Too Late, Mr. Billionaire: You Can't Afford Me by Thedora Birnir

Chapter 129

Chapter 129 Not Fit

Denver froze, his smile caught mid–bloom like a flower in sudden frost.

So, this was the sting of rejection after all.

With a wry chuckle, he murmured, “Is this your gentle way of giving me the cold shoulder?”

“No…” Hadley paused, her words teetering on the edge of uncertainty. “You’ve always been a gem of a person.”

“But not the one who has stolen your heart.” Denver’s smile turned bitter. “Am I right?”

Unwilling to wave the white flag just yet, he pressed on before Hadley could reply.

“I know you can’t force the heart to sing a tune it doesn’t know. But sometimes love strikes like lightning, and sometimes it blooms slowly, like a seed in spring. We’ve never even tried walking that path together. What if we did, and your feelings for me blossomed over time? Hadley, can’t we at least give it a shot? You don’t find me disagreeable, do you?”

Hadley sat there, momentarily struck speechless.

His confession of love was so raw, so fiery, so unshaken by the odds–it stirred memories of her own fearless

heart at twenty.

She let out a soft sigh, as if exhaling the weight of years.

Looking into his eyes, Hadley asked, “Denver, does your family know about me?”

Caught off guard, Denver blinked, and then after a brief silence, admitted with candor, “Not… yet.”

Precisely as she had foreseen.

Hadley’s gaze lingered on Denver, her fingers delicately tracing the rim of her glass.

“If all you’re after is a fleeting moment to tuck into your memories, then Denver, I wouldn’t say no…”

He had been her lifeline more than once. A warm ray of sunshine in her shadowed days.

For that alone, Hadley wouldn’t mind sharing a chapter of her journey with him, even if they were destined to be mere passersby in each other’s lives.

She wasn’t one to cling to the dusty old moral code, nor did she see shame in the dance of love and longing.

But one truth stood firm–Denver wanted more than she could offer.

He was earnest, playing for keeps.

“Hadley!”

True to form, the instant her words left her lips, Denver shook his head in a flurry of unease. “I’d never dream of treating you that way! I’m set on building a true, lasting future with you!”

13:44

“A lasting future?”

Hadley’s laugh was sharp, tinged with irony. “We have no future together, Denver. Your family would never

welcome me with open arms.”

down the aisle once–be deemed worthy of him? A golden son of a high flying, pedigreed clan?

then there was joy….

puzzle with no solution.

doesn’t even know yet. How can you be so certain they’d turn

didn’t need to ponder; the answer was as

grateful to you. You pulled me from the wreckage of a painful marriage. You helped

one I treasure. But let’s draw the curtain

heart sank any

inevitable ache

“Hadley…”

the waiter came with

shift gears, her tone lightening. “Aren’t we here to toast my triumphant performance? Let’s not muddy

for now.”

sat in silence, the flavors on his plate suddenly

chasing a mirage. The real hurdle wasn’t just Hadley–it was the

of his own

his next move in secret.

hidden chapter from

fire under him, pushing him

family, she would have no more excuses to push him away, would she?

could sweep her off her feet and ask her

parents to return, Denver mused over whether to

be

be

13:44

Not Fir

the basement. The basement housed a sturdy safe, a sanctuary for the family’s

punched in the code, slipped inside, located his personal safe, and

lifted the lid, and nodded with a satisfied

the box under his arm, secured the door, and headed

“Denver.”

him just as he was about to

spotted his parents, Roderick and Wilma Moran.

“Dad, Mom.”

had just returned from

luck would have it, Denver had

unreadable as she sized up her son. “You’re back earlier

I expected…”

the

rolling in.

a bright smile, he answered, “It’s a

up Hadley anyway, there was no point in playing coy.

box in a heartbeat. “Is that the one

“Yes.”

look.” Without waiting for permission, she plucked the box from Denver’s hands, opened it, and gazed at the ruby bracelet

a brittle chuckle at the sight of the bracelet, her expression

at her as she

son.

need to

his brow, puzzled, and glanced at his father. “Dad, what’s got Mom so riled

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