Page 123 of How to Fall for the Secret Billionaire
People are asking? Who are these people?
Cal steps forward, his arm instinctively reaching behind him—like he’s shielding me. “Leave,” he growls.
It’s a sound I’ve never heard from him before. It’s not just anger. It’s warning. And suddenly, I realize—I don’t know this version of him at all.
Raymond doesn’t budge. If anything, he plants his feet firmer, like he’s here for the long haul. Cal turns to me again, jaw tight, his voice low but desperate.
“Please, Margot. Please get in.”
Something about the way he says it—like he’s not just trying to protect me from Raymond, but from something bigger—makes my chest tighten. I nod and slip into the car.
He shuts the door, firm but not angry, just… urgent.
By the time he circles around to the driver’s side, Raymond’s already raising his camera. The flashes go off one after the other, stinging my eyes even from inside the car.
“Will you be coming back to L.A. soon, or is this your new life?” Raymond shouts.
L.A.?
“I heard you sold TechBit for five billion dollars—is that true, Cal?”
Five billion what?!
The door swings open and Cal slides into the driver’s seat. He doesn’t say a word, just slams the door, throws the car into gear, and drives.
Silence stretches between us, thick and heavy. I don’t know whether to ask, to wait, or to panic.
But one thing’s for sure.
The man beside me isn’t just the sweet stranger who checked into my inn.
He’s someone much, much more. I turn to him, my pulse still thudding from the chaos we just escaped.
“What was that about?” I ask, quieter than I expect. My voice feels small in the tense silence of the car.
He releases a deep breath. “I will tell you everything. I promise.”
As we near the inn, my heart starts to break—because I know this night will end in the worst way possible, and we may not be able to survive it.
CAL
“Iwill tell you everything. I promise,” I say, voice barely above a whisper.
Margot doesn’t answer.
She just stares out the window, her arms folded tightly like she’s holding herself together. The silence between us is thick, louder than any fight we could’ve had. Her distance is a knife to my gut, cold and cutting deep. She’s leaned away from me—not just physically, but emotionally too. And I feel it. Oh, I feel it like ice spreading through my chest.
I grip the wheel harder to keep my hands from trembling. But they still shake.
I blew it. I should’ve told her. I meant to tell her. I kept telling myself I needed more time, just a little more time. I thought if I could show her who I really was first, it would somehow make the truth easier to swallow. But now—now I might’ve lost that chance.
She doesn’t even look at me.
I try to speak again, but my throat’s tight. My body’s thrumming with panic, but I can’t let it show. I have to hold it together. For her. For us. If there’s still an us.
As we pull into the driveway, I spot a figure near the porch steps—arms crossed, eyes sharp behind her glasses.
It’s Thea.
