she really handle it?noveldrama

Maybe the old Chloe could have. But now? Would she fall apart, spiral into pain she couldn't get out of?

Connor couldn't stand the thought of her suffering. That's why he was stuck, torn between what to do. How could he help her remember? Only their shared past could give her the strength to get through this-wasn't that the truth?

Chloe's eyes turned cold. "Mr. Connor, please don't joke about things like that again. You're my husband's friend."

Connor heard what she really meant. She'd taken his words as some kind of inappropriate flirtation. He didn't say a thing. Just turned away and started clearing the table.

Chloe expected him to say something else. Instead, the silence left her strangely unsettled. She couldn't make sense of any of this. Ever since he'd shown up, her quiet life had been thrown into chaos.

She kept telling herself he must be joking.

That afternoon, the kids fussed for a while before finally settling down for their nap. Chloe slipped outside to water the flowers. Her house was a little different from the other ones in the neighborhood. She'd picked this place because of the garden-a rare find, and big enough to fill with all kinds of blooms.

She sat on a little stool, trimming each blossom with care, but her mind was somewhere else. Connor's words kept replaying in her head. He said she was his wife? He hadn't sounded like he was joking. Tim always called her "mom." Connor talked about living in a carefully built cage. None of it could be just random.

And then there was that look in his eyes-painful, restrained.

Chloe was weighed down with worry. It felt like her life was slowly starting to crack, piece by piece. She didn't realize that, as she sat there lost in thought, someone else was standing on the balcony upstairs, deep in their own worries.

Later that afternoon, Chloe tried calling Lucas. No answer. A sense of unease settled in her stomach. She texted him instead:

Are you okay? Is something going on?

She couldn't put her finger on it, but Lucas had been acting strange, ever since he suddenly decided to leave their old place. He never stayed out all night. Even when he worked late, he always came home.

His reply came quickly:

[I'll be home tonight.]

Chloe let out a small breath and slipped her phone back into her pocket.